Scottish power increased Direct debit

amalis

Hi all,

January was really cold and we ended up £50 in debit for one month. Scottish power has now increased out DD on £15 a month based on estimation that our consumption is not in accordance with DD amount. Ok, I can live with that, but I want to ask what are the chances that in summer when we will end up in huge credit due to not using gas at all- they will recalculate and decrease DD? Or this will never happen?

Mrs_Thrify

amalis wrote: »

Hi all,

January was really cold and we ended up £50 in debit for one month. Scottish power has now increased out DD on £15 a month based on estimation that our consumption is not in accordance with DD amount. Ok, I can live with that, but I want to ask what are the chances that in summer when we will end up in huge credit due to not using gas at all- they will recalculate and decrease DD? Or this will never happen?

Hello amalis, Scotish Power have increased your DD as you are now in the red. This will help stop you getting into dept. In the summer you will gain credit to help in lue of payments for the colder months which you use/pay more.

You could try giving monthy readings on line to keep an eye on your usage and try turning things off to cut down.
I would phone Scotish Power to check you are on the cheepest tarrif for your needs. I phoned them yesterday and they told me it was worth checking on line or phoning every 3 months. I changed my tarraf at their advice and now save £8.70 per month.

Join imeasure to help you understand your consumption.

ally18

Hi,
I joined SP in November, had my first bill in Feb and they have decided to up my DD by £35 already!!!!!!!

I'm annoyed about this because
1. Because of the switch over, SP missed my first months dd so this stayed in the bank but I had told them about it.
2. Its my first bill, its winter and been extremely cold so usage is bound to go up. This doesn't mean my usage will be like this all year but they aren't bothered about this when I spoke to them.
3. I paid the outstanding amount, don't owe anything and they still say its got to increase!

DirectDebacle

ally18 wrote: »

Hi,
I joined SP in November, had my first bill in Feb and they have decided to up my DD by £35 already!!!!!!!

I'm annoyed about this because
1. Because of the switch over, SP missed my first months dd so this stayed in the bank but I had told them about it.
2. Its my first bill, its winter and been extremely cold so usage is bound to go up. This doesn't mean my usage will be like this all year but they aren't bothered about this when I spoke to them.
3. I paid the outstanding amount, don't owe anything and they still say its got to increase!

When you joined in November the monthly DD would be calculated on known or estimated annual kWh consumption multiplied by the price +VAT/12.

Ask them to re-calculate (or do it yourself first) by subtracting the total kWh charged on your first bill from the anticipated annual kWh consumption.

Multiply this by price, add VAT and divide by 10. This should give a monthly DD to achieve a zero balance on your anniversary in November as long as your known (estimated) annual usage remains the same.

Compare this DD to what they are now requesting.

2010

SP have done this,SP have done that.
Hang on a minute aren`t you forgetting you`re the customer.

Ring them up and tell them if things are not correct.
Read your meter every 3 months and tell them to bill you.
Work out your annual usage,divide by 12 and tell them what your DD payment a month should be.
If you have built up a big credit,tell them to rebate it back to you.

Seems like the tail is wagging the dog here.:T

Scottish_Power

Hi amalis

Sorry to hear about your situation. I will try my best to give you some advice which should hopefully help in the future.

Like julie_d mentions, the best way for you to monitor what you are using is to create an online account with SP. If you have access to a computer at home and you are able to read your meters safely and easily, then this service will be perfect for you. The online account allows you to update your own meter readings as often as you wish and you can also create your own bills so you know exactly what you are using. All this information is held within your online account and you can continually go back and refer to this.

When I moved into my new property, I set up an online account and updated my meter readings as close to the start of each month for the first year. This then created an accurate picture of how much gas and electricity I use over the year. My Direct Debit reassessments are very accurate because of all the accurate meter readings on my account.

Your Direct Debit payments are reviewed on a quarterly basis to ensure they are in line with the gas and electricity you are using. If you have made a payment towards the outstanding balance then we should reassess your Direct Debit based on this payment and lower it accordingly.

I would recommend contacting SP and asking to be put onto an online account as you wish to monitor your consumption more closely.

Hope this helps. If you have any further queries let me know.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower