Scottish Power monthly cash plan

Raphael

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this, Colin maybe (I saw some of your posts in other threads).

I'm now with Scottish Power for gas and electricity, I asked for no standing charge, they got it wrong in the first place, but when I challenged it I was put on the monthly cash tariff with no standing charge, and I'm meant to pay £55 every month, which I think reflects my usage.

I really like the idea of getting £150 back if I pay all my bills in time, but after phoning SP and enquiring about the details I'm not so sure anymore... The person I spoke to was really unhelpful and only made me want to switch to another company!

Apparently if I pay my £55 in advance, it might not go towards my bill, it will be counted as credit, but I'll still have to make the £55 payment on top nearer the date otherwise I won't qualify for the discount...

I paid the first £55 that was due well in advance (some time in April) cos I had the money and didn't want to spend it elsewhere but I also had a reminder early May and paid another £55, thinking it would cover the June bill.

Now I've been told early payments don't count (do late payments count then, and when is the latest you can pay your bill, that's the first time I've heard about people being penalised for early payment), and I still have to pay for the June bill and make a payment by 7th June, and I only have a few days before or after to make the payment, otherwise it's not valid!

Is this true? And if I paid early last month (after the May payment due date, but well before tbe June one), how can Ifind out if my payment qualified and whether it's worth sticking to this payment plan to get the £150 back or switching to another company?

Scottish_Power

Hi Raphael

Thanks for your query. I will try my best to answer this for you.

The monthly cash plan offers a prompt payment discount of £150 if all 12 monthly cash payments are made on time. This payment would be credited to your account on the anniversary of you joining this payment plan.

A set day of each month will have been agreed with you and a letter will be issued to you 12 days before the payment is due. You are able to make early payments but this will not stop the monthly payment letter being sent to you. You should however, not receive a reminder letter if you have made an early payment for that month. All payments should count however you may confuse our billing system if you start making random payments. For example, if your payment date is the 1st of every month then we will expect a payment to be credited onto the account between the date the monthly payment letter is sent and the 1st of the month. If you make another payment before the 1st of the month then this will probably be recognised as an additional payment and not your nexts months instalment payment. Hope this makes sense.

If all your payments have been credited onto your account for the relevant months, then you will not be issued with a reminder letter. If you do receive a reminder letter when you believe that you have already paid for that months instalment then give us a call and we will check this for you. If you make 12 monthly payments prior to your payment due date for a period of 12 months then I would agree that you qualify for the annual prompt pay discount and would be confident that you would receive it.

This can be a convenient payment method for a lot of customers however it is not our cheapest tariff. If you are able to pay by monthly Direct Debit, we will be able to offer you a better deal which may result in considerable savings over the year. If you want to check alternative tariffs then give us a call on 0845 2700 700 or click on the link below to go to our new website's products section:

http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/product-prices.aspx

I hope that you are satified with the information provided. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower