Scottish Power - £130 p/mth but living alone

kitkat82

I feel like I've hit a dead end. Recently bought a property and the electricity supplier (no gas) was Scottish Power. Property had been empty for the previous 2 years before I moved in.

I telephoned SP to give them my details and was sent a bill asking for £130 per month. As I live alone, work full time and have everything apart from my fridge and alarm clock switched off unless in use (heating switched off completely) I thought this was a bit steep.

I contacted SP who said it was because I hadn't given them a reading but that they would change me to another plan and agreed a dd of £40 per month to be re-evaluated afterwards. Unfortunately I can't get them a reading because I don't have access to the meter - but that's another battle with the managing agents.

A week later I received a letter telling me the direct debit had been set up for £130! I telephoned again and spoke to another representative who told me there was nothing I could do and that it was set at £130 that I had to pay, despite the fact that I said I couldn't afford that.

Problem is that I am now stuck with £130 dd payment and it has literally come down to paying SP or buying food for a week. I don't know what to do. Can anyone help?

pebblespop

cancel the dd. save £40 per month and pay the bill by cash each quarter.

problem solved!

robin_banks

Cancel your dd right away.

ankspon

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2523925 this please.

kitkat82

Thank you, I wasn't sure whether they'd charge for bounced dd?

Scottish_Power

Hi Kitkat82

Sorry to hear about your situation. Unless you have an outstanding balance of £1000+ on your account, I think £130 is a little excessive if you have been quoted a Direct Debit of £40.00. Of course we can change this for you and if you have been told otherwise then I would like to investigate this for you and find out why.

I would recommend staying on the Direct Debit as you will benefit from better prices. If you are unable to read your meter, you can arrange for us to come out and read the meter for you. Alternatively, speak to your managing agents and request that they allow access to the meter. Emphasize to them that you need a current meter reading as soon as possible so that you can set up an accurate payment plan with your electricity suppliers.

If you want me to look into this for you just send me your details and I will investigate the information we hold on your account and what we can do with your payments.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower

JasX

If you haven't got access to your meters for an initial reading and ongoing checks your payments match your useage you're building up a potential huge headache for later on

They'll have to guess at what the opening reading was and you could end up paying for gas/electricity used before you moved in.

If you overpay you'll have great difficulty proving this to get a refund

If you underpay and the next person living there objects to their bill (or even if you didn't underpay and they just don't pay their bill) you'll have great difficulty proving what money is and isn't owed by you if the debt gets chased