ScottishPower - Improvement Activity Required

zeupater

Hi All

I suppose that this is really aimed directly at the official ScottishPower member to get their teeth into in order to improve the switching experience for their customers, so here goes ....

I have recently requested a dual fuel switch from my current supplier to ScottishPower and have today received the confirmation letter and personalised schedule through the post, very good, just what I'd expect, confirmation of the details supplied, the T&Cs, and reference to the 7 day cooling off period if you have changed your mind and decide not to switch after all.

So far, so good, now the area which needs to be addressed ... the letter was dated 15/06/2010 and states "If you have changed your mind about joining ScottishPower, do not worry. All you need to do is phone our customer helpline within 7 working days from the date of this letter" .... anyone see the obvious point ??, yes, today is 23/06/10 and seeing that the customer helpline closes at 19:00, if the letter had been opened after returning from work at say 18:00, that makes for a very short 7 days !!!

This is either a deliberate ploy to tie customers into the switch by removing their ability to utilise the requisite cooling off period, or just completely sloppy operating procedures, whichever is correct it needs to be addressed, and this should be done urgently, for all switches.

Letters such as this should be posted on the date of creation and sent first class, any less demanding criteria should not be accepted within ScottishPower's operating procedures.

I don't know if this is a common experience, perhaps others will respond, however, even a single occurance should not have happened and should be investigated, with remedial action taken to improve the customer experience. In my case it makes no difference as I am content with the change of provider, however, other cases may well be different.

Official comments would be most welcomed, particularly what will be done to prevent this happening to others in the future.

Z

Premier_2

Wait till they send you the bill.

Prompt payment discount is payable to those who pay their bills by cash cheque or Postal Order within 10 days of the issue date printed on the bill.

You have to allow 4 working days for payment to reach their account

... and the bill often doesn't arrive until 7-8 days after the date on it.
Good old TNT Post!

zeupater

Premier wrote: »

Wait till they send you the bill.

Prompt payment discount is payable to those who pay their bills by cash cheque or Postal Order within 10 days of the issue date printed on the bill.

You have to allow 4 working days for payment to reach their account

... and the bill often doesn't arrive until 7-8 days after the date on it.
Good old TNT Post!

Hi

That's actually quite shocking if it's happening on a regular basis and if it is I wonder whether the practice would effectively render the 10 day prompt payment discount as being an unfair contractural clause, as by definition, with the organisation controlling the billing delivery timescales, the ability to qualify for discount can be unfairly controlled.

Anyway, I'll be paying by DD so it doesn't apply in my case, however, if this is a regular occurance, perhaps it should be investigated internally too.

Z