How did I get £912 in debt with Scottish Power????

tab4

Hi,

Im an avid reader of this site but this is only my second post!!

I need some help.....pls

Im with Scottish Power for both gas and elec, i pay by direct debit and chose an online line account (they said it was cheaper!! I would get an extra discount!)

The thing is now i've got a bill for over £900!! They said its my fault for not going online and adding my meter readings! Was paying £25 for elec and £30 for gas, this is since August 2005.

Now they want me to pay £160 a month as well as my usage bill on top!

Is this allowed?? Surely they should've called and told me to increase my direct debits??!!

Is there any way out of this without staying with SP until debt is cleared? In a bit of a pickle because im trying to clear my Amex off at £190 a month!! (hubby brings home £890-me just a housewife!)

Any tips on what I could do next would be appreciated!!

Thanx

Tab

wigginsmum

Have they been estimating your bills all this time? If they've never received correct readings, I think it's quite probable this is the correct bill - works out at £70/month for the past 13 months. I'm not sure how often energy companies have to review customer accounts but I'd be surprised if it's any more frequently than once a year. I think you'll have to clear it somehow before you can leave them. They're asking you to clear the excess bill over 6 months; you might be able to negotiate this over a longer term, but for 12 months you're still looking at an extra £80/month.

Sand_Man_2

unfortunatley, you were unaware that you were not paying enough each week. However, if you had provided your own readings on a reguar basis (once a month or every few months) you would not have been in this situation

i have read other threads on this website were people have been able to get a slight reduction (e.g. 10% etc) from the utilites. however, getting this reduction may me tricky and may involve alot of hassle and chassing

oldwiring

I hope tab4 manages to get things sorted out without too much pain.

However ISTM thatthere is an affinity with all such stories to the matter of conduct of bank accounts. The hard truth is that each of us is responsible for the competent management of our affairs. No matter that a supplier does not read the meters or fails to supply a bill, we should be capable of assessing if our ausage demands higher payments and adjusting for price rises. One can always request the DD be increased, or put extra aside, if the supplier does not resond.

It is a matter of self-discipline- allocation of effort and time even if something else might have more attraction. Unfortunately in this *me and my pleasures* society that discipline is lacking. IMHO some rude awakenings are on the horizon.

cdon

Scottish Power give the extra discount for online accounts on the basis that you will read the meter and enter the readings. They save on paying someone to come round to read the meter and pass on some of the savings to the online customers.

barfly_2

Just a quick note. During a job interview for a Scottish power call centre (recovery dept) I was told if ‘very’ unhappy customers called querying a bill you were authorised to give a discount of up to 20%. Not sure if it is still the case that was over a year ago – didn’t take the job sounded far too stressful.