ScottishPower - Advance payment discount

MoneySavingTart

I'm with Scottish Power and they have written to me suggesting that I can pay for a year or more of energy in advance and get a 5% discount on the tariff.
Assuming I have the cash, this seems like a reasonable deal to me.
About the best I can get is 2.8% on a cash deposit with a financial institution and this seems like 5% return.
Additionally it seems like I can pay with a cashback credit card and get 1% extra.

Clearly doing this for more than a year dilutes the return but I expect they will run the offer again when they need some cash for the business.

Anyone doing this and found a catch??

Cheers

MoneySavingTart

davidgmmafan

I've never heard of the offer or dealt with it but I'm guessing you are on the standard rates and therefore the 'discount' they are giving is as nothing compared to the saving you could make by having an online tariff.

If you are already on the best online rate then it is indeed a cracking offer which seems somewhat unique

MoneySavingTart

I have a fixed tariff (to march 2011) and I already get a dual fuel discount as well as an online meter reading/account management discount and pay by direct debit.
So I think I already have a good deal from them. It looks a no-brainer but I'm wary of the 'looks to good to be true' type offers.

MoneySavingTart

davidgmmafan

The fixed tariff is probably similar to the standard tariff. Depending how long you have had this it could be a good rate, if its fairly recent then you may have been overpaying. Put your annual consumption in Kwh into a comparison. If this shows hundreds of pounds worth of savings then you are not on an online tariff

MoneySavingTart

I've done some more digging on this and spoke to Scottishpower.
The 5% discount is based on their standard DD tariff.
If I were to take it up it would cancel my beneficial fixed price deal that has been running for at least two years. I would also lose my dual fuel discount and online meter reading discount
When I calculated the cost of a winter quarter bill on their new tariff less the 5% discount and my current tariff, Taking the new arrangement would have cost me 14.9% more!:mad:

I conclude that anyone who has set up Dual Fuel and meter reading discount is likely to be no better off by advance payment and furthermore anyone like myself who has a fixed price deal that has been running for any length of time, will likely be worse off.

Think very carefully before going near this offer!

MoneySavingTart

Scottish_Power

Hi MoneySavingTart

The fixed tariff that you are currently on does offer good unit rates. The Pay In Advance tariff offers a 5% discount on our current standard monthly Direct Debit rates. For those who can afford to pay for a years worth of electricity up front, it is a very convenient tariff. If you pay for 12 months consumption up front and lower your consumption during that period, your initial payment may last you for 13 or 14 months before we send you a request for a further payment.

Like you say, it is still a good idea to compare the unit rates being offered on this tariff with other Non standard tariffs that we offer as well to see whether or not this will be beneficial for you.

I have attached a link below which provides additional information on the Pay In Advance tariff:

http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/products/pay-in-advance.aspx

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower