Is it a con??

rachel276

I have had a man from Scottish Electric come to my house today and told me there was a high possibility that I had been overpaying my gas and electric! (I'm with british gas) He came and checked my meters and told me I definately had a claim to claim money back. He said he will call back on Monday with a new card and key for my meters and some 'shopping vouchers'! I find it all a little strange that someone from scottish electric would call round but he said that all the companies were doing it to each other? Am I being scammed or is he telling the truth?

zzzLazyDaisy

You may find that you have been switched to Scottish Power. If this is not what you want, you should phone BG, tell them what happened, and that you do not wish to switch.

KimYeovil

There is no such supplier as Scottish Electric. He is a crook. Unfortunately he may have already messed up your meters and British Gas cards. Contact British Gas and ensure that your existing cards still work and are paying money to them. Take very careful notes of the readings on your meters and keep all receipts.

rachel276

Hi,
I never signed anything and also he used my electric key to read the meter and nothing of his so don't think he did anything today. I am a little worried about when he comes back on Monday though as my partner was here today and won't be here Monday!

Lyndach

Rachel276 if you are worried simply don't open the door, you can still speak to him and if he needs to give you anything then it can be posted through your letter box. If he presses the matter tell him to leave or you shall call the police. I haven't heard of a Scottish Electric either, just ring British Gas let them know a possible bogus caller has been in and looked at your meters and they will help you out.

st999

Do what a friend of mine did.

He told the caller that he only had on-line bills and he would have to print one off from his computer but he was re installing windows so he couldn't print one off so could he come back later?

He then altered the bill, changed the meter number, even misspelt his own name and altered the address slightly and gave the caller the fake bill.

Of course the caller went through all the rubbish about him getting cheaper electricity and copied all the details down and said he would be hearing from them in a few days.

He never did.

Plushchris

Scottish Electric will undoubtedly be Scottish Hydro electric (regional suppliers for Northern Scotland)

Scottish Hydro are part of the SSE group and they have amongst the worst "salesmen" (conmen) in the business.

DO NOT sign anything or give him the time of day and DONT let him near your meter again, if he puts one of his keys in it, your one will become invalid you'll be getting switched over.

Do a comparison on any of the sites above to find out who is cheapest and switch directly with the cheapest company. Dont believe anything someone who knocks on your door says.

If you are at all worried then phone your current supplier and tell them to put a bar on your account to block any switches away from them.

C_Mababejive

Just tell him your not interested and shut the door. Whats so hard about that?

beth58_2

I'd also suggest contacting the Local Authorities and community police officer. There may be elderly and vulnerable ppl in the area who may be getting scammed by this guy.

Gerrard_8_lfc

As Plushchris said.

It will be Hydro Electric contact BG and tell them to block the account. Funny Ive never had scottish hydro at my door its always been Npower,Sp or Eon. but Scottish Hydro get a rep for bad doorstep selling.

gillia

I am in the Hydro Electric region and since I moved from them I get a door step caller at least every three months.

I just tell him I left Hydro Electric because as they were the incumbent supplier they were not allowed by law to be cheaper than any other supplier so as to encourage competition.

He just splutters a bit as I shut the door.