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Gas - Scottish Power forced entry
Comments
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brightgirl wrote: »
Yep thats right, its now in credit but I still feel it was all avoidable. I`ve now changed suppliers. Transfer date is 22 Nov 2010 and I get £100 reward (EDF)
Hi, sorry to hear of your predicament, it's obviously not a pleasant situation for you.
I too find it difficult to follow your posts, and it certainly doesn't help when saliant facts are disclosed after a lot of prodding. Much as I sympathise, I just wonder how much of this situation was of your own making? Certainly, if SP applied to the courts for a warrant, then they were convinced of SP's case as they obviously aren't given out lightly. To get to this situation, you must have simply ignored many warning letter from SP. And you've admitted you owed them money which you didn't pay even after they had the warrant.
If I were you (easy for me to say eh?) I would try to calm down, and probably accept you are on a loser with this one. Perhaps get some advice from Citizens Advice - it really is pointless fighting battles you stand little chance of winning (if that is the situation) - you need to decide that looking at it as an impartial person would, and not as the one deeply involved. Having said that, there's no cost (apart from time and probably heartache) going through a complaints precedure. If you do, try to set out your complaint as easily understood factual bullet points which illustrate why sp have been unreasonable.
The only basis for complaint as far as I can see is SP's refusal to set up a DD to (eventually) clear your balance - but if you tried to negotiate a payment schedule after the warrant was issued, I expect SP are within their rights to refuse, knowing they'll soon have the full amount when the warrant is executed. You could complain on the basis that the refusal was unfair, or against their usual procedure.0 -
Yes, The invoice was for over £39,000!
Without actually seeing your account I am confused as to what tariff you are on. If you have an online account and you are being billed quarterly then you would have received an invoice between 19/11/09 and 22/04/10.
I don`t need information from complaints team. They need to absorb the information and resolve the issue!I am sure that our complaints team will be able to provide you with all the information you require.
Please let me know if you have any further questions and I will be happy to help.
Kind Regards
Colin @ ScottishPower0 -
I contacted them several times before this. They have this on record. They would not help. I did not ignore there warnings but got in touch everytime.grahamc2003 wrote: »Hi, sorry to hear of your predicament, it's obviously not a pleasant situation for you.
I too find it difficult to follow your posts, and it certainly doesn't help when saliant facts are disclosed after a lot of prodding. Much as I sympathise, I just wonder how much of this situation was of your own making? Certainly, if SP applied to the courts for a warrant, then they were convinced of SP's case as they obviously aren't given out lightly. To get to this situation, you must have simply ignored many warning letter from SP. And you've admitted you owed them money which you didn't pay even after they had the warrant.
I`m going down the complaints route at the moment. If no luck then i`m going further.grahamc2003 wrote: »If I were you (easy for me to say eh?) I would try to calm down, and probably accept you are on a loser with this one. Perhaps get some advice from Citizens Advice - it really is pointless fighting battles you stand little chance of winning (if that is the situation) - you need to decide that looking at it as an impartial person would, and not as the one deeply involved. Having said that, there's no cost (apart from time and probably heartache) going through a complaints precedure. If you do, try to set out your complaint as easily understood factual bullet points which illustrate why sp have been unreasonable.
I did try and negotiate and informed them that it was a 6 month bill rather than just a quarterly bill due to THEIR error (£39,000+ bill in April) and it would need time to pay.
They won`t have the full amount when warrant is executed. They expected to recoup the money over 18+ months via a prepayment meter rather than the extra few months by DD.grahamc2003 wrote: »The only basis for complaint as far as I can see is SP's refusal to set up a DD to (eventually) clear your balance - but if you tried to negotiate a payment schedule after the warrant was issued, I expect SP are within their rights to refuse, knowing they'll soon have the full amount when the warrant is executed. You could complain on the basis that the refusal was unfair, or against their usual procedure.0 -
brightgirl wrote: »I did try and negotiate and informed them that it was a 6 month bill rather than just a quarterly bill due to THEIR error (£39,000+ bill in April) and it would need time to pay.
They won`t have the full amount when warrant is executed. They expected to recoup the money over 18+ months via a prepayment meter rather than the extra few months by DD.
Stranger and stranger. You had a £39k bill in April? On your first post, you listed your bills and payments, and there's no £39k bill on there.
You now say
- that the warrant hasn't yet been executed
- and when it is executed, they won't get the full amount.
Before your last post, you said the warrant had been executed (didn't they damage the door whiole they were executing it?), and furthermore they collected the full amount of debt (and more) off your landlord.
I think you are beyond help (and certainly don't seem to appreciate any help when offered).
Reading between the lines, it seems to me you ran up a debt, SP decided they no longer thought you worthy of credit so decided to install a pre-payment meter, and you simply objected to a pre-payment meter., which of course is SPs right to install should they wish.
Anyhow, good luck with your, imo, baseless complaint.0 -
They did send it to me then told me they would sort it. The bills in my post has been copied and pasted from my online account. That bill was not payable so thats why I`m assuming its not going to show on my online acc. I still have the paper bill.grahamc2003 wrote: »Stranger and stranger. You had a £39k bill in April? On your first post, you listed your bills and payments, and there's no £39k bill on there.
They DID try to execute the warrant. The door frame is damages and the locks have been impacted but the door itself looks fine.
What I meant was that Scottish Power wouldnt accept £200 plus a dd setup and would rather boot your door down and reclaim the bill via a forced prepayment meter over a very long period of time.grahamc2003 wrote: »You now say
- that the warrant hasn't yet been executed
- and when it is executed, they won't get the full amount.
Before your last post, you said the warrant had been executed (didn't they damage the door whiole they were executing it?), and furthermore they collected the full amount of debt (and more) off your landlord.
That was not nice! I`ve not done a PHD in english and internet forums.grahamc2003 wrote: »I think you are beyond help (and certainly don't seem to appreciate any help when offered).
I simply objected to not being able to pay my bills in installements as at that time I didnt have all the money, a warrant was issued for fotced entry & installation of a prepayment.
Grahamc, I didnt run up the debt, SP only invoiced me once for a 6 month period and again the next month so if you dont understand, dont post.grahamc2003 wrote: »Reading between the lines, it seems to me you ran up a debt, SP decided they no longer thought you worthy of credit so decided to install a pre-payment meter, and you simply objected to a pre-payment meter., which of course is SPs right to install should they wish.
Anyhow, good luck with your, imo, baseless complaint.[/QUOTE]0 -
Thats exactly my point, I made a complaint to scottish power and they advised me to await their review si i`ll post up any developments.samtheman1k wrote: »My point was that forced entry should only be a last resort. The OP has made payments and tried to set up a repayment plan, but seems to of fallen on deaf ears and treated as unacceptable by SP. Surely late payment is better than no payment?
What gives you the impression that not all facts are being presented?samtheman1k wrote: »SP seemed to of preferred the heavy handed approach...but I get the impression that all the facts aren't being presented, so can't really be completely impartial.0 -
Hi brightgirl
The query I have is in relation to the Direct Debit not being set up. What reason did we provide for not setting up the Direct Debit. In my experience, I have not heard of refusing a customer a Direct Debit unless there has been a number of failed Direct Debit payments in the past. If you had no failed Direct Debit payments and you were happy to make an initial payment, then we would have been able to quote you a monthly Direct Debit that would cover your ongoing use and also clear the remaining balance over an agreed period. If you were unhappy with the amount being asked at this time and refused to pay this, then we would continue down the route of installing a prepayment meter so that you would be paying for the gas you are using and you would also start making payments towards the arrears on the account.
Let me know if the situation was different.
Kind Regards
Colin @ ScottishPower“Official Company Representative
I am the official company representative of Scottish Power. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
Hi Colin,
Situation was very different....
No reason provided apart from a warrant has been issued. Erm the warrant gets executed 6 weeks later for £592???? I don`t think so. I tried to avoid any escalations but somehow its fine for Scottish Power to accept £200.00 to bring the balance down to £392.00 but still demand £592 and refuse a gesture of payment by direct debit? Not setup any payment plan, No bank details were given as it was a total refusal so failed payments. There was never a direct debit setup. There was an attempt by me a year ago but that again failed. I tried several times last year even though not in debt but this time you just took the biskit.
Basically, I didn`t have all the money for payment all at once. I ended up shouting down the phone to make it clear in my second call that day. You sent me 7 months bills next to each other, what was expected.
I lodged a complaint of unfairness, I receive an email that you tried to contact me several times??? I call your dedicated care line, get nowhere, and respond with an email. I get promised a review on Monday. Monday goes by and so does Tuesday.... No response. I`m not holding my breathHi brightgirl
The query I have is in relation to the Direct Debit not being set up. What reason did we provide for not setting up the Direct Debit. In my experience, I have not heard of refusing a customer a Direct Debit unless there has been a number of failed Direct Debit payments in the past. If you had no failed Direct Debit payments and you were happy to make an initial payment, then we would have been able to quote you a monthly Direct Debit that would cover your ongoing use and also clear the remaining balance over an agreed period. If you were unhappy with the amount being asked at this time and refused to pay this, then we would continue down the route of installing a prepayment meter so that you would be paying for the gas you are using and you would also start making payments towards the arrears on the account.
Let me know if the situation was different.
Kind Regards
Colin @ ScottishPower0 -
Hi brightgirl
Still confused by this - you mention that we would not set up a Direct Debit for you a year ago and again that failed. Were you at Warrant stage a year ago as well? Why did it fail? Direct Debit payments are set up there and then as soon as we are provided with the customers bank details. If you asked for a Direct Debit a year ago when you were not in arrears, what reason would we have for not setting up the Direct Debit. Did you disagree with the amount being requested? We would not tell you that a Direct Debit has failed and not provide any further information.
Let me know where I am going wrong.
Kind Regards
Colin @ ScottishPower“Official Company Representative
I am the official company representative of Scottish Power. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
Hi Colin,
At that time I emailed over all my info for dd setup during nights as I was working night shift and sleeping during the day.
I got email back to call customer services on 0845 etc etc.
I then sent more emails. Then I sent a letter to Atlantic Quay which also went unanswered. I left it at that but kept paying by card as and when I could because I didn`t need the stress. No I was not in arrears.Hi brightgirl
Still confused by this - you mention that we would not set up a Direct Debit for you a year ago and again that failed. Were you at Warrant stage a year ago as well? Why did it fail? Direct Debit payments are set up there and then as soon as we are provided with the customers bank details. If you asked for a Direct Debit a year ago when you were not in arrears, what reason would we have for not setting up the Direct Debit.
No amount was even proposed to me. No direct debit was setup therefore it never failed.Did you disagree with the amount being requested? We would not tell you that a Direct Debit has failed and not provide any further information.
Let me know where I am going wrong.
Kind Regards
Colin @ ScottishPower0
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