Scottish Power Want excessive DD payments, can I complain to regulator ?

Premier_2

nurquhar wrote: »

I tried writing to SP, they just ignored my point that the last period was exceptional.

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I am thinking about Air Source Heat Pumps

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So it may not be that exceptional. You plan to possibly use electric heating in the future; even if a more economical type. It will still result in higher usage than using no electrical heating.

Cardew

nurquhar wrote: »

Apart for the last exception its been in credit by hundreds of pounds for years, and I don't think they paid me penny to borrow all that money from me :mad:

If you don't think the Direct Debit discount is more than the interest you lose by allowing SP to borrow your money, why don't you pay quarterly? and then you get 3 months free credit.

However for most of us the DD discount dwarfs the pittance we lose in interest.

DirectDebacle

Originally Posted by nurquhar
Apart for the last exception its been in credit by hundreds of pounds for years, and I don't think they paid me penny to borrow all that money from me :mad:

What you are saying is that your DD has been set too high since you joined them.

If you had not had the problem this winter then your annual consumption would have been around 12221kWh (allowing 40kwh per day for the last billing period)

Using S.P. method of calculation this would give an annual cost of £1004.43 so DD would be £83.70.

If the debit balance of £171.43 is added then DD of £97.90.

As this is your annual review I would pay the debit to zero the A/C then request that the coming years DD be set at your normal usage (they have the historical data) of around £85 p.m.

That seems reasonable and if they can't meet you with that then it is time to consider the E.O.

Premier_2

nurquhar wrote: »

... Apart for the last exception its been in credit by hundreds of pounds for years, and I don't think they paid me penny to borrow all that money from me :mad: ...

That doesn't sound right at all

...From the start of June 2009, the company will automatically pay £1 back for every full £33 a customer is in credit at their annual direct debit reassessment date on balances over £100, up to a maximum of £500 ...(terms & conditions apply)

http://www.scottishpower.com/PressReleases_1843.htm

I suggest you make a formal complaint if you feel you have been wronged.

Scottish_Power

Hi nurquhar

Everytime we receive accurate meter readings your billing system will review your annual consumption based on the last 12 month period. If you used a huge amount between Nov and Feb then the system will automatically adjust your predicted annual consumption based on this. This was a very cold period, just like we had last year and quite possibly will have next year as well.

Will your circumstances change so that you will not be using this amount of electricity in the future if we have an exceptionally cold winter again. The last thing we would want to happen is that we agree to lower your payment based on consumption lower than what we expect you will use over the next 12 months, you acrue a much larger outstanding balance this time next year, and then we require much larger payments to cover the deficite.

What was your meter reading on 25/01/10 and on 03/02/11? This will tell you how much you have used over the last 12 months (provided both meter readings are accurate).

We can also have a look at your tariff and see if there is a better option for you.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower

robbies_gal

hi

im having the same problem colin i know weve spoke before i was wondering if you could look at my account again

my dd after jsut putting in a meter reading today has shot up from 58 to 12o pounds a month

surely thats not right

i appreciate i use more over the winter months but ive only been with sp since august so who would you be workin out how much i use over a year?

could you get back to me onthis

DirectDebacle

I would imagine this has occurred because SP are calculating your anticipated annual usage from around Nov. 2010 (3 month reviews) to Nov 2011. If you have historical records of your annual usage then you can average it out per annum for an August to August year which will give you a more accurate prediction and thus DD.

If you do not have this information then work out your average monthly consumption from August to date, multiply by 5 add this to energy used so far and divide by 12. Should be a reasonable estimate of annual consumption for this year and work out your DD from that.

robbies_gal

thanks dd -it was a bit confusing i just dont see how it can double when ive never paid that much before with bg over all the years i was with them so why now would it be so much

wish id never swapped now

david39

I was with SP for a couple of years or so. They also increased my monthly DD from £85 per month to £117 even though I ended the winter with a large positive balance on my electricity account and a very small negative on my gas account.

I switched suppliers as a result, my new supplier quoting me £93 per month, which I felt was reasonable in view of the way the market was moving. In the event, the figure was remarkably accurate for the subsequent 12 month period.

When SP discovered I was leaving them, they rang me and said they would be able to match the monthly figure from my new supplier - but they were unable to give a credible answer to my query as to why they were previously trying to get £22 per month extra from me.

robbies_gal

they given me some sort of breakdown of a forecast of wot i will use-how they know that i dont know as ive only been with them since august

like i said ive never paid that much with anyone before so will be taking it further