Rejecting price rise - does that include standing charge?

agrinnall

After receiving notification of the Scottish Power electricity price rise I initiated a switch to Npower and informed SP that I was rejecting the price rise. The switch has now gone through OK, SP sent me a final bill but the charges were at the new rate. I rang up and although they claimed not to be able to find my rejection message they agreed to send a revised bill. That has now arrived and while the electricity used has been charged at the old price the standing charge has still been charged at the new rate for the period from 25/11/10. Should that also have been charged at the old rate or is standing charge exempt from the rejection? It's a difference of around £5 so it's better in my wallet than in SP's bank account.

DirectDebacle

Have a read of this:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3142680

My view is that the increase in the standing charge was an integral part of the price increase to your tariff, which you rejected. Therefore they should have charged you at your prices (incl. the standing charge) prior to the increase, until such time as the switch was completed.

Widelats

standing charge should be reduced also, i think maybe we deserve the wages that the scottish power employees are paid, we do a much finer job and know more than they do (unless scot power employees are paid to try to scam a customer at every opportunity?)

Its the reason i would like a wood burner fire, you dont see pieces of wood ransacking your bank account and scamming you, they just sit there and burn nicely, would be a whole world less hassle all round to get a wood burner.

agrinnall

Thanks for the advice, I have written to them asking for a further revision, and I've included the correct calculation for them so they don't have to strain their brains.

Premier_2

agrinnall wrote: »

After receiving notification of the Scottish Power electricity price rise I initiated a switch to Npower and informed SP that I was rejecting the price rise. The switch has now gone through OK, SP sent me a final bill but the charges were at the new rate. I rang up and although they claimed not to be able to find my rejection message they agreed to send a revised bill. That has now arrived and while the electricity used has been charged at the old price the standing charge has still been charged at the new rate for the period from 25/11/10. Should that also have been charged at the old rate or is standing charge exempt from the rejection? It's a difference of around £5 so it's better in my wallet than in SP's bank account.

If you have been adversely affected by a recent price change and have rejected the change on that basis, the whole bill should continue to be calculated at the pre-price change rates.

That means the old unit prices, the old standing charges, the old discounts, the old ... everything.
(Suppliers tend not to have systems that allow this, so an adjustment is added to a bill calculated at the new rates to ensure you are charged at the old cost - as this adjustment is usually via human intervention it may well be incorrectly calculated)

agrinnall

agrinnall wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, I have written to them asking for a further revision, and I've included the correct calculation for them so they don't have to strain their brains.

I got a good result in the end, they seem to have mis-processed my letter somehow and after a few phone calls in which I insisted I wouldn't pay until I'd got a revised bill they eventually decided to waive the standing charge completely and a bill that started off at nearly £43 finished at under £14! I still haven't seen the final bill on paper but I checked the outstanding amount by phone and paid it so I'm hoping that's the end of it.

DVardysShadow

Keep all correspondence. As a matter of principle, I would not pay a final bill without having a copy. It only takes a call centre liar to get some money out of you and not send a bill for the whole matter to drift into lmbo for months ... until the remainder of the account is sent to a debtcollector

agrinnall

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Keep all correspondence. As a matter of principle, I would not pay a final bill without having a copy. It only takes a call centre liar to get some money out of you and not send a bill for the whole matter to drift into lmbo for months ... until the remainder of the account is sent to a debtcollector

The final bill came in the post yesterday and was for the amount that I'd paid over the phone, so if they want any more from me now they'll be out of luck.

brewerdave

But as DVS says - keep every little bit of correspondence safe anyway!!!!