Switching from Scottish Power

jocstoke

I am currently with Scottish Power for dual fuel and have recently requested a change of supplier to EDF. I recall from these boards that one of the suppliers does not give a DD discount on the final bill. I've tried to search for which one this is but have not been able to find it. Do Scottish Power give a DD discount on the final bill? If not, would there be any impact if I cancelled my DDs? I've just had bills produced to actual reads and am in credit by over £150. I'm on the online standard tariff.

macman

If you are in credit, they will send you a cheque, not do a reverse DD. But in my experience you will have to call and request the payment, as their 'system' seems to have a curious habit of forgetting to refund credits automatically...how surprising.

Newcroft

Jocstoke,

I left Scottish Power last month.

The 'dual fuel discount' was included in the final bill, however, be aware that your final bill will be split into 2 separate bills; one for gas and another for electricity. This can be confusing when trying to understand how SP allocate the respective portions of discount to each bill. My final gas bill was first to arrive (via Royal Mail) and made little sense to me. It was only after I had phoned SP and subsequently received the final electricity bill that things were resolved.

Newcroft

Forgot to say:

I was in credit when SP were given the final readings; there was no need to claim anything from my usual Direct Debit. But the strange thing is that they started 2 newDD's with my bank and drew out separate amounts for the final gas and electricity bills.

I was eventually refunded the original amount of credit PLUS the amounts they had unnecessarily drawn against the 2 new DD's. SP don't seem to be all that bright when it comes to understanding arithmetic. Or could it be that they DO understand - in which case it is done deliberately?

jocstoke

Thanks for the replies. SP have decided to increase my DD from June, I may just cancel it in that case as my current credit balance will be more than enough to clear the final bills. Newcroft - was the direct debit discount included on your final bill as well as the dual fuel discount?

macman

If you cancel your DD before the final payment then you could get hit with a failed DD charge, if applicable. Even if the regular DD date is a day before the switch date, they'll still attempt to take it.

Newcroft

Jocstoke,

Yes, the direct debit discount was included in the final bill(s). As previously mentioned, I received the final gas bill first of all - and the amounts of discount and credit were askew as usual. It was only after I had phoned SP that the final electric bill was sent to me with calculations that brought the final 'dual' price back into reality.