Scottish Power cancellation charge (when switched!)

deutsch

So I was just looking over my final bill form Scottish Power. I switched...successfuly to EDF fixed 2014. I noticed a cancellation charge (even though I notified them of my intent to switch before the price rises).

They have charged £20.42!

This is made up of:
Canc. chg. VAT@20.0% £3.40
Canncellation charge £17.02

Their phone lines are now closed, and I am very unhappy about this.
Check your final bill incase they might have charged you as well! Luckily I was just keeping track of how much I might owe or they owe.

backfoot

The point being how many other accounts have been incorrectly treated?

You should ask for a precise explanation of why this happened. I would also be lodging a written and formal complaint.

It is now incumbent on Suppliers to get this 100% correct. In a number of other recent cases,Suppliers have been ordered by OFGEM to go through their records to ensure such situations have not been duplicated. e.g.EDF meter reading problem.

I would be very interested in the answer you get.

If these issues are not supported by proper and adequate systems/procedures, then Ofgem will be down on them like a ton of bricks. If a Supplier cannot guarantee their systems prevent such spurious charges then they should alter their IT to remove all such amounts, until they can give that guarantee.

wakeupalarm

A family member has just had the same thing happen on their bill. The gas and electricity discount was also wrong. Due to Scotch power splitting the final dual fuel bill into two separate bills it also means trying to make sense of how they have calculated the previous balance and payments to the account incredibly difficult.

HalloweenJack

whilst backfoot did get a lovely clarification from ofgem - it would seem most of the `big 6` are smply ignoring it.

backfoot

My relative had 6 final bills from Scottish Power !

It was mindboggling. Apparently it is necessary to avoid cancellation charges and to bill (eventually) at pre increase prices.

How long have these companies been operating and we still have to suffer this nonsense? Their cynical introduction and escalation of exit fees has now spectacularly backfired and they are delightfully on the backfoot.:D

backfoot

HalloweenJack wrote: »

whilst backfoot did get a lovely clarification from ofgem - it would seem most of the `big 6` are smply ignoring it.

:rotfl:At their peril mate

deutsch

backfoot wrote: »

My relative had 6 final bills from Scottish Power !

It was mindboggling. Apparently it is necessary to avoid cancellation charges and to bill (eventually) at pre increase prices.
.

My 2 final bills (gas/electricity) - on 1st august, the bills state that they estimated the meter readings on the 1st august to reflect when to charge the new increased prices. Is this also incorrect? Whilst it's not much, I also did assumed that my bill wouldn't reflect the price increases when switching because I "rejected them" and made my intent to switch.

I already emailed my complaint about the cancellation charges. Have I got another thing to complain about?

backfoot

deutsch wrote: »

My 2 final bills (gas/electricity) - on 1st august, the bills state that they estimated the meter readings on the 1st august to reflect when to charge the new increased prices. Is this also incorrect? Whilst it's not much, I also did assumed that my bill wouldn't reflect the price increases when switching because I "rejected them" and made my intent to switch.

I already emailed my complaint about the cancellation charges. Have I got another thing to complain about?

Without seeing them it is impossible to say.I would class myself as pretty smart re energy bills but I had to get Graeme the SP Rep here to satisfy me ours was right. (I think).

The trouble is that the call centre staff will have immense difficulty in explaining it even if they understand it.Why they just can't keep the old tariff live till closure is beyond me.

DirectDebacle

deutsch wrote: »

I already emailed my complaint about the cancellation charges. Have I got another thing to complain about?

Not exactly. The problems are part of the same 'mistake' SP regularly make.

If you voluntarily switch supplier whilst in a contract then it will be quite usual for penalty charges to be incurred. However switching because you refuse to accept a price increase is not a voluntary switch, it is one forced upon you by the supplier. Therefore no penalty charges should be incurred.

Secondly as the switch is because you are refusing the increase then it should be obvious (and is laid down in the Standard Licence Conditions by Ofgem) that under those circumstances a price increase cannot be enforced.

Your complaint is really one that SP are in breach of their licence conditions and that you require:

1. all penalty charges to be re-imbursed.
2. a final bill which is calculated to a closing reading (no estimates) and charged at the rate prior to the price increase.
3. Ask for £20.00 or whatever in compensation to boot.




If consumers exercise due diligence then esitimated bills around the dates of price changes should largely become a thing of the past. Suppliers are now required to give notice of price changes in advance so meter readings can be taken and submitted by customers up to midnight the day before the change takes place. No estimated bill should be necessary.

This post is still relevant.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/42425828#Comment_42425828=

elektra

Suprise surprise - final gas bill just arrived and cancellation charge applied, have not yet checked whether reading accurate.

I did confirm to them that I was leaving and have an email reply that cancellation charges would not apply.

Second email this year to Graeme (SP rep) will be on it's way today.

EDIT: might as well wait till I get the final elec bill and combine the complaint.
I've already discovered that the gas meter reading I gave to new supplier has been overridden by the 'industry estimate', only by a few units so I won't challenge that.

These complications are exactly why people are put off switching, the cynic in me thinks the suppliers deliberately getting it wrong.

DTDfanBoy

You're certainly not alone in this, I have also received a final bill for my gas which has shows both a cancellation fee, and units being charged at post increase rates. I notified them of my intention to cancel due to the price rise over the phone and by email, both times I requested written confirmation that no cancellation charges would be made, both requests were ignored, I never even received a response to my email.

Despite receiving my final gas bill two weeks ago, I have still not received a final electricity bill, and to complicate matters further the closing balance of my previous bill does not correspond to the opening balance of my final bill. I'm hoping that my final bill for electricty will explain the differences, but given that all the recent bills I have received seem to be inaccurate, I'm not holding my breath.

On a side note, it does seem to me that many suppliers are now attempting to circumvent OFGEM's ruling on cancellation charges, by simply renaming them as an annual discount. For example First Utility now has a whopping £180 annual discount for dual fuel, surely OFGEM has a responsibility to try to prevent these devious tactics.