Scottish Power Exit Fee Fury

DJBenson

I'm hoping you good folks can answer this question for me;

I received an email from Scottish Power on the 21st of March stating that my current deal would end on the 30th of April. Great I thought, so I set about looking for a better deal.

Via one of the comparison sites, I found npower to have a good deal for my requirements, so on the 22nd of March I initiated the transfer process. I got the standard email stating that the switch would take between 28 and 45 days to complete.

All was going swimmingly until I got a barrage of calls from Scottish Power this week. I ignored them thinking they were the "stay with us" sales calls, but today, wanting to tell them to stop calling me, I spoke to one of their agents.

To my absolute amazement, they tell me that I am in breach of contract simply because npower made contact with them over the switch. They want to charge me a £51 exit fee due to the breach.

I argued that I was not yet in contract with npower, and as such still in contract with them, which they disputed. They said the simple fact that I decided to start the switch process whilst still in contract was in fact a breach of contract.

I have spoken to npower who have confirmed that I am in contract with them from the 2nd of May (2 days after the contract with Scottish Power ends).

Scottish Power are keen to keep me by offering a better deal (and "waiving" the exit fee) but after this I am not to happy to stay.

So - does any of this sound right?
Can Scottish Power claim I am in breach of contract?

A part of me wants to say "if I am not in contract with you, and have confirmed I am not in contract with npower, I will not be paying either of you for my energy usage for the two days that I am apparently not in contract with anybody" :rotfl:

DJBenson

Terms and Conditions for my current product;

http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/PDF/L201205_OnlineEnergySaver13.pdf

Scottish_Power wrote:

We may apply cancellation charges inclusive of VAT of £30.64 for electricity and £20.42
for gas if you switch to our Online Energy Saver 13 (May 2012) Offer but then cancel
your supply contract or switch to another tariff before the 30th April 2012. These
charges will be amended, if there is a change in the VAT rate at any time or times
before 30th April 2012, by an amount equivalent to the applicable change in the VAT
rate. These charges will not be applied if the supply contract is cancelled due to a
home move.

The above states if I "cancel" or "switch" and according to npower, I haven't "switched" until the 2nd of May?

lithopsian

They're just trying it on, and this penalty will never stick if you are prepared to fight it. Try to work with them to avoid delaying the switch but don't pay the penalty.

Scottish_Power

Hi DJBenson,

Can you please e-mail me you details at [EMAIL="onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com"]onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL] and i can check the terms of your contract for the product you have been on.

[EMAIL="Marie@ScottishPower"]Marie@ScottishPower[/EMAIL]

DJBenson

Hi Marie

Firstly, I tried that email address morning and it bounced.
Secondly, my terms and conditions are in the second post, taken directly from your website.

undaunted

They can claim anything they want.

Equally you can tell them to either go & take a running jump or take you to Court (where based on your posting I would expect them to lose!)

Seems to me that you are still in contract with SP & will not be in a contract with Npower until May 2nd after your current deal has ended so they can't justify trying to charge any exit fee in my opinion.

That said I wouldn't be in a rush to sign up with Npower or expect any better from them personally Are their new offers any better than the Npower offer?

jalexa

DJBenson wrote: »

The above states if I "cancel" or "switch" and according to npower, I haven't "switched" until the 2nd of May?

Exactly the same issue is in this thread...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/52710609#Comment_52710609

...along with an outcome.:)

Though I think you have been very lucky, initiating the switch on 22 March was IMO jumping the gun and hardly worth gambling the early termination charge for the sake of a few days benefit.

For the benefit of others I will repeat something I mentioned in the other thread. The losing supplier is not notifed until the expiry of the gaining supplier's cooling-off period, at which point any early termination charges of the gaining suppliers tariff apply. It is sharp practice for the losing supplier to attempt retention without clarifying what ETC's might be incurred.

The contact is only supposed to be a defence against erroneous transfer. A customer change of heart after the cooling-off period ends is not grounds for application of the erroneous transfer procedure.

chanz4

the way you work it was 14 days after they contact the supplier then a further 14 days to transfer

DJBenson

Mmm, from the other thread;

Scottish_Power_End_of_Deal_Email wrote:

If you notify us that you wish to change supplier before 1st May 2012 and we receive a request for your supply from another supplier within 15 working days, we will not move you to our standard monthly Direct Debit prices or charge you a cancellation fee. If you have an outstanding debt, we may object to your supply leaving us, but we will give you time to pay the debt and leave us without incurring the increased prices.

macman

DJBenson wrote: »

Hi Marie

Firstly, I tried that email address morning and it bounced.
Secondly, my terms and conditions are in the second post, taken directly from your website.

I'd imagine that that particular inbox is full ...

Cardew

DJBenson wrote: »

I received an email from Scottish Power on the 21st of March stating that my current deal would end on the 30th of March. Great I thought, so I set about looking for a better deal.

From your subsequent posts, presumably this date is an error?