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Scottish Power Exit Fee Fury

DJBenson
DJBenson Posts: 448 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
edited 27 April 2012 at 5:34PM in Energy
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:
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Comments

  • DJBenson
    DJBenson Posts: 448 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Terms and Conditions for my current product;

    http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/PDF/L201205_OnlineEnergySaver13.pdf
    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
    lithopsian Posts: 108 Forumite
    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
    Scottish_Power Posts: 1,263 Organisation Representative
    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]
    Official Company Representative
    I am the official company representative of Scottish Power. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
  • DJBenson
    DJBenson Posts: 448 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    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
    undaunted Posts: 1,870 Forumite
    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
    jalexa Posts: 3,448 Forumite
    edited 27 April 2012 at 4:31PM
    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
    chanz4 Posts: 11,058 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Xmas Saver!
    the way you work it was 14 days after they contact the supplier then a further 14 days to transfer
    Don't put your trust into an Experian score - it is not a number any bank will ever use & it is generally a waste of money to purchase it. They are also selling you insurance you dont need.
  • DJBenson
    DJBenson Posts: 448 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 27 April 2012 at 4:38PM
    Mmm, from the other thread;
    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
    macman Posts: 53,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    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 ;)...
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,056 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Rampant Recycler
    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?
This discussion has been closed.
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