Scottish Power are driving me nuts

t0rt0ise

Does everyone have this from Scottish Power? They either use my reading or estimate a reading every 90 days and always put the direct debit up by about £30 a month. So every time I have to have a row in order to get it put down again. Then off we go again for another 90 days. I'm tied in until next March or so but will definitely leave then. Come back EDF all is forgiven.

luckwudaveit

Try supplying them with monthly meter readings, either online or by their automated system.

stattman

I got into the habit of keeping a spreadsheet of gas, elec and water meter readings and submit the online each month. It helps me to keep track of averages but it means good gas/elec bills from scottish power - but severn trent water are a nightmare!!!

Terrylw1

You will get the same with EDF!

Richie-from-the-Boro

- sick of preaching it and 'luckwudaveit' has already said it but either your in control or .. .. you will be controlled
- put em in every month
- if you want to beat their accounting BOT and the poor wage slave phone jockey you rant at
- put em in every month !

backfoot

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

- sick of preaching it and 'luckwudaveit' has already said it but either your in control or .. .. you will be controlled
- put em in every month
- if you want to beat their accounting BOT and the poor wage slave phone jockey you rant at
- put em in every month !

This may well be the best solution for SP. It requires some diligence and for the organised, should ensure accurate billing and better DD calculation. (in theory)

Perversly,for EDF, doing the same leads to significant problems. Indeed EDF themselves have advised against using their online system in this way.

Back to SP, it is also perverse that a quarterly reading would produce such random results as the OP has encountered.Why should it be so different? In changing a DD the Supplier should explain the basis for the change,so that the customer can understand it. Has this been done and what did it reveal?

When SP changed my DD after around six months of regular readings,they did explain the change but the explanation was completely flawed. It revolved around calculating the DD to an altered and brought forward Anniversary date.

So it may well be that SP are doing something else which isn't just driven by meter reading frequency.That something doesn't fit in with their own published policy on DD calculation and they should be asked to explain it and why it isn't compliant with Ofgem's Factsheet for Customers.

Scottish_Power

Hi tOrt0ise,

Can I have a look at your account, can you e-mail me at [EMAIL="onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com"]onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL] with your details and we can have a look at whats going on.

Thanks

Marie

t0rt0ise

Scottish Power don't have an anniversary date. They simply calculate what they think you'll use in the next 12 months each time. I need to find Ofgems guidelines to see what they should be doing. I will leave SP in March for sure but that won't make much difference to their calculations.

It's not easy for me to give them meter readings every 3 months never mind every month as it's a case of stretching beyond the top of a step ladder and one day I'll fall off and they'll get no more readings at all then! That'll give them something to moan about. Still, I'll get my act together tomorrow and do some sums.

Seriously what is the point in paying by monthly direct debits if they put the sum up every three months. You can't budget or plan at all like that. I hate their system so much I may just jump ship and swallow the leaving fee just so that I can get some financial stability going.

Terrylw1

You need to check out SLC27 & 31A in the supplier .pdf's on Ofgem's website which they have to conform to.

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Licensing/Work/Pages/licence-conditions-consolidated.aspx

JasonCooke

It's not easy for me to give them meter readings every 3 months never mind every month as it's a case of stretching beyond the top of a step ladder and one day I'll fall off and they'll get no more readings at all then!

Brilliant!

backfoot

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/FactSheets/Documents1/directdebitleaflet.pdf

The Ofgem factsheet indicates that SP will review accounts every quarter. It also says they will seek two meter readings themselves per year. Presumably they estimate for the other two reviews.

It also says the time of the year when credit should balance will be the anniversary date.

That doesn't accord with the information you were told which is a rolling quarterly, annual based calculation.

Neither does it match my own experience which was a short year alignment of around 10 months, so who knows what the actual policy really is.

Can the SP Reps tell us what the actual policy is and whether it matches the Ofgem Factsheet?

If it doesn't,why doesn't it?