Want to switch metered Elec to Direct Debit. Scot Power says no way.

darkwarrior

Hey all,

So I read Martin's tip last week that paying by direct debit for your electricity meter can seriously impact savings, which would be good for us because even with only 2 people in a 3 bedrooms house, it seems to eat electricity for fun and we think we are being charged very high because we are on a prepay meter.

We rang through to Scottish power but they said we couldn't pay by DD because we are in debt (the reason we have the meter). Is this true and do we have any rights in regard to this? It seems like they are taking advantage of us being in debt to recoup the debt and massive profits, and we can't even swtich provider for a cheaper deal according to them.

retiredin2011

Pay off the debt, then you can switch.

Wywth

darkwarrior wrote: »

Hey all,

So I read Martin's tip last week that paying by direct debit for your electricity meter can seriously impact savings, which would be good for us because even with only 2 people in a 3 bedrooms house, it seems to eat electricity for fun and we think we are being charged very high because we are on a prepay meter.

We rang through to Scottish power but they said we couldn't pay by DD because we are in debt (the reason we have the meter). Is this true and do we have any rights in regard to this? It seems like they are taking advantage of us being in debt to recoup the debt and massive profits, and we can't even swtich provider for a cheaper deal according to them.

You probably are not paying any more than a customer on a standard tariff (ignoring any discount for DD or prompt payment) ... and there's an awful lot of customers on a suppliers Standard tariff.

Once you get the debt below £500, then SP should not block any switch request. But I doubt anyone will be rushing to extend credit to you if you currently owe SP over £500

Scottish_Power

Hi, I am one of the ScotsihPower company reps. Our normal PP meter unit rates are in the main cheaper than our standard quarterly rates. (This excludes DD discounts or Dual Fuel discounts.) Is your consumption heavy because of appliances or another reason. If you can email at [EMAIL="onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com"]onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL] I'll have a look. We may be able to offer Energy Efficencey advice or even access to help with improving insulation in the property. Gerry

jay1181

darkwarrior wrote: »

Hey all,

So I read Martin's tip last week that paying by direct debit for your electricity meter can seriously impact savings, which would be good for us because even with only 2 people in a 3 bedrooms house, it seems to eat electricity for fun and we think we are being charged very high because we are on a prepay meter.

We rang through to Scottish power but they said we couldn't pay by DD because we are in debt (the reason we have the meter). Is this true and do we have any rights in regard to this? It seems like they are taking advantage of us being in debt to recoup the debt and massive profits, and we can't even switch provider for a cheaper deal according to them.

Your are not paying very high charges you are just paying x amount of debt off through the meter eg 20 maybe 10-15 for debt and 5 for gas. So if you want direct debt you need to be a good credit risk but if you have a debt thats over 500 pounds then the supplyer wont take the risk with you due to you owing them money.Scottish power pre payment rates are cheeper than there standard tariff

darkwarrior

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi, I am one of the ScotsihPower company reps. Our normal PP meter unit rates are in the main cheaper than our standard quarterly rates. (This excludes DD discounts or Dual Fuel discounts.) Is your consumption heavy because of appliances or another reason. If you can email at [EMAIL="onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com"]onlinecomplaints@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL] I'll have a look. We may be able to offer Energy Efficencey advice or even access to help with improving insulation in the property. Gerry

I don't see why it would be appliances, there are two people here, a computer on for some of the day and a sometimes downstairs. I don't even use my TV anymore because the little that is on is eating cash. I will try the email address, thanks for the responses.

macman

PPM's cost the same as the supplier's Standard tariff. Your issue is your debt, not your unit costs.
How much debt do you have and what is the recovery rate set on the PPM?
The reason the PPM was fitted was presumably because the debt could not be managed by you via a DD account, so what would be the point in changing back to a credit meter and getting further into debt?