Scottish power - unnecessary increase in dd!!

DammitJanet_2

Actually just posted a similar thread to this earlier. Same happened to me, they wanted to up my monthly DD by almost £50 - despite the fact my account was in credit after their actual readings.

I phoned and was told they would stop the increase and my DD would remain the same.

Annoying!

foreversummer

Hi DammitJane. I'll check out your thread.

Foreversummer

susan47

I've been with Scottish Power for quite a few years (I keep checking deals and they seem to be the best for me). But I do find them really, really annoying when they change how much you pay and it doesn't always make much sense. On my current deal - online capped June 2013 B NSC (how many deals do they have?!) my bill shows that I am £16 in credit. I did a meter reading last week so it's up to date. Following my submission I have received two emails from them. The first one says that they are increasing my monthly payments from £118 a month to £153 - why? I am not in debit, and we're coming into the summer when I don't use very much. The second email I got from them said that I can be an early bird on their latest 'deal' which is fixed price till April 2015. So I looked into it and discovered that this so-called deal will cost me over £300 a year more than my current deal - er, so why would I want to switch now? They dress it up like they're doing me a favour, but of course it's a load of rubbish and an attempt to lock me in to another more expensive deal. Well, no thanks to Scottish Power - I'll wait till my current deal ends and take my chances. I wish these companies would be forced into one single price for everybody so we knew that we weren't being fleeced! I bet a lot of people fall for these emails. I really hope I can find somebody better than Scottish Power next time around, they're really beginning to irritate me now...I just want somebody who knows what they are doing and give me a price and stick to it...

shammyjack

I moved to the April 2014 online tariff in November and my DD will well cover my annual usage but at the next bill I know it will be re-accessed at a higher DD.

I know this because my late Mother was with Scottish Power and every quarter I had to argue against the DD being upped.

When Mum died , guess what ? SC had to repay me over £100 so the original DD was more than enough to cover costs .

In April I expect a request to increase DD although I know I will be in credit .

foreversummer

I am pretty cheesed off with how they handle the direct debits. It's the first time I have been with SP and once this deal is over I'm off. I really don't want to have to fight every few months.

It seems to suggest on their faqs section that they will only refund you if you are in credit by quite a high amount. I can't remember how much it said but I certainly do not want to build up a ridiculously high credit. That money is better off in my account and I'm sure many of us feel that way.

The SP Reps seem to be absent on these boards at present. Anyone who feels their direct debit is being put up unnecessarily should raise a complaint. That is what I have done.

Life's too short to keep fighting with an energy company. I won't be hanging around!

Richie-from-the-Boro

SP , and prolly others fail to understand electric only and their own CAC. I had my payment increased two years ago by 30% and decreased by 30% only 8 weeks later. The accounting model seems not to understand that electric only customers use :

- 70% of their annual consumption in the winter
- 30% in the summer
- meaning that the summer direct debits are 70% greater than consumption
- and that the calculated annual consumption is still paid over the 12 direct debits

Now assuming that your year on year consumption has not increased, and your nett nett price has increased by say 5% then your direct debit should increase by 5+ %

Old CAC ÷ 12 = monthly direct debit

New CAC ÷ 12 + ± 5+ % = new monthly direct debit

If the accounting software looked at an all electric customer whose consumption and or price had not increased. And they looked in say Nov Dec Jan even though usage would be astronomically high the account would be in credit by some residual hundreds of pounds and there would be no need for intervention. That same accounting software has not been instructed that an all electric customers kW usage average is still in line with the annual calculated average consumption and the winter is almost at and end meaning the average will regain and exceed being in credit within 6 weeks or so and the CAC was correct in the first place without intervention.

Thrifty_Pixie

i have to say that i have had no problems with SP since i joined them in June 2012. monthly d/d for e&g started at £100pm, then they upped it to £128pm just before Christmas to cover us for the winter. last bill we paid a week or so ago we were still £23 in credit and they automatically said they were lowering our d/d to £106 as of April. yes, it's annoying (and yours sounds a little more complicated than mine!) but maybe you should give it a year or so to balance out all the payments and see?

Stompa

Well I've been with SP since September, and have been increasingly in debit since then, and they've so far not attempted to increase my DD.

I've just discovered a whole load of unseen bills on my account. Why can't they send an email when a bill becomes available?

eschaton

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

HI foreversummer it is not our policy to run accounts in credit year round. We try to match the consumption to the payments as closely as possible inevitably some will run in credit but the general pattern is to accumulate a credit over the summer period to cover the winter when you use more than you pay. If the account runs more into debt over the winter then we would adjust accordingly.

Hope this helps

David

Sorry David but that is a blatant lie. As a Scottish Power customer for over 12 years, I know very well how you operate.

It has only been during the past year or so that Scottish Power have stopped irritating the hell out of me by trying to increase my Direct Debit for no good reason. Ever since you last paid me a goodwill payment for your crap service IIRC.

poppellerant

The best thing to do is give meter readings once a week for four weeks, then once a fortnight for another weeks (two readings), then once every four weeks (not calendar month) provide meter readings. Try to do it at the same time, such as Saturday morning when you get up, or just before you go to bed.

Doing the above will provide regular meter readings that accurately reflect your usage. Sometimes it can be grim doing the readings, especially when you see your balance in debit - but get used to this. Something you will be able to do, is ask for a credit in the middle of winter, and from that period on they will owe you money!

Scottish Power don't appear to mind me being in debit over the summer. But it's never by much in the first place, as that's when I use the least energy.

Once you've been with Scottish Power for a year, they will be able to provide you with annual usage figures and how much you used (worked out from the anuual consumption figures at the prices of the current bill).

Now if you're in debit of £100 and have a total annual usage of £1000. Add the two together, then divide the total by 12. £1100 spread across 12 months works out at £91.67/pcm. If you're in credit of £100, just take that away from the annual usage - £900 works out at £75.00/pcm.

Once you know how they work things out, things become much easier!