Scottish Power overcharged me £1300 and are evading making a refund

cajef

spcustomer wrote: »

Two guys looking like a couple of hoodlums turned up on Friday morning saying they had a magistrates warrant allowing them to force an entry if necessary and fit a prepayment meter.

Needless to say, any bloody fool can forge a magistrate's warrant which would convince a policeman (let alone me) and experience has shown me that people who pretend to be or actually are bailiffs do this from time to time, so presumably SP people do as well.

They talked about not wanting to damage my front door (remember the Krays and Richardsons?) and (a cynical bit of marketing if ever there was one) wanting to help me!

I have a window in the front door and as they looked quite threatening and I did not know who they were (and because I am 75) I picked up a hammer which happened to be lying by the door before opening it. When I knew what they were up to I went in and phoned the police, who said they would come over. As the SP guys knew what I was doing (I had told them) they phoned the police themselves and said I was wielding a hammer. I think my call preceded theirs, so that particular trick (one commonly used by psychopaths I can tell you as a one-time mental health worker) would probably not carry much weight.

So the police came and we talked about my past and present work and anything else that would make a distraction (presumably a common police tactic with people they think might be loonies),

If you think this is a normal train of thought by any sane person then you have problems, enough said.:eek:

spcustomer

(It makes no difference to the facts whether the customer is sane or not. Grow up)


UPDATE

After telling SP I wanted them to remove all their stuff I had a holiday and now I am back.

Needless to say, Scottish Power have done nothing to disconnect or remove any of their cables and equipment, and in fact in true SP fashion they have not even acknowledged that I asked them to do so. They of course know that I wrote and what I said, because they keep an eye on all the posts on MSE that have their name in them and I published a copy on MSE. So that rather juvenile dodge of saying they didn't receive my letter will not carry much weight.

The 6 year rule does not apply if you have asked less than 6 years ago for your money, no matter how long ago the original debt was, but they will try to persuade you, me, or anybody, that it does. Presumeably, realising this, they thought they ought to take avoiding action and have written me a letter dated (but not sent) the 18th. October, whose contents I will now relate to you:

Linda Clayton, Scottish Power Customer Relations etc

18/10/2013 (I don't know what date they really wrote it).

Dear (SPcustomer)

We are sorry that you have had to contact ScottishPower (sic) but would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to investigate your complaint. For your convenience we have set out below the main stages in our internal complaints escalation process.

Stage 1. (hoop one) Contact us with your complaint.

We have recorded your complaint and given you a unique complaint reference number. Please quote this reference number if you need to contact us about the complaint (hoop 2)

Stage 2 (hoop 3) Customer care team

If we can't resolve your complaint immediately (sic again) we will pass your complaint to a member of our specialist Customer Care Team.

This person will be your dedicated complaint handler who will aim to resolve your complaint within 10 working days - keeping you fully informed of progress throughout.

(I expect this is why it has only taken 6 years so far without a resolution)

You can ask to speak to our Customer Care Team at any point in the complaint process.

Stage 3 - Customer Service Director (hoops 4, 5, 6 etc)

In the unlikely (sic) event that our customer care team is unable to resolve your issue, your case will be reviewed by me to reach an appropriate resolution.

If we are still unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement after this review, we will formally write to you explaining our position and providing our final offer. This is known as deadlock. (yet again!) You can either choose to accept our final offer or ask the Independent Energy Ombudsman to review your case. Outcomes the Ombudsman can impose include an apology, an explanation, remedial action, and in rare cases compensation. (There is no mention of the fact that this ombudsman is funded by the energy companies).

Th Ombudsman can be contacted on 0845 055 0760 (a premium number?) - Remember that you need a Scottish Power unique complaint reference number (hoop no. ?) to deal with the Ombudsman. Full details of the Ombudsman can be found on their website https://www.energyombudsman.org.uk

Full details of the Complaints Handling Procedures (more hoops) are available at https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/Home_Energy_Services/Customer_Charters/ or call us on the number below (another premium line?) if you would like us to send you a copy.

Yours sincerely

Lynda Clayton
(premium number)
customer.services@scottishpower.com

As I have been right through all of that more than once already I know that it would be useless to try again. They know how to foil complaints.

So I have written the following to Linda Clayton:

Lynda Clayton
Customer relations
ScottishPower
Cathcart Business Park
Spean Street
Glasgow
G44 4BE

Your ref. Complaint ref ******* (******** was an earlier one)

15 November 2013


Dear Ms. Clayton

Thank you for your letter dated 18th. October (what date did you actually write it, and on what date did it go in the post?) referring to a complaint that you have been avoiding addressing since about 2007.

Having already experienced all the various tricks and dodges your company uses to avoid fulfilling it's duties to customers (look through your records) I feel I have wasted enough time on this subject.

My letter to your firm of 22 October says:

(Start of quote):

Two men from your company called on Friday to fit a prepayment meter to my premises and I asked them to instead disconnect the supply. They refused. I believe they might have been in breach of the law by refusing, but I am not sure.

I now want Scottish Power to remove all Scottish Power equipment and cables from my property at the earliest possible moment. If I am not in when they come, they will have to send me a letter and we will arrange a date for removal.

(end of quote.)

Your company, by leaving electricity connected to it, are currently obstructing me from working on my house and have been doing so since the 18th October when I asked that Scottish Power electrician to cut off the power. I might sue over this.

Yours


(spcustomer)

That's the state of play today. They must have experienced this situation before because I will not be the only person who objects to being swindled, so they will probably by now have worked out some way they can try to make a profit out of it.

If you give people a monopoly or a cartel they will quite naturally go on charging ever more until they have sucked everybody dry. They are not in business to serve you and I but to make a profit, and that is why they were originally state-owned.

spcustomer

to save having to read all of this thread, go to the first entry). Essentially, Scottish Power Overcharged me by £1300, admitted having done so in 2007 and have never produced accounts to justify the charge or made a full refund - and are, in fact, adding all sorts of charges using the non-resolution of this matter as an excuse.


UPDATE 18th November 2013

Criminals, like everybody else, learn from experience. Whether SP are actual criminals or not is yet to be found out, but they have certainly learnt from experience how to make a profit out of a dispute - and the longer it lasts the more they will make. It would probably be perceived as fraud if you deliberately avoided resolving a dispute like that because it was more profitable not to do so, but whether it is so or not in law I do not know. If it isn't, we need legislation with people like this about.

Amongst the post that had arrived whilst I was away were two cards from G4S asking me to read my meter and phone them on their premium line (the freefone number SP have available is not on the cards, but you should find it somewhere on this thread) and an aggressive letter from SP telling me that they were increasing the rate of charge because I was not spending enough! In fact, I am not spending anything at all with them and have lost the meter key. My various devices to make an alternative supply are not yet installed, but as I have portable LED lighting (some of it solar-charged) the only thing I would really like power for is the gas boiler, which can be done by opening a junction box (same for the lights, but very inconvenient) and feeding in my own supply.

A local electrician (who necessarily does work on SP circuits) advised me that if I break the seal and remove the main fuse so that I can install my new supply properly the law will automatically assume I have been stealing electricity and award SP money from me, so I assume that, being the kind of people they are, Scottish Power are not disconnecting me in the hope that I will do just that. If that is the case, I would ask: how corrupt can a firm get? Perhaps in Russia or Italy......

Please, Scottish Power, disconnect all your equipment and cables from my property as requested weeks ago

coachrews

I was with British Gas than switchto Scottish Power like 1 year ago. After 3 months I realised that they did notcharge for gas bill. I report to situation and it’s been nearly 6 months andthey still couldn’t sort the problem out! 1 month ago I want to cancel my contractas I change my house but they won’t let me cancel the contract as they still couldn’tsort the problem out.

Andy_WSM

spcustomer wrote: »

A local electrician (who necessarily does work on SP circuits) advised me that if I break the seal and remove the main fuse so that I can install my new supply properly the law will automatically assume I have been stealing electricity and award SP money from me, so I assume that, being the kind of people they are, Scottish Power are not disconnecting me in the hope that I will do just that. If that is the case, I would ask: how corrupt can a firm get? Perhaps in Russia or Italy......

Please, Scottish Power, disconnect all your equipment and cables from my property as requested weeks ago

Crazy thread. What a load of twaddle this is!

oldwiring

Agree! Does he even live in a SP supply area for whatever wires and equipment there is to have ever been SP's?

I'm older than he is and have more idea how it all works. May be Rip van Winkel has just woken up o should go for a dementia check up

spcustomer

UPDATE 20 November 2013.

Those [text removed by MSE Forum Team] still haven't disconnected the power from my property.

Yesterday I looked at where the cables come into the house, and SP could very easily send down an engineer with a lift and the right equipment and disconnect, but they haven't, even though there are a great number of them working less than 2 miles away. I suppose from their point of view there is no point as they are losing a customer anyway. I should charge them rent whilst the cables and equipment are there.

I learnt another thing about Scottish Power behaviour last night. They decided they had to change the meters in a local church and the churchwardens let them do that assuming they would be honest. When the bills came in they realised SP were doing the same to them that they had done to me.

But there was a difference, and I must assume that this was either because it was a church or because there would be more than one witness:

They admitted the overcharge and in due course repaid it!

You could knock me down with a feather!

Nada666

Tiresome twaddle or entertaining popcorn fodder - it really is a tight call.

dude89

Nada666 wrote: »

Tiresome twaddle or entertaining popcorn fodder - it really is a tight call.

Tiresome twaddle.... Without a doubt

spcustomer

Quite a lot has happened since I last wrote here.

I still have an office (despite being a 'vulnerable person') and SP, in response to my last writing to them, telephoned the office when I was not there (I don't use it much) and left a meassge. One must presume that they wish to appear caring because I am so old - which implies, of course, that if I was not old they wouldn't bother! A pox on them!

I am finding it quite difficult warming the house because although I have a wood-burner it doesn't do quite enough and so I also have gas central heating. The boiler requires a small amount of electricity. This electricity will be easily enough supplied if they will once disconnect the power so that I can connect my alternative power. I believe they are very reluctant to do this, because like any parasite (I am talking in the scientific sense) they like to hang on to their host(s).

If you don't know what I mean, some basic scientific reading about parasites will soon clarify the point.

For a reason I cannot currently disclose I will not tell you (yet) what SP have sent in the way of mail and what they have said in any verbal exchanges and messages to the office answering machine. Hopefully it will give you some amusement when I do.