Beware of unnecessary payment hikes - Scottish Power

eschaton

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Any SP rep care to respond to the points raised in posts #58,79 & 83?

No reponses from any SP rep since 19/6/2013 to a simple question.

Embarrassing for SP - why have reps on a forum that do a runner when simple questions get asked?

Scottish_Power

Hi, I'm so sorry that we haven't been available recently. I would need to look at the account to check. If Colinm can go to our profile, contact details are there. Regards Gerry

eschaton

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi, I'm so sorry that we haven't been available recently. I would need to look at the account to check. If Colinm can go to our profile, contact details are there. Regards Gerry

Welcome back! How was the holiday?

DirectDebacle

Not surprising that SP are no longer engaging with the issues raised re their cancellation charges practices.

In this thread their original advice was that they are entitled to apply cancellation charges when they receive notice that a customer has applied to change supplier prior to the end of a package. Now they say the charges can only be applied if the customer actually switches supplier before the expiry of the package.

However they do not deny that their system automatically applies the charges when it detects an alteration to the package. SP advise that wrongly applied charges have to be manually rectified.

The problem with that is when customers do complain to frontline customer services they are told that they were in breach of T&C's and must pay the fees. The customer has to be persistent and strive to bring it to the attention of someone more senior before it is addressed.

This hoop jumping policy is probably successful in putting many overcharged customers off from taking it any further.

This was my experience in 2011. I had to be persistent to get past C.S. and speak to someone more senior before the charges were reversed. Despite being assured by SP that they would sort this problem out it still continues.

Such a practice has probably earned SP a considerable amount of additional income in unjustified cancellation charges and energy charged at the standard price instead of the discounted package price, over a long period of time. All victims of this malpractice should be compensated.

I have brought this to the attention of Consumer Futures (formerly Consumer Focus) for them to make further enquiries. If they feel it is appropriate they can forward their findings to Ofgem for further investigation.

Hopefully SP will put matters right and cease this unfair practice.

If you are on a tariff that has cancellation charges and wish to switch to another supplier asap without incurring them:

1) do not cancel your DD or payment method until the last payment due under the package has been made.

2) Try to judge your application to switch so the switch does not take place before the end date of the package. It is difficult to be precise but any application made more than 2 weeks before the end date of the package could be risky. If you are switched before the end date you will be justifiably charged so use your own judgement on timing.

Scottish_Power

Thank you for the various comments and I am sorry that we haven’t given as full an answer as you would have liked.

Principally, the Direct Debit is a method of payment for energy charges. So for example if one of our capped packages is due to finish on 30/06/13 and a Direct Debit is due on 7th of each month and this is cancelled after the payment made on 07/06/13, then we would apply cancellation charges or revert to an standard tariff. (The action taken depends on the particular tariff). The rationale for this is that the payment method is supposed to remain in place until the end of the package, (that is part of the agreement that the customer makes with us when they go on to their chosen package). In effect the period between 07/06/13 and 30/06/13 has yet to be billed. It is immaterial if the customer is in credit or debit as the account has not been billed for that period. So the payments have NOT been made according to the agreement.

DirectDebacle

Principally, the Direct Debit is a method of payment for energy charges. So for example if one of our capped packages is due to finish on 30/06/13 and a Direct Debit is due on 7th of each month and this is cancelled after the payment made on 07/06/13, then we would apply cancellation charges or revert to an standard tariff. (The action taken depends on the particular tariff).

This is what SP do. In my view a deliberate mis-interpretation of the T&C's for their own gain.

I did ask in a previous post for SP to publish the T&C's they claim entitles them to do this. Again they have failed to produce them.

The rationale for this is that the payment method is supposed to remain in place until the end of the package, (that is part of the agreement that the customer makes with us when they go on to their chosen package).

The rationale is that all due payments will be made. Therefore in the circumstances above all due payments have been made.

The T&C's should not contain supposition or be ambiguous. They are required to be set out in clear and understandable language what the conditions are. If it is a requirement to maintain a payment plan until the end date of the package then that has to be clearly stated.

In effect the period between 07/06/13 and 30/06/13 has yet to be billed. It is immaterial if the customer is in credit or debit as the account has not been billed for that period. So the payments have NOT been made according to the agreement.

That period cannot be billed until 1/7/13 at the earliest. By that time the contract has expired. It cannot therefore be a due payment. All of the due payments have been made according to the agreement.


Perhaps you would care to reproduce the part of the T&C's where it says customers are required to maintain a payment method after all due payments have been made in accordance with the agreement.

Sun-Is-Fun

To Scottishpower Company Representative,

I have contacted you via email on your link as I, too, have been charged £30.64 for a cancellation charge, when the switch to another supplier happened after the capped period (end of June). I would be grateful if you could reply to me ASAP. Thank you.

DirectDebacle

mjfp509. Could you also forward this matter to the CAB who are collecting information on this issue.

Thanks.

Sun-Is-Fun

No reply from ScottishPower Representative in over 72 hours now and counting

Mackem45

Just a simple question - is Nada666 associated in any way with Scottish Power?