Beware of unnecessary payment hikes - Scottish Power

genius149

Thanks Wywth, I do understand how it works, I am just looking at the monetary overall effect that £48 in the next quarter will not make much of a dent to the bill, besides the fact that already in the last 23 days my bill has amounted to a lot less than my monthly direct debit, which will in effect wipe out my debt over the summer period without the need for the DD to be affected.

Scottish_Power

genius149 wrote: »

Thanks Wywth, I do understand how it works, I am just looking at the monetary overall effect that £48 in the next quarter will not make much of a dent to the bill, besides the fact that already in the last 23 days my bill has amounted to a lot less than my monthly direct debit, which will in effect wipe out my debt over the summer period without the need for the DD to be affected.

Hi really sorry to read your poor experience from us. if you contact us via our profile we can review this for you. We do try as closely as possible to match the customer's direct debit to the energy they are using. If there is a repayment involved, this is usually included over 12 months, unless an alternate agreement has been put into effect.

David

Scottish_Power

eschaton wrote: »

I am still waiting on a clear answer. The reply states that my deal ends on 30th June after which the cancellation fees will no longer be applicable. I just want a yes or no - not a statement about what I already know. I only asked because I read on MSE that some suppliers don't charge in the final month.

Strictly speaking the cancellation fee applies to the end date of the tariff as per the terms and conditions. If you move house the agreement is void with no penalty. Different offers may have slightly different terms and conditions.

If you apply to switch today, it is likely we would receive notification of transfer before the end date of the tariff, and the fee would be applied. However, if you have had a longer term fixed deal, that pre-dates the last price increase for instance (3/12/12) and may be based on 27/02/12 prices, then effectively you are facing a price increase at the end of the tariff.

In that instance we would extend right to cancel so long as we received the transfer request in the last month or so. However, manual intervention would be required in this situation as we are not able to discern the situation unless the customer tells us what they are doing.

I hope that is helpful. David

DirectDebacle

scottishpower_company_representative wrote: »

If you apply to switch today, it is likely we would receive notification of transfer before the end date of the tariff, and the fee would be applied.

Please clarify this condition.

Are you saying that if a SP customer whose contract is ending on 30/6/13 applies to switch now and the new supplier takes over the supply on say 7/7/13 (or any date after 30/6/13) the customer will be liable for a cancellation fee?

If that is the case can you post the relevant T&C please.

DirectDebacle

^^^^^
So what's the answer?

Scottish_Power

Hi sorry for the delay coming back on this. We are seeking some advice from colleagues as to how best to reply. We know that posts are examined in detail so we want to be as clear as we can. Thanks for your patience and we will update as soon as we can.

David

DirectDebacle

As you are still making enquiries could you confirm whether or not cancellation fees are applied under these circumsatnces:

A condition of the contract is that the account be paid by monthly DD. The contract ends on 30/6/13 and the DD payments are taken 7th of each month.

On 8th June 2013 the customer cancels the DD with their bank and notifies SP of this. Is a cancellation fee generated because the DD has been cancelled prior to 30/6/13?

Thanks.

Wywth

DirectDebacle wrote: »

As you are still making enquiries could you confirm whether or not cancellation fees are applied under these circumsatnces:

A condition of the contract is that the account be paid by monthly DD. The contract ends on 30/6/13 and the DD payments are taken 7th of each month.

On 8th June 2013 the customer cancels the DD with their bank and notifies SP of this. Is a cancellation fee generated because the DD has been cancelled prior to 30/6/13?

Thanks.

You don't need to cancel the DD. When SP collect their final DD amount, they also instruct your bank to cancel the DD (I think it's code 19 from memory, but you don't need to know that)

In the circumstances you describe, the final DD payment may not be collected until 07 July (or shortly thereafter).

DirectDebacle

Thank you for that but it doesn't answer my question. I'll wait and see what the SP Rep finds out.

Personally I will always cancel redundant DD with my bank just in case the recipient 'forgets' to.

eschaton

I wonder how long it will take the SP rep to answer the cancellation fee query on what should be a simple question.

This is not anything complicated that doesn't happen very often.

I started the switch to EDF 2 days ago and do not expect it to complete before the 30th June - I also do not expect to pay a cancellation fee. I also started the same switch on my parents account this morning.

That's two customers lost for providing consistently crap service to myself.