Broken electricity meter, paid by DD, Scottish Power

zubakuki

Hi everyone,

I am with Scottish power currently.

I have today been informed that my electricity meter is faulty and has stopped working. They guesstimate it was Oct of last year. I have paid by direct debit my whole time with them and am currently in nearly £1k credit. I understand that this is because they cant take any money for electricity since Oct as they have no readings.

Is it right that they have kept my money? Obviously I would prefer it was in my bank account and not SP's. They will not give me anything until my meter is replaced and my subsequent service used as an estimate for how much I used in the last 10 months or so.

They do not see replacing my meter as important either so it isn't scheduled until later in the month. So I am to continue paying my DD for an unknown bill?

I want to change providers as I can't get through to them without being on hold for 30min first! I even requested a call back and was on hold for 30min before speaking to anyone when they called me back!!! Can I change providers in the midst of this or am I stuck with them?

I am currently on the Standard tariffs for gas and electricity, if that helps.

TIA

gjchester

zubakuki wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I am with Scottish power currently.

I have today been informed that my electricity meter is faulty and has stopped working. They guesstimate it was Oct of last year. I have paid by direct debit my whole time with them and am currently in nearly £1k credit. I understand that this is because they cant take any money for electricity since Oct as they have no readings.

Is it right that they have kept my money? Obviously I would prefer it was in my bank account and not SP's. They will not give me anything until my meter is replaced and my subsequent service used as an estimate for how much I used in the last 10 months or so.

They do not see replacing my meter as important either so it isn't scheduled until later in the month. So I am to continue paying my DD for an unknown bill?

I want to change providers as I can't get through to them without being on hold for 30min first! I even requested a call back and was on hold for 30min before speaking to anyone when they called me back!!! Can I change providers in the midst of this or am I stuck with them?

I am currently on the Standard tariffs for gas and electricity, if that helps.

TIA

Long time ago I moved house to one with a pre-pay meter, and I got it swapped to a normal one. They then lost the details (was not a new meter) so never know the starting numbers.

6 months later when I queried the lack of bill it came to light. Think it was Scottish power who basically said they had no idea what the meter read was and wrote it off as a goodwill gesture, however they did say it was a goodwill gesture.

Long and short is they could use prior use to estimate it or use future use, You'll have to pay it, if you don't it's only a gesture.

You obviously can't move suppliers until it's replaced by someone now you've been told it's faulty, although getting a new supplier in who uses smart meters may get it swapped out, but I doubt it will be done that quickly anyway..

Good luck

zubakuki

gjchester wrote: »

Long time ago I moved house to one with a pre-pay meter, and I got it swapped to a normal one. They then lost the details (was not a new meter) so never know the starting numbers.

6 months later when I queried the lack of bill it came to light. Think it was Scottish power who basically said they had no idea what the meter read was and wrote it off as a goodwill gesture, however they did say it was a goodwill gesture.

Long and short is they could use prior use to estimate it or use future use, You'll have to pay it, if you don't it's only a gesture.

You obviously can't move suppliers until it's replaced by someone now you've been told it's faulty, although getting a new supplier in who uses smart meters may get it swapped out, but I doubt it will be done that quickly anyway..

Good luck

Thank you.
Unfortunately it sounded to me as though they weren't prepared to give me my money at all. I guess if I hadn't already paid they may well have written it off but seeing as they already have my money, I don't think they want to give it back! :mad:

DragonQ

I am unsure as to why Scottish Power has such long hold times right now but 30 minutes doesn't surprise me. I've had a 45 minute wait recently, and even more recently I had an estimated call back time of 1h30m, plus when I got the call back I was on hold for 10 minutes before being answered. I never even call them during peak times, it's crazy!

By comparison, Ebico/Southern Electric is fantastic. Don't think I've ever had to wait more than a minute or two.

zubakuki

DragonQ wrote: »

I am unsure as to why Scottish Power has such long hold times right now but 30 minutes doesn't surprise me. I've had a 45 minute wait recently, and even more recently I had an estimated call back time of 1h30m, plus when I got the call back I was on hold for 10 minutes before being answered. I never even call them during peak times, it's crazy!

By comparison, Ebico/Southern Electric is fantastic. Don't think I've ever had to wait more than a minute or two.

I requested a call back at 2.30 this afternoon they called back at 2.45 but I was on hold for 30min before speaking to anyone. When I realised I forgot something and tried to call them back I gave up after 30min! Glad it's not just me they are avoiding

DragonQ

Just make sure you use their geographic number (assuming you have inclusive minutes on your mobile or landline).

zubakuki

How soon after the meter is replaced will I be able to change supplier? How much time to I have to give them to get my costs for last year?

Wywth

zubakuki wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I am with Scottish power currently.

I have today been informed that my electricity meter is faulty and has stopped working. They guesstimate it was Oct of last year. I have paid by direct debit my whole time with them and am currently in nearly £1k credit. I understand that this is because they cant take any money for electricity since Oct as they have no readings.

Is it right that they have kept my money? Obviously I would prefer it was in my bank account and not SP's. They will not give me anything until my meter is replaced and my subsequent service used as an estimate for how much I used in the last 10 months or so.

They do not see replacing my meter as important either so it isn't scheduled until later in the month. So I am to continue paying my DD for an unknown bill?

I want to change providers as I can't get through to them without being on hold for 30min first! I even requested a call back and was on hold for 30min before speaking to anyone when they called me back!!! Can I change providers in the midst of this or am I stuck with them?

I am currently on the Standard tariffs for gas and electricity, if that helps.

TIA

The supplier will bill you based on an estimated usage for the period they believe the meter was faulty. They will also arrange a replacement meter.

zubakuki wrote: »

How soon after the meter is replaced will I be able to change supplier? How much time to I have to give them to get my costs for last year?

You could apply to switch today if you want. A replacement meter should be fitted by the supplier as a matter of urgency. Any switch will take at least 3 weeks, more typically 4-6 weeks and perhaps even longer.

societys_child

Why would they put the money back in your account? The DD is covering your pre-estimated usage, you know you've most likely used it.
My account is around £700 in credit, when I get the next bill it will drop to around £0

Joyful

If I was in your shoes I would wait a month after the meter is exchanged before moving suppliers. Scottish Power will need to estimate a reading for you for the old meter. I have also often seen problems with change of supply reads being incorrect because the customer has left the supplier before the industry database is updated with the new meter. This can then get stuck in the disputed reads process which can take 8 weeks to get resolved.

Cknocker

I've had the same thing happen to my meter in the past, this is what the suppliers will do normally: -

1. Arrange to replace the meter - as I found out, they are not normally in a rush to do this, with mine they took 6 months! - It turned out it hadn't been working for 3 years!

2. Take the meter reading at that point.

3. Either read the meter or ask you to provide a meter reading, 3 or 4 weeks later.

4. Average the usage out over the period that the meter wasn't working, and estimate your usage and take this off of your credit balance.

The key is to use this process to your maximum advantage -

1. Make sure the meter is changed in the summer.

2. Over the period they are measuring the usage, keep your usage to the absolute minimum.

3. If they ask you to provide a second meter reading - THINK