Scottish Power Comfort Plus Control - From feeling confused to feeling ripped off

jarvester

Hi all,

I know similar topics have been around before but none of them seems to have any recent activity, so apologies in advance for the rant.

We recently bought a small flat in Scotland which has no gas and is on a combination of electric storage heaters and radiator panels (mistake, I know...but its a long story). Previous owners told us they were on a standard tariff and they monthly bills averaged around £110, which seemed very high for a top floor flat with good insulation. Being Money Saving trained I thought they were paying over the odds and the first thing I did when we moved in was to look for the best deal and get everything ready for a supplier switch and a long term fix.

What was my surprise when I was told that because of the type of meters I have installed only Scottish Power could supply my property and (as I did not have any options) they would only offer me their standard variable tariff.

Since then, I have done numerous calls and enquiries to understand how my system works better and unfortunately my situation has not improved. Apparently I have two separate electric circuits in the flat, one is the standard electricity and the other one (which is roughly on the equivalent rate of a nigh Economy 7 tariff) is used for the hot water cylinder and to recharge the storage heaters overnight. The odd thing is that SP will switch the heating circuit on and off for the number of hours they think is right depending on what the weather forecast looks like. This gives me next to no control over my heating as the manual controls on old storage heaters are pretty rubbish, so basically I am the complete mercy of SP.

I have tried to call many times to see if they can offer me a better deal and initially they say "yes I can put you on a fix tariff that will save you '00s and is fixed until xxx" but when they try to update our account and the system won't let them. I have also contacted EDF and Scottish Gas and they confirmed they cannot supply that type of arrangement and manage my heating remotely.

The bottom line is i am stuck with one provider and their more expensive tariff. I am also quite sick of SP customer helpline staff not having a clue of their product range and assuring me they can put me on a cheaper tariff to be told to suck it up further down the line.

I have also been unofficially told that if I want to change suppliers I would need to rewire my heating system into the general meter and change the heating meter into an economy 7, all at my own expense. I am not even too sure that would save me money in the long run.

I am now considering putting gas central heating in the flat using green deal finance but its still unclear what it will cover and we cant afford to pay for the £3.2k installation costs plus £750 connection to the grid upfront.

I feel a bit stressed and don't know what my next move should be, my OH is pregnant with our second and due mid December. The flat is ok-ish now but I am worried we are in for a very cold and expensive winter. I can't believe OFGEM approves the type of system we have as it effectively kills all our chances to enter the free energy market and shop around for the cheapest deal.

Any advise is much appreciated as always, I have seen a SP representative is active in the forum so would like to read their take on the matter because so far over the phone I have found them very unhelpful.

Thanks in advance

avrilallan

You have done well and you have exhausted your investigation in trying to change suppliers etc. Having had the same issue with SP for past 20 years, the only way is to change the meter at your own expense at a ball part cost of £100. Comfort Plus with weather control, used to be a good deal back in the 90's and far cheaper than it is now. My standing charges are 37pence a day which SP say cover the cost of their meters! We have no gas. Its is a very unfair situation as the 72 families living in my small development are tied in to SP for life as they are the only company in the UK that provide this tariff. We need People Power to overcome this unfair situation.

trigarlaly

Hi Jarvester,
We too are at the mercy of Scottish Power. As far as I am aware Hydro have previously been able to service these types of meters on their "TOTAL HEAT, TOTAL CONTROL" tariff..... Called them last week to be told it has been suspended for new customers, but may be offered again in the near future.
Do your heaters have convector parts too, which you can use in evening to boost the room temp?
If so your heater will have a cable on each side, one is for your night time supply and the other for the convector..... the convector( and all your panel heaters receive lower rate electricity 24/7).
We are in the process of buying a new heater for our livingroom which will do away with the storage heater and use the 24/7 lower rate to heat the room when we want it ( Haverland 12tt). Pricy at 380 but like you we are really sick paying for heating that dictates when our life.

finesanine

Hi - new to this so excuse any mistakes or wrong placement of posts etc.

Have just been in lengthy discussions with Scottish Hydro Electric. I have thtc system too.
Found out I CAN FIX FOR A YEAR AT CURRENT PRICE!!! This has to be done over phone. £50 fee if exit the plan before year is up.
The girl filled in a 'Service Plan Change' over the phone and i can expect a call from someone to go through it in more detail within next two weeks.

THIS IS NOT YET COMMON KNOWLEDGE FOR TOTAL HEATING TOTAL CONTROL CUSTOMERS - IT HAS APPARENTLY ONLY JUST BEEN AGREED - THE PERSON I SPOKE TO DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT - I HAD TO TELL HER THAT A COLLEAGUE OF HERS HAD INFORMED ME EARLIER IN THE DAY.( makes me wonder how they will inform all their customers).

Maybe a fix would be the best bet in the short term. It will allow time to check out other deals etc.

Hydro told me they could change me over to a different meter and different tariff if I wanted, which would allow me to switch to other providers in future.

It does seem as if having all electric on the thtc system limits the choice of provider to Scottish Hydro.

We will probably get rid of storage heaters in future and get a log burner with back boiler for hot water, and change meters if necessary to enable choice of provider.

st999

Instead of complaining that the electricity company is ripping you off you should be complaining to the company/builder or whoever it was who installed that type of heating.

If you are not happy rip it out and start again then come on here complaining how much your electricity is costing you.

It will probably cost more than you are paying now.

st999

Also complaining you are paying £110 a month for electricity, what about us who have gas and are paying £140 a month for both gas and electricity?

trigarlaly

Those of us who have "all electric" usually don't have the same freedom of choice when it comes to changing suppliers.... st999.
Also electric heating consumers tend to be more conscious of the amount of energy be used as the prices are higher than that of gas.

Pineapple88

You are on a 'weather call' system which means that your heating comes on when certain test areas are below a certain temperature. If they fall too low you will get an extra boost of heat. You could ask to change the meter to a non weather call one which would put you in control of when you have your heating on although it would still be a comfort plus control meter. SP will charge you to change the meter- approx £50.

Unfortunately your heating system is one which is very high usage- some heating systems that the comfort plus meters support can use 9kwh per hour which is the same as the average daily usage for a house with gas central heating. Unfortunately most of these meters were installed when SP was the only supplier in the area and this i why they have developed a meter to sutpport your heating system. As tough as it it you have to stick with them or get your heating system changed. British Gas will sometimes allow a switch to go through for a comfort plus control meter. They will bill you on two separate accounts, your normal 'domestic' usage will be lower than SP but your heating will be sky high becaue oh how much energy your heating system uses.

jammied

Hi - just as an update, it is possible to switch suppliers on THTC, but tricky because the meter references are directly linked - so Hydro can object to the transfer. Definitely possible to get a better deal than the standard rate. Helps to know usage etc. so feel free to PM me if you are still stuck.

Cheers,
J