Cancellation Fees - Anyone Managed to Reclaim Them?

Trebor16

I have been on a fixed rate tariff with Scottish Power since June 2011 which ends on 31st January 2014 so I have been taking a look around at what is on offer. There seem to be some fixed rate deals which are more competitive than anything Scottish Power currently have on offer but if I change before the end of my current deal it will cost me £51 in cancellation charges.

Has anyone been able to negotiate with Scottish Power (or any other company) to have these charges waived to be able to leave and get a better deal?

Joyful

The fixed rate means that you did not get the price increase last year or this month. Would you like them to rebill you on the standard tariff to include the price rises? That should be the only reason not to charge you.

You agreed to the cancellation charge to fix your prices. It was not forced on you so should not be able to claim it back.

Trebor16

Thanks for the sanctimonious lecture, but that is not what I asked for. I asked if anyone had ay experience of challenging the cancellation fees, so if you have a useful contribution about that it would be appreciated.

PS And having seen your signature line I can see why you have expressed such an opinion.

Joyful

You are welcome. Anything I say is my own voice- not who I work for. I read all the terms and conditions of what I sign up to and don 't expect a company to change them to suit me.

Trebor16

And of course working for an energy company you are totally objective and unbiased.

chanz4

op you agreed to it, next time don't always look at fixed plans as they can work out more expensive

Trebor16

chanz4 wrote: »

op you agreed to it, next time don't always look at fixed plans as they can work out more expensive

I asked if anyone had had any success in negotiating on these charges, not for a lecture. If you have something useful to contribute then go ahead. But so far you have failed on that count.

It is entirely possible that some have been successful in negotiating on the terms , especially towards the end of their term, which is why I asked the question.

It seems some of you just can't help yourself with dishing out the sanctimony.

DragonQ

They sometimes waive the fee if you switch to another of their tariffs. You definitely won't get away with it if you switch to another company though.

Trebor16

DragonQ wrote: »

They sometimes waive the fee if you switch to another of their tariffs. You definitely won't get away with it if you switch to another company though.

That's what I was told today, that the fee is waived if you take another of their tariffs. I can fix with SP until 31st December 2016 at a cost of an extra £97 a year on what I am paying now, but Npower are doing a similar fix until 31st December 2017 which will cost the same, and with no cancellation fees. I think the SP tariff still has exit fees if you leave early.

Wail

I cannot think of any posts where someone has managed it whilst switching firms unless they had a genuine complaint but there is no harm in asking.

But don't be surprised if the first and only answer is no!

Trebor16

Wail wrote: »

I cannot think of any posts where someone has managed it whilst switching firms unless they had a genuine complaint but there is no harm in asking.

But don't be surprised if the first and only answer is no!

Indeed, the joy of the internet is that the question can be asked to a wide audience, but if the answer is "no" and no-one has been able to manage it at least I will have an answer.