Nightmare with Scottish Power final billing

foreversummer

Hi

Has anyone else on dual fuel with Scottish Power been given separate final bills for gas and electricity?

So far, I have only received a final bill for my electricity and they are saying they will take £49 from my bank account on 25th December.

However, I am still £70 in credit when I log-in to my account which I know will be quite enough to cover my gas bill as my last bill was up to 31st October and I left them early November.

I'm fed up in trying to get through to them on the phone only to find numpties who are completely unable to answer billing questions. There are also some "other charges" showing on my bill which I don't understand.

If I cancel my direct debit will this affect my credit rating?

I'm at the end of my tether with this.

Foreversummer

Nada666

Why is this a nightmare? You have been given plenty of notice for your final demand for electricity. (I take it you do not dispute the reading?)

Of course you have to make sure the sum for gas is repaid - if you do not receive it within four weeks of your new supply starting up send them a letter. (Don't waste time and money on telephone queues.)

Do not cancel the direct debits - although it should have no effect there is no point risking things bouncing when you no longer have a full account and risk it being sent off to different debt departments and being lost and then having to have an unjust mark removed (or annotated, more likely.) Plus, of course, if you cancel the final bills can be revised and recharged at a higher non-direct debit tariff.

So calm down, contact your new supplier and ask them to confirm the dates the gas and electricity start and ask them what opening reads they are using. Check the numbers and wait until after Christmas (there are better things to do just now.)

foreversummer

OK Nada666

I don't see why I should have to fork out £49 to SP when I am already in credit to the sum of approx £100. As a dual fuel customer that is really stupid. The meter readings are fine but the section marked "other charges" without further explanation is not. It must be lovely for folk like yourself who have the odd £50 floating around on the run up to Christmas that it would bother you not. I can assure you four weeks waiting for a final gas bill has long gone.

EDF have already confirmed that the meter readings were passed over last month.

And a Merry Christmas to you.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

foreversummer wrote: »

OK Nada666

I don't see why I should have to fork out £49 to SP when I am already in credit to the sum of approx £100. As a dual fuel customer that is really stupid. The meter readings are fine but the section marked "other charges" without further explanation is not. It must be lovely for folk like yourself who have the odd £50 floating around on the run up to Christmas that it would bother you not. I can assure you four weeks waiting for a final gas bill has long gone.

EDF have already confirmed that the meter readings were passed over last month.

And a Merry Christmas to you.

Separate bills are entirely normal. Many people have different suppliers for gas and electricity, and it is therefore sensible to bill separately.

If banks started shifting money from one account to another to balance it out, people would rightly go ape !!!!.

As for finding £50 at Christmas, I can only suggest switching in autumn, it's 3/4 months until Christmas and the credit balance will be at it's highest.

Frohe Weihnachten :beer:

Mr_K

You're privileged to have got a final bill from Scottish Power. I left 3 months ago and they haven't sent one. Chased them a couple of times, God knows why.... Just aswell I always make sure I'm slightly in debit.

Too late now, the DD in cancelled. If they ever do bill me I'll take pleasure in paying in coppers.....

foreversummer

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

Separate bills are entirely normal. Many people have different suppliers for gas and electricity, and it is therefore sensible to bill separately.

If banks started shifting money from one account to another to balance it out, people would rightly go ape !!!!.

As for finding £50 at Christmas, I can only suggest switching in autumn, it's 3/4 months until Christmas and the credit balance will be at it's highest.

Frohe Weihnachten :beer:

You don't seem to have a grip on what I am talking about.

I am a dual fuel customer, I pay one monthly direct debit, I receive one combined gas and electricity bill and on my online account shows my dual fuel balance. My account is in credit enough to cover my gas and electricity final bills and still leave me with a reasonable credit. But in spite of this, I now have to pay an extra £49 only to then have to wait for a refund.

I have a section marked on my bill "other charges" without any explanation of what they are. I kind of want an answer to that one.

I did switch in the Autumn - early October actually. So yes a nice credit balance by Christmas, but now having to pay them £50 and then wait for a refund - crazy!

Foreversummer

Nada666

<sigh> Feel free to ignore any posters who do not immediately say "you're right! they're monsters! claim £80 extra in compensation!"

It is entirely standard for closing bills to be separated. Part of the process of deciding to switch should have involved you reading your meters to determine how they correspond with each account and to accommodate balances separately. And you should put aside money for a debit balance immediately but not spend the credit before you receive it. You also have to keep note of these numbers as suppliers are notorious for obfuscatory final bills with workings-out missing.

Stress and hullabaloo if you like. It won't make the processes any quicker.

matelodave

This is the third time I've changed suppliers in the last 4 years and each time it's taken about six or seven weeks to get my owings back from my previous supplier.

I now accept that they are slow, not everso competent and therefore there's not much point in getting stressed out by them. They've all needed a motivational prod and I am presently waiting for Scottish Power to give me the best part of £150 back.

Our changeover date was 4th November so I was sort of hoping that I might get it by Xmas, but I'm not holding my breath and I haven't planned my life around getting back by then.

Quentin

Virtually everyone switching now should have a credit balance to collect, assuming their monthly payment was correct to cover 12 months consumption.

So if and when your credit does turn up, pass it straight on to edf to improve your pot with them so that you don't get into more difficulty next easter and your nightmare returns!