Scottish Power Fixed Deal Ending - Exit Penalties?

grahamm

My Scottish Power Fixed Deal finished at the end of January and I'm currently in the process of switching to Co-op as the current best supplier.

However when the deal was due to end, I e-mailed Scottish Power and asked if I could start the switch process (which takes 6-8 weeks) before the end of January. They replied:

"Your current service package is Platinum Fixed Energy January 2014 which will end on 31 January 2014. If you change supplier before this date there will be a charge of £30.64 for Electricity and £20.42 for Gas. 30 days prior to the contract we will write to you with alternative options. Once your service package gets matured you will be moved to Online Standard Monthly Direct Debit."

However in Martin's latest e-mail he says "Ignore penalties - you can start the switch now. A switchover usually takes 6wks. Apply now to time it right. Yet rules now say your existing suppliers CAN'T CHARGE EXIT PENALTIES less than 49 days before the fix ends."

So Scottish Power have seemingly misinformed me and have not only hung on to my custom after my deal ended, but I've had to pay at least a month (if not more) on their current "Online Standard Monthly Direct Debit"

Do I have grounds for complaint and the possibility of claiming back the extra costs involved for their Standard Monthly Direct Debit and is it worth doing so?

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

grahamm wrote: »

My Scottish Power Fixed Deal finished at the end of January and I'm currently in the process of switching to Co-op as the current best supplier.

However when the deal was due to end, I e-mailed Scottish Power and asked if I could start the switch process (which takes 6-8 weeks) before the end of January. They replied:

"Your current service package is Platinum Fixed Energy January 2014 which will end on 31 January 2014. If you change supplier before this date there will be a charge of £30.64 for Electricity and £20.42 for Gas. 30 days prior to the contract we will write to you with alternative options. Once your service package gets matured you will be moved to Online Standard Monthly Direct Debit."

However in Martin's latest e-mail he says "Ignore penalties - you can start the switch now. A switchover usually takes 6wks. Apply now to time it right. Yet rules now say your existing suppliers CAN'T CHARGE EXIT PENALTIES less than 49 days before the fix ends."

So Scottish Power have seemingly misinformed me and have not only hung on to my custom after my deal ended, but I've had to pay at least a month (if not more) on their current "Online Standard Monthly Direct Debit"

Do I have grounds for complaint and the possibility of claiming back the extra costs involved for their Standard Monthly Direct Debit and is it worth doing so?

Martin was wrong.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/press-releases/tougher-rules-fixed-term-energy-deals-come-force-ofgem%E2%80%99s-retail-market-reforms-begin-bite

Timescales - end of March for clearer information to be introduced.

I'm not sure why you didn't switch sooner anyway, even without the OFGEM 49 day ruling, you knew switching normally takes 6 weeks (42 days)?

grahamm

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

Martin was wrong.

Hmm, according to that link "Consumers will not be rolled-over to a new fixed-term deal, but to a tariff which allows them to switch away without penalty", so I suppose they've done that, but...

I'm not sure why you didn't switch sooner anyway, even without the OFGEM 49 day ruling, you knew switching normally takes 6 weeks (42 days)?

The implication I got from the Scottish Power e-mail I quoted was that if I *started* the switch process before the fixed deal ended, they'd stick me with the exit penalty.

It seems badly worded, which the cynical part of me says was probably intentional, but possibly not deliberately misleading

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

grahamm wrote: »

Hmm, according to that link "Consumers will not be rolled-over to a new fixed-term deal, but to a tariff which allows them to switch away without penalty", so I suppose they've done that, but...



The implication I got from the Scottish Power e-mail I quoted was that if I *started* the switch process before the fixed deal ended, they'd stick me with the exit penalty.

It seems badly worded, which the cynical part of me says was probably intentional, but possibly not deliberately misleading

I'm afraid not.

To answer your original question, you don't have any grounds for complaint. Chalk this one down to experience, the difference between what you've been paying for the last month compared to the tariff you've gone over to is unlikely to be more than a tenner.

grahamm

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

To answer your original question, you don't have any grounds for complaint. Chalk this one down to experience, the difference between what you've been paying for the last month compared to the tariff you've gone over to is unlikely to be more than a tenner.

Probably, but being a Money Saver it's still not exactly pleasing

Still, maybe someone else will read this and avoid being suckered the way I was.