Any problems with Scottish Power?

Cardew

gallous_boy wrote: »

Hi All, im going to start work with "xxx" .com next week, so who ever wants a guaranted cheaper deal can PM me now with a contact no. ill reply back next wed. and best of all it will be hassle free.

This is just SPAM

EnergyMan_3

gallous_boy wrote: »

Hi All, im going to start work with "save on your bills" .com next week, so who ever wants a guaranted cheaper deal can PM me now with a contact no. ill reply back next wed. and best of all it will be hassle free.

Haha on that site is says saveyourbills.com is a market leader in the provision of energy saving products but there are only 2 products on the site!!!

To be honest, that site loooks a bit dodgy if you ask me

eira

Am now utterly in despair. Finally left Scottish Power as the fluctuating DD were driving me mad.Got another supplier -and then---. PLEASE HELP. Had an ongoing DD for duel fuel which was active until I closed it on March 10. I found out by a check of my online bank account that Scottish Power had opened 2 brand new DD on my account without authorisation or contacting me. In the meantime they blocked access to my online fuel account so I had no idea what I owed and couldn't submit readings.

Can they do this ? First Direct claims these are brand new DD which should have had my authorisation . As for Scottish Power---excuses range from 'the computer did it'/these weren't new DD they were the original ones(there was only one) split''/' the bank don't understand the system and are giving us a bad name' and various others.Have contacted EnergyWatch and dealt with an amazingly dopey woman who said she couldn't do any more.

No one seems to know the answer to this but--.I thought when you gave permission for a DD that this was for the no of DD you agreed to initially, my new supplier says this is the case. The Banking Ombudsman helpline says they hadn't come across this situation.

Cardew

eira wrote: »

Am now utterly in despair. Finally left Scottish Power as the fluctuating DD were driving me mad.Got another supplier -and then---. PLEASE HELP. Had an ongoing DD for duel fuel which was active until I closed it on March 10. I found out by a check of my online bank account that Scottish Power had opened 2 brand new DD on my account without authorisation or contacting me. In the meantime they blocked access to my online fuel account so I had no idea what I owed and couldn't submit readings.

Can they do this ? First Direct claims these are brand new DD which should have had my authorisation . As for Scottish Power---excuses range from 'the computer did it'/these weren't new DD they were the original ones(there was only one) split''/' the bank don't understand the system and are giving us a bad name' and various others.Have contacted EnergyWatch and dealt with an amazingly dopey woman who said she couldn't do any more.

No one seems to know the answer to this but--.I thought when you gave permission for a DD that this was for the no of DD you agreed to initially, my new supplier says this is the case. The Banking Ombudsman helpline says they hadn't come across this situation.

Unless I have misunderstood your post you do not seem to understand the way the Direct Debit system works.

A Direct Debit to a utility company is variable in the amount they can take from your bank - in signing the DD authorisation you give them the right to take any sum; it could in theory be £1,000!

So when the amount you pay changes from, say, £50 to £60 this is not a new DD as you seem to believe.

Unless you cancel the Direct Debit with your bank it remains in force and they can still take funds from your account. When you leave a supplier, they can, and will, use that DD to take what you owe from your account.

The only stipulation is that you must be told in advance that they are going to change the amount they collect.

This notification of an increase in DD is often in small print at the bottom of a bill.

eira

I know the amount is variable, I was expecting them to take the amount for the final bill from the existing DD which was live until I closed it, or send me a final bill-no problem with that. I signed up for a DD ( note the a DD) and realised the amounts would be variable-although perhaps not as frequently or variable as Scottish Power made them (ranged from £150 over to £30 under on a regular basis).What I am querying is the opening of two further DD without notification or authorisation- Ionly found out by looking at my online bank account

Cardew

eira wrote: »

I know the amount is variable, I was expecting them to take the amount for the final bill from the existing DD which was live until I closed it, or send me a final bill-no problem with that. I signed up for a DD ( note the a DD) and realised the amounts would be variable-although perhaps not as frequently or variable as Scottish Power made them (ranged from £150 over to £30 under on a regular basis).What I am querying is the opening of two further DD without notification or authorisation- Ionly found out by looking at my online bank account

If you closed a DD with your bank, they cannot open other DDs after that date.

If they have done so, your recourse is with your Bank under the Direct Debit guarantee scheme.

Your Bank must show you the form where you authorised(e.g. your signature) new DDs.

What I suspect has happened is the a new computer system at SP has allocated new numbers to your old DD and this happened before you cancelled the DD. Could it be that you paid a joint DD for gas and electricity, and the new system has separate DDs for gas and electricity?

Are you sure that this happened after you cancelled your DD with your Bank?

eira

Now this makes sense -not quite the way Scottish Power explained it- but sounds plausible and sane (not like the stories I've been getting). I had one Duel Fuel DD that I left open as I assumed Scottish Power would use it to collect the final payment .I expected to give my final readings and get a bill either online/via e-mail or by post and then the money would be taken. This Dual Fuel DD was live until March 10 when I closed it. On February 27 Scottish Power had opened two new DD-called so by the bank because they had totally different numbers to the original DD and no apparent link to it. The bank says my authorisation should have been obtained for them, as it stands I didn't even know they were there.

This follows on from endless hassles with Scottish Power re DD payments-have found a lot of online complaints re this from other customers.

Thanks very much for the reply. What seems to have happened then is that there is a confusion re the bank DD system and the system used by Scottish Power ?

joe2cool

Hi.... do you get more cash back going through quidco than say energyline? After reading all comments think I will change( read some more...wrong move) to SP. They came second to BG when compared wouldn't like to go back to BG with Atlantic at the moment & was wondering about EDF/

Thx

eira

As you can tell I'm heavily biased-this time have gone for customer service ratings-switched to Southern Electric.Am now on 2 pre-agreed DD one for gas and one for electric. In despair I submitted my final /opening meter readings to them (gave up on Scottish Power) and that seems to have worked fine.

Having gone to various forums my problems with SP don't seem isolated although they appear to have risen sharply in the last few weeks. It wasn't just the DD issue it was the general tenor of the person on the 'Customer Service' end- a kind of combination of the White Rabbit and Count Dracula. I do think this DD issue is crucial-I expect my bills to vary and for DD to be negotiated but the SP variables were ridiculous.

joe2cool

Hi so which ones were cheaper for you ? in comparisons