Scottish Power IT Problems Warning

AMG762

I would like to warn others about an IT problem that today Scottish Power have admitted as a known issue... Check your bills

The known IT error can leave a difference between your online account balance and your actual balance owed. And in my case i have been billed for money that is not owed (they are no longer my supplier)

The way i have been affected by this is on the 3rd April my account with them was in credit by £95.99

The £95.99 was refunded to my current account which should of left my account with them at a zero balance.

The error caused my account to show a debit balance of £95.99 on the 4th April. This has also caused all balances since that date to be wrong by £95.99

As they were unable to correct this i changed supplier. They have sent me 2 bills since the 4th April asking for payments to be made towards this £95.99

If you do not check your online balances you could easily be billed for money that is not owed.





I have changed supplier, they are unable to provide an accurate balance or final bill. I still have online access today which shows the wrong balance, and have had two bills so far for money that is not owed.

Today i received a deadlock email from them, which does not address the details of my compaint but does admit after 8 weeks they cant get my accurate balance to show online, stop the incorrect bills being produced, or close my account.

The email from them...

May I start by apologising for any inconvenience this mater may have caused.

We currently have a known issue were the online balance on customers’ accounts is not correct, Our IT have been made aware of this and they currently implementing changed to the system to ensure this is corrected. They have advised this should be corrected in the 8 weeks however this may take longer.

I am sorry that we have been unable to bring this matter to a conclusion but as previously explained, we have a known issue that we are working hard to correct. Until that is resolved, we are unfortunately unable to fully resolve your complaint. Please accept my apologies for the length of time this has taken and I will continue to keep you informed of progress. As soon as I receive confirmation everything is corrected, I shall conclude the outstanding actions to fully resolve your issues and ensure you are not disadvantaged in any way as a result of this delay.

This email clarifies where we are in the process of resolving your complaint, however should you decide this explanation is unacceptable, please contact me via telephone on 0800 *******. And whilst I hope it will be unnecessary, this email constitutes a “deadlock” situation, it means you have that right to refer your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.

The Energy Ombudsman is an independent body that has been set up to resolve sales, billing and transfer issues between customers and energy suppliers. This service is free to customers. Details of how to contact them can be found or within the "Complaints" section on our website.

Remedies that the Ombudsman can award include an apology, an explanation, a requirement on the supplier to take remedial action or, in appropriate circumstances, a financial award. The Ombudsman's decision will be binding on us as your supplier, but you are free to choose whether or not to accept their decision.

Your complaint with us will remain open and as explained above, I hope to be able to resolve it very soon.


In the interim period should you wish to discuss this matter further please do not hesitate to contact me.

Pincher

Trying to run down the surplus as opposed to getting a refund.
By past experience, the Scottish Power system "reviews" the DD amount every time they do a bill, as opposed to yearly, which makes it very difficult to run the account at deficit. When I leave next year, I want to pay the final bill, rather than wait for a refund that never comes.

Richie-from-the-Boro

polymaff post in May this 2014 year, duplicated below :

Originally Posted by dogshome

... so the chances are that the error on his/her billing is being duplicated all over the UK - and a lot of customers don't look closely at the bill, particularly when paying by monthly D/Debits

I would ask, (nay beg), polymaff to write a letter headed Complaint and report back on the reply

Indeed, hence my posting to warn others that SP were up to something. Since my original posting I've spoken to SP's Complaints staff directly (as against talking to Customer Services). Their explanation is that it is down to a new accounting system. They've agreed to recast my 2014 billing and to pay compensation. I'll report back once I feel that the issue is closed.

In the mean time, yes, SP customers should check their billing from at least the start of the year to check that billing End Readings and Start Readings across and within that period are contiguous. In my case the error was a significant 235 cubic metres - therefore an overcharge of just about £100.

I cannot comment on electricity at present, there being other SP incompetencies which have resulted in my receiving no electricity charges at all since January. SP have promised me a proper bill - for both fuels - by 2nd June. Once this is analysed I'll report back if necessary.

Terry98

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

SP have promised me a proper bill - for both fuels - by 2nd June.

Sounds about right for SP. They never keep to their promises!

Hoof_Hearted

SP are shocking. They have been supplying my gas for two months but I am unable to convince them of this. I told them I would continue to take the free gas and not to worry their little heads any more. I am awaiting a reply....

seaside

I have had the same problems with SP, just come off the phone to them, and was told that I am in credit where my on line account shows a debit, it also goes back to a refund that I requested back in April. Have been told that their IT people are working on the problem, she told me it could take 6 weeks to fix !!! . I will cancel my DD until its sorted.

haz25a

This is a very interesting thread. I have complained to Scottish Power 5 days ago that the information showing on my online account is incorrect, it is showing my balance is £100 less in credit than it should be. I practically had to beg for a Complaint Reference number when I eventually managed to speak to a Customer Services advisor, who was supposed to be phoning me today with an update, no phone call, surprise, surprise. I also emailed my complaint to them two weeks ago requesting a complaint reference number, no reply.

It gets worse! I am on a dual fual online tariff and pay by direct debit. Apparently they have not been charging me for my electricity, despite me sending regular meter readings to them, and have now hit me with a huge bill!

Am I obliged to pay this?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

eco

My dual account should have closed in December 2013, they closed my electricity account but not the gas.
3 times the readings have been sent to them, but they seem unable to close the account. I was told by someone at SP called Debbie my account was in debit, well of course it is now, but it wasn't in December.
Faye was requesting my readings from my current supplier on the 23rd June, and said my account would take a few weeks to close, 8 weeks later it's still live.
I've emailed the following from the list below, I've contacted the Ombudsman, just what do I have to do to close the account?

[Email addresses removed][/email]

AMG762

eco wrote: »

My dual account should have closed on the 22nd December 2013, they closed my electricity account but not the gas.
3 times the readings have been sent to them, but they seem unable to close the account. I was told by someone at SP called Debbie my account was in debit, well of course it is now, but it wasn't in December.
Faye was requesting my readings from my current supplier on the 23rd June, and said my account would take a few weeks to close, 8 weeks later it's still live.
I've emailed the following from the list below, I've contacted the Ombudsman, just what do I have to do to close the account?
[EMAIL="contactus@scottishpower.com"]contactus@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="keith.anderson@scottishpower.com"]keith.anderson@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="colin.mcneill@scottishpower.com"]colin.mcneill@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="sheila.duncan@scottishpower.com"]sheila.duncan@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="neil.clitheroe@scottishpower.com"]neil.clitheroe@scottishpower.com[/EMAIL]
[EMAIL="CustomerServiceDirector@scottishpower.co.uk"]CustomerServiceDirector@scottishpower.co.uk[/EMAIL] [EMAIL="customer.services@scottishpower.co.uk"]customer.services@scottishpower.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Im in the same position. I left them in the middle of June for both gas and electricity. They are unable to close my account down. I can still log-in online, and it still shows an incorrect balance on my online account.

haz25a

I eventually got to speak to someone sensible from Scottish Power about my complaint. I got a Guaranteed Payment of £22.00 for not replying to my email within the specified time and a £30.00 goodwill payment for inconvenience. He admitted that they had installed a new IT system and were having ongoing problems with it. I also was chatting to a friend of a friend who works for Scottish Power and he confirmed they were "all over the place".

They should be fined in my opinion.

imho

New IT system? They have had it over a year now and still bills are not right.