Scottish Power the worst

fishook

It took them ages to transfer me. They lost my first reading. If you try to call them be prepared to stay waiting on the phone for hours before someone answers. All I can say is the are the current cheapest for me with no switching fee.

scooby-

I have just had the same with these it has taken over 2 months of phone calls to get back the money I was in credit with them when I left the property I was in, they blamed everyone but themselves, even took money out of my bank after I had given my final readings even though I was in credit and also charged me standing charge and useage charges for after I had left the property, but hey they going to give me a £20 good will gesture to cover that!!!!!! Goodwill I really dont think so I would never recomend this company to anyone ever in fact I would do my best to dissuade people from having them as their energy provider, the customer service team donot speak to one another, they donot put notes on the system so you have to recount the whole situation when you enevitably have to ring back. I found the whole experience shocking and very upsetting . I even had a customer service manager refuse to talk to me on one occasion!!! Despicable does not cover it.

Cosmicangel

I was with Scottish power for years, bills were a little high but I still stayed with them. In 2013 I had my grandchildren come to live with and my bills rocketed and I couldn't afford to pay them so I changed to prepayment metres thinking I would manage better that's when all the problems began. They made such a mess of my account first I was 300 in credit then it came down to 80. O0 then they told me I wasn't in credit at all after they had taken off an unexplained amount on both gas and electric exactly the same amounts they had previously told me I was in credit. I know they definitely oweme at least 30.00 but you can never get any sense out of anyone you talk to providing you can get them to answer the phone. In the end I've stopped trying it's far too stressful. I'm now with Ecotricity and they don't seem too bad. I think Scottish Power needs investigating!!

mjpksp

I have been trying to switch energy suppliers for 4.5 months. I sent the following letter to the SP CEO and the Customer Services Director on 21st December. I don't expect a rapid response or them to resolve it! Why is that customers have to do all the chasing in these matters?

Dear Sir/Madam
Re: Account number ***********
I write with regard to my switch from Scottish Power to OVO Energy which was started on the 5th August 2014 and is still ongoing. In summary I am being charged by both companies for electricity and Scottish Power will not refund the credit balance that I had accrued prior to switching.
This is a chronological account of the process to date:-
1. I began the process of switching both gas and electricity on 5th August 2014 via uSwitch.
2. On the 8th August I received a letter from OVO Energy confirming the switch. The letter informed me that the switch would take place on the 8th September.
3. On the 8th September 2014, I gave the readings for both gas and electricity to OVO Energy (Gas 9329; Electricity 29330).
4. On the 8th September 2014, Scottish Power took a payment of £155 from my bank account.
5. On the 12th September 2014, Scottish Power issued a final gas bill/statement to the value of £34.05. This took my balance to £358.15 in credit. No final electricity bill was issued.
6. On the 15th September I checked my Scottish Power account to find that I still had a credit balance of £358.15. The Scottish Power web site advised that its customers should leave the Direct Debit in place so that any credit balance could be paid directly back into the customer’s bank account.
7. On the 7th October, Scottish Power took a further payment of £155 from my bank account. With this payment, and the September payment, this put my account some £513.15 in credit. After this I decided to cancel the Direct Debit and wait for the credit balance to be returned via cheque. I was concerned that if I left the Direct Debit in place, Scottish Power might take further payments from my bank account. In my naivety I thought that Scottish Power would, in due course, also issue a final electricity statement/bill and that they would refund the credit balance. Scottish Power's website stated that the final bill would be issued 7 weeks after switching had started. Therefore I assumed the final electricity bill would be issued by 7th October! The Scottish Power website also stated that any refunds will be issued within 11 weeks and so I expected a cheque by 21st October.
8. On the 8th October I received my first statement from OVO Energy which included charges for both Gas and Electricity from the 8th September.
9. After receiving no final electricity bill or refund cheque from Scottish Power by the 1st November I checked my online account only to find that Scottish Power were still charging me for electricity and the account was not closed.
10. On the 2nd November I contacted OVO Energy to find out if they were supplying me with electricity or if it was Scottish Power. They told me that as far as they were concerned, the switch had been completed and Scottish Power should have sent out the final bills for both gas and electricity. OVO Energy supplied me with a screenshot of the ECOES database (National Database for Electricity) which showed that the switch took place on the 8/9/14.
11. On the 3rd of November I contacted Scottish Power via the website to raise the issue of getting my credit balance refunded and find out why I was still being charged for electricity.
12. On the 4th November I got a reply apologising for the inconvenience and indicating that the account would be closed (as of the 7/9/14) and I would be issued with a refund for my credit balance.
13. On the 4th November I contacted Scottish Power asking if I was entitled to any compensation for the inconvenience caused by the delay in returning my credit balance.
14. On the 5th November Scottish Power replied to my email saying that they needed the current meter reading! I replied that they needed to check through their previous emails as they had already stated that they were going to close the account and that the meter reading had already been submitted. I also asked for the name and address of the Managing Director because I wanted to inform him of the poor performance of his company.
15. On the 6th November I received a reply, via email, indicating how sorry Scottish Power was for the inconvenience and that my query was under investigation and that it had been passed onto the Customer Care Department. I was informed that I would be contacted within 10 days with an update. I was also informed that a complaint had been registered on my account with the reference number ***********. I was not told the name and address of the Managing Director.
16. On the 7th November, Scottish Power tried to take another £155 from my bank account but that was then returned to my account 3 days later (on the 10th November). It was lucky that I had cancelled the Direct Debit.
17. On the 17th November Scottish Power issued an electricity statement/bill (via the internet) to the value of £521.58! This was not a final electricity bill/statement! This bill covered electricity usage for the period 6/8/14 – 10/11/14 (please bear in mind that I switched supplier on the 8/9/14). Prior to this bill I was £513.15 in credit and so this bill obliterated my credit balance and put me £8.43 in debt. The bill was based on the fact that Scottish Power estimated that I had used 3462.60 units over the 95 day period. It added up to £499.40 based on 13.473p per unit of electricity and 26.090p per day (plus discounts = -£2.66 and VAT = £24.84). When I recalculated the bill, based on the readings that I submitted to OVO Energy back on the 8th September, I found that I had only used 1108 units at a cost of £149.28, the standing charge was £8.349 (for 32 days) and so my final bill should have been £157.63 + VAT (£7.88) which adds up to £165.51 in total (excluding any discounts that I am owed). I therefore make it that Scottish Power owes me £347.64 plus interest, compensation for the inconvenience and any discounts that I am entitled to.
18. On the 28th November I tried ringing Scottish Power 4 times. On the first occasion I was on hold for 29 minutes, on the second occasion I was on hold for 24 minutes, on the third occasion I was on hold for 18 minutes and the fourth time I was on hold for 28 minutes. Unfortunately on each occasion I had to give up as I had work and family commitments.
19. On the 30th November, after not hearing anything from Scottish Power since the 6th November (although Scottish Power had said in their email that the Customer Care Department would respond to my query within 10 days), I contacted them again via their website. I received an automated reply and so far have heard nothing else.
20. On the 30th November I also contacted uSwitch to ask them for help and advice.
21. On the 2nd December I received a reply from uSwitch indicating that they were contacting Scottish Power to ask why Scottish Power produced an electricity bill on the 17th November.
22. On the 8th December I received another email from uSwitch saying that they had received a response from Scottish Power. Scottish Power informed them that a complaint had been raised regarding this matter and the complaint was with Scottish Power’s 'Escalated' Complaints Team who would investigate the matter and contact me, the customer, in due course.
23. On the 8th December Scottish Power tried to take another payment of £155 from my bank account but it was rejected by my bank and returned on the 9th December.
24. On the 14th December I tried contacting Scottish Power again but only received an automated response.

It is now the 21st December and I have not heard anything from Scottish Power since the 6th November even though I was promised an update within 10 days. It has been 20 weeks since I started the switching process and it still has not been completed. Scottish Power does not answer the phone when I try to ring and it has ceased responding to emails. How am I supposed to communicate with Scottish Power and resolve this problem? Scottish Power has not had the courtesy to keep me informed of the status of the investigation despite promising otherwise. Scottish Power insist on charging me for electricity that I am also paying OVO Energy for. How long will it be before Scottish Power starts issuing court proceedings against me because I have not paid my bill? I have been a customer with Scottish Power for over 10 years and almost certainly will never return to them after this experience. I have been very patient with Scottish Power and have given them many opportunities to resolve this issue. However, I am beginning to find the situation extremely stressful. It is resulting in sleepless nights, depression and anxiety attacks. I am unable to buy my children Christmas presents and concentrate at work. In addition, if this credit balance was with OVO Energy I would be receiving 3% interest.
The Energy Ombudsman's website states that Scottish Power has 8 weeks to respond to complaints. Whilst this issue is about a switching process that began on the 5th August (nearly 20 weeks ago), I realise that because I only contacted Scottish Power on the 3rd November to find out what was going on, it was only registered as a complaint by Scottish Power on the 6th November. Therefore the 8 week deadline is 1/1/15. It is now the 21st December. I am going to give Scottish Power until Friday the 11th January 2015 to refund the money they owe along with compensation. After this I am going to refer my case to the Energy Ombudsman and OFGEM. I will also write to my local MP, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Which? and the BBC’s Watchdog programme to make sure that as many people as possible know about Scottish Power's poor switching process and customer service.
I was under the impression that switching utility suppliers was supposed to be easy but from my experience, it is anything but. What’s more, this issue really puts me off paying bills by Direct Debit since suppliers do not refund credit balances. This case also brings into question whether the energy market is as competitive as it should be. It is no wonder people are reluctant to switch supplier.

yorkygal

Hi we're in a similar situation to you. Switched from SP to Ovo in September, received final gas statement a few weeks later but since then we're still waiting for the final electricity bill and our £400+ refund. Made endless phone calls and now I'm sick of being fobbed off that it will take 5/7/10* (* delete as appropriate!!) working days for the account to close and for the refund to be paid back into the bank account!!! They have the final meter readings so not really sure why they're dragging their heels over this. But when I rang them earlier in the week they now say there's a 'block' on the electricity account and that they've not seen that before?!?!?!?!??!?!?! But that I will be receiving a phone call within 5 days to sort it (yeah right.......). I emailed one of the directors about this and her reply was rubbish and according to her/them they only owe £255?!!


Not sure what else to do, I'm just glad that we're not relying on the £400+ refund to make ends meet. Don't want to cancel the DD in case they say they have no account details to put the refund into???

Ninanoonah

I moved to Scottish Power in March 2014. They immediately set my direct debit at £375 per month which is extortionate for a low user in a modest three bed semi. After several attempts at trying to amend my payments on-line, I eventually cancelled the direct debit. Received several communications from Scottish a Power asking me to pay £150 into my account, this was despite the fact that my account was over £600 in credit.
I contacted them via phone to request a credit but they fobbed me off. After numerous attempts to contact them, they eventually advised they had a query with my electricity reading. I sent them many readings, a photo of my meter and the reading and even suggested they send a meter reader to my property to read the meter, but to no avail. Eventually, in desperation I transferred my dual fuel to another supplier and raised a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman in September. Three months later (and six months from the original complaint to SP), I am still waiting for resolution and SP owe me £571. The energy ombudsman move at a glacial pace and are about as effective as a chocolate teapot and SP are possibly the most shockingly incompetent, immoral organisation that I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I have lost count of the number of times I have phoned and written to them. I am seriously beginning to consider going down the small claims route. I don't know what else to do. They continue to sit on over £500 of my money and seem impervious to the law. It's so very unfair

heppy23

I've only been with them for 3 weeks but I'm already fed up with them.

I've moved from British Gas for just the gas, am on a prepayment meter.

Gas card hadn't come by go live date so I had a 35 mile round trip to go and get one. That worked OK in terms of putting money onto the meter.

I phoned them as the tariff hadn't changed and it was still taking £13 a week for debt.

They sent a new card which the meter didn't like.

Phoned them again explained it all and they sent another card which again the meter didn't like.

Yesterday I checked the meter as we've had the heating on a lot and it was down to about £3. I put on £10 and the meter kept £9 for the debt. So I put on another £10 and it kept £4 for the debt.
So I basically paid £20 to get £7 gas to use.

The debt has stayed with British gas (I know because they wrote to me) so I am pee'd off that I am having to pay £13 which isn't paying off the debt and isn't getting me gas.
As it stands I have paid them £39 for debt!

Pincher

Have a thought for the call centre staff.


They are condemned to hell in the after life, and their souls will suffer eternal damnation for the atrocities they commit in life.
They cannot sleep even as we type, for the guilt of the suffering they inflict on others.


Similarly, I hope all fly tipper's private parts rot and drop off.

pearl123

I moved to Scottish Power in July. I have dual fuel. I gave my readings. In November I was asked to give another reading. I entered this online and if refused to register. I then gave my reading via the telephone. It worked. I then moved to a slightly lower tariff at Scottish Power.
My reading for electricity is now reading as nothing. It is just an entry of 00000. My concern now is if I give a reading they will take it from the 00000 entry and bump it up the real figure of over 6000. I spoke to them over an month ago about this but nothing has been sorted.
I have in six months received 1 bill for gas even though I am dual fuel. And the have not even put me on the correct tarrif.
The system is a muddle.

pearl123

As soon as my year is up I will try and move. My concern is what sort of problems there will be on moving. I'm half tempted to stop the direct debit to wake them up!

bronterre

Hello all,

Nearly a year after I left Scottish Power, they sent me a demand for payment out of the blue. Below I reproduce the email I've just sent the Energy Ombudsman, which describes the appalling incompetence and evasion displayed by Scottish Power (but not, I insist, the benighted call-centre staff). Their system is predicated on avoiding engagement any issue that might be even slightly more complicated, and then offload it to the energy ombudsman, to ensure that they don't have to resource an investigation themselves. Here's my email:

Thank you for your response to my complaint, which you have summarised in a complaint form following my two phone calls to you this morning. I attach the relevant bills and correspondence. I would also like to rehearse the substance of the complaint in my own words below:

I changed supplier in late 2013, from Scottish Power to EDF. The change-over dates were 20/11/2013 for electricity and 18/12/2013 for gas.

I received no correspondence of any kind from Scottish Power between December 2013 and November 2014. On 14th November I received a demand for payment from Scottish Power for £26.04 in respect of electricity. I visited the Scottish Power website and noticed for the first time that there were credit amounts for my dual fuel accounts well in excess of the claimed demand payment. I immediately complained to Scottish Power. Later in November, my bills were adjusted to show an overall credit balance, but Scottish Power Customer Services did not notify me that this had been done.

In any case, this status was overtaken by an entirely fabricated bill in December, demanded payment of over £700 for gas usage during almost the whole of 2014, during which time I had of course not been a Scottish Power customer, and paying my bills to EDF. Fortunately, in January 2015, Scottish Power withdrew this demand, and arrived at new, different statement of credit balance in my favour. However, they stated that the change-over meter readings in respect of gas had not been agreed with British Gas, and therefore they would offer an estimate to British Gas, which if the latter accepted would enable them to establish a definitive balance and presumably refund the money owed. The problem is, if you've been reading attentively, is that I changed supplier not to British Gas, but to EDF. When I pointed this out to them, instead of doing anything productive about it, they simply sent me a deadlock email. I should add that at no stage in the process did they accept my proposal to move to Stage 2 of their complaints procedure.

There are two further points that may or may not be relevant. Looking back at my EDF bills, I note that my first gas meter reading with them was estimated. Now, I know that I sent actual readings at the time, so I can only infer that my actuals were disputed by Scottish Power, but neither they nor EDF contacted me to let me know about any dispute. Secondly, in October 2014, I again changed provider, from EDF to Sainsbury's Energy (which of course acts on behalf of British Gas). It's possible that this event explains, but not remotely excuses, the confusion that Scottish Power has entangled itself in.

Finally, I would like, firstly, a definitive statement of my balance with Scottish Power. If it is the case that that the figure is disputed with EDF, in view of Scottish Power's incompetence and delay, and their inability to produce any evidence in support of their own figures, I suggest that they accept EDF's estimate. Secondly, naturally, I would like Scottish Power to speedily pay me the credit balance. Common sense would demand that they also paid interest on this amount, but if "industry practice" means that they can get away without doing so, I will reluctantly accept this.