energy company harrasing me

stranger12

Hi All,

I was with scottish power in July 2014 before moving to a new supplier in July .

6 month later, they started to send letters saying I owe them and I haven't made sufficient payment .

When I called they said my account is still open despite me moving on to a different supplier for over 6 month . so spoke to them and they said they will close my account .

Followed this up again in Feb and they said it is still ongoing and it takes time to close the account .

today I have received a letter from a debt collector on their behalf which did really test my temper.

So I sent a nasty email to scottish power complaint team and explained the situation and at the end said , I am seeing their behaviours as harrasmant and for any more letters sent to me I charge the £100 to open and read it .
And they by sending more letters are agreeing to this .

Is what I did legal and can I charge this stupid people as they are getting on my nerver?
any further advice?

Many thanks

System

You are confusing poor customer service with debt management. Have you received and paid your Final Bill from SP? If you haven't then they have a legal right to take you to Court for repayment for up to 5/6 years depending where you live. I am not sure that ignoring letters from SP or its agents is going to work. At the very least, it will hit your Credit Rating, and you may find a Bailiff knocking on your door.

You need to write a formal letter of COMPLAINT to SP asking for all debt collection activity to be stopped until such time as you have received a Final Bill for settlement. By all means, ask for some compensation for SP's poor customer service. Personally, I would send it by recorded delivery.

stranger12

Thats the thing no final bill yet and while their customer service has told me they are fixing thier IT issue and aclosing my account, they have not only not done that but have passed my details to debt collectors.

Is my letter re charging them legal and hold any value ?

footyguy

stranger12 wrote: »

...Is my letter re charging them legal and hold any value ?

No .

stranger12

So what can i do to get them to come to their common sense and fiz the issue otherwise i keep receiving endless number of letters from them

matelodave

Invoke their complaints process - write a letter explaining the problem marking it very clearly that it's a complaint. Send it by recorded delivery and they will then have eight weeks to sort it out. If they don't you can then complain to the ombudsman.

Explain in the letter that you have not had a final bill and to call off the debt collectors. You are in danger of getting a black mark on your credit reference if you just ignore letters or get annoyed. If you don't follow the proper complaints process the ombudsman won't help you.

A bear it in mind for the future that you need to ensure that you get a final bill or statement when you swap suppliers, make sure its paid or that you reclaim any credit due - and you should retain it for a minimum of six years.

System

stranger12 wrote: »

So what can i do to get them to come to their common sense and fiz the issue otherwise i keep receiving endless number of letters from them

I can see that you are frustrated - and I would be as well. What are SP alleging that you owe? Your account will not be closed until the Final Bill is settled. You need to follow the advice that you have been given. Threatening not to open letters etc will achieve nothing other than a man at the door.

stranger12

Anyone knocking on my door will get a kick in his/her !!! and punch in face so that that .

Re sp , would email be acceptable form of writting letters?

matelodave

E-mail often ends up in the black hole and there's no proof that they've received it.

A proper letter sent recorded delivery will give you proof that you've sent it and they have received it. It also has to be handled by someone when it gets there whereas e-mails are coming in at a rate of thousands a day.


Personally I'd send an E-mail and a letter (recorded delivery) and make sure I keep a copy of the letter and posting slip. I tell them in the e-mail that I've sent them a hard copy via recorded deliver to avoid any confusion or doubt about them receiving it. I find it usually has the desired effect

I suppose it depends how keen you are to get it sorted out

IMO letters get more attention than an e-mail

ic

stranger12 wrote: »

Anyone knocking on my door will get a kick in his/her !!! and punch in face so that that .

Because that approach will fix everything. If you're taking this attitude to everyone you speak to, its no wonder you're not getting anywhere. Just remember when you ring or write, the person you speak to DID NOT cause your problem, but they are in a situation to help you. Be nice to them, and get them on your side and they'll want to help you. Threaten them and they'll say anything to get you off the phone as quick as possible.

Farway

ic wrote: »

Because that approach will fix everything. If you're taking this attitude to everyone you speak to, its no wonder you're not getting anywhere. Just remember when you ring or write, the person you speak to DID NOT cause your problem, but they are in a situation to help you. Be nice to them, and get them on your side and they'll want to help you. Threaten them and they'll say anything to get you off the phone as quick as possible.

Honey / sugar attracts more bees than !!!!!!

Same with words, be polite, do not be offensive, do not be aggressive, be succinct, do not ramble

As advised, write real letter, on real paper and put in real envelope with a real stamp.

That way some, a real person has to open it, record it as received, read it and most importantly, put in some ones real in tray, on a desk, and not an internet one, where a click of mouse gets rid of that pile of today's whingers

The real in tray, on a desk eventually gets noticed