Scottish Power / Past Due Credit Solutions

kilby_007

Hi,

18 months ago we moved out of our rented house where we had prepayment gas & electricity meters with Scottish Power. Upon leaving the meter was in credit.

I honestly can't remember any of the finer details (schoolboy error) and only a few months ago I throw out all of the old statements relating to those accounts.

Today I got a letter at my new address from "PDCS" claiming I owed £650 to Scottish Power, quoting my old address and account number, stating that I must pay by 10th April (5 days time) "to avoid further action".

I rang Scottish Power who confirmed the debt but could not seem to give me any details as to why I had a debt with them and seemed more interested in getting the correct date I left the property (they had me down as leaving in January when actually it was 4 months prior).

To confuse matters further I logged on to the Scottish Power website to view the bill and to my surprise saw that there were £10 / £20 credits going on the account on a weekly (roughly) basis. I don't understand how this could happen as I took the prepayment card with me when I left the property. At some point the debt was £1800 and is now reduced to £490 with a 30% charge being added by the debt collection agency. I really don't know what is going on!

Does anyone have any advice on what to do here? If I've messed up for the period I moved out and the new tenents moved in (I can't remember whether I sent meter readings) then I'd be happy to pay any charges for the few weeks/months in between but I can't understand how the charges could have racked up to £490??

sourcrates

Hi,
Ok, first off, you don't have to prove anything, it's up to Scottish power/the DCA to prove you owe this debt, not for you to prove you don't.
Send the provit letter to the DCA, it seems SP have the wrong date for you leaving the property, if you want to stall any further hassle, it may be a good idea if you contacted your old landlord and requested a copy of your tenency agreement, that should show the date you left.

kilby_007

Thanks for your help, can I ask what the provit letter is? Is there any way I can freeze the "debt" to make sure costs/charges don't increase?

fatbelly

It's in a sticky at the head of the forum

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247

sourcrates

kilby_007 wrote: »

Is there any way I can freeze the "debt" to make sure costs/charges don't increase?

Can a DCA add interest..???

Unless there is a contractual provision that specifically states that this is possible, then they are urinating into some inclement weather !!!!

kilby_007

sourcrates wrote: »

Can a DCA add interest..???

Unless there is a contractual provision that specifically states that this is possible, then they are urinating into some inclement weather !!!!

They've already added a 30% fee onto the debt I owe with Scottish Power. I don't think they can charge interest but I imagine they will add more "admin" charges in a similar fashion to the car parking fine companies?

Today I've looked in more detail at my online account with SP and it says it's "closed" with only two bills under the account for Nov 2013 & Jan 2014 (the time when I had left this property), which is bizarre as the balance overview shows history back to Feb 2014 when the account was supposedly £900 in debit. It's as though they have amalgamated multiple accounts and it's very messy and confusing. I wasn't at the property for any of the dates shown on the online account info.

chanz4

Supply agreements include the clause about recovery costs, all a prove it letter will give is a copy of bills.


Its quite easy to prove a move out date, just send a copy of your new property's tenancy as the old one will not display a move out date.

kilby_007

chanz4 wrote: »

Supply agreements include the clause about recovery costs, all a prove it letter will give is a copy of bills.


Its quite easy to prove a move out date, just send a copy of your new property's tenancy as the old one will not display a move out date.

I've asked for a copy of bills to be sent to my new address from SP. The online acount info & statements are a mess so I doubt anything will become any clearer.

We purchased a new house (no longer renting) but I have copies of the paperworking relating to that (contracts/mortgage info) and I also managed to get in touch with the old landlord today who's sending copies of my tenancy agreement including a move-out date. I'm just not sure what to do with it. It seems like Scottish Power don't care when I speak to them on the phone, they just seem to want to change the subject to a more trivial matter (e.g. getting my new address and phone number updated).

kilby_007

Posting the provit letter to PDCS by recorded delivery so I'll let you know how I get on. I also found some other letters on the scottish power website relating to three different amounts between £160 and £1000 all for the first 3 months of this year so it really is a mess.

joedenise

Good luck with Scottish Power. I am in dispute with them as they are just ignoring my meter readings, by their own reckoning (using estimated readings which are clearly wrong!) I am over £400 in credit.

I have been to the Ombudsman and SP have been given 28 days to sort it out which ends next week! On my Online account it is showing that I have 3 live accounts - none of which is showing accurate meter readings which I have given them loads of time - the last one when I was contacted by the Ombudsman and they suggested I have them completely up to date readings to ensure I get back what I am actually due!

I'm not holding my breath on them getting it right.

Denise

chanz4

If you provide a copy of your new ctax bill or completion letter, this will do the same.