Scottish Power / out of the blue

darrenwooly

Hi everyone,

I left scottish power 11 months ago after my monthly DD was increasing dramatically from £104 per month to £220 per month in the space of 3 months...

I paid almost £1200 in under 3 months of bills, to bring me to credit... as soon as i was in Credit I left and have been with British Gas ever since paying no more than £124 a month!

However shortly after i left i got letter stating i owed £1200.. which i explained was paid in the last 3 months to help me get in credit to allow me to leave, i was told it was an error and thanks for being a customer!...

now, 11 months later out of the blue i have had letters and calls saying that i owe the £1200 and legal action is facing me...

My account is closed, i wouldn't have been able to disconnect if i had such a bill and that they verbally confirmed my account was closed... even if i try to login it comes up saying account closed...

I've been told they have 12 months to chase this debt... so in essence they have 1 month left... is this right or even fair??

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


If the bill is legitimate, they can chase it forever as they notified you 'owed £1200 soon after you left.'! The 12 months back billing rule doesn't apply in these circumstances.


Knowing how chaotic SP's accounting procedures are it is entirely likely that it is a mistake. However I suspect you didn't get a LETTER saying ' it was an error and thanks for being a customer!...'??


You must write(email and recorded delivery) not phone, and get an exact breakdown of your account showing how you owe £1,200.


By the way are you sure the letters and phone calls are from SP and not a Debt Collection Agency(DCA) it sounds like the latter.

Consumerist

darrenwooly wrote: »

. . . I've been told they have 12 months to chase this debt... so in essence they have 1 month left... is this right or even fair??

Their problem is that they cannot charge for energy supplied more than 1 year ago if they have not sent you a bill for a year or more.

Have you received a detailed bill? If not, demand that they provide one and then, if you consider it to be incorrect, you should dispute it in writing - preferably as part of a formal complaint under their Complaints Procedure.

Keep copies of all correspondence and dates, times and names of anyone you speak to at SP over the phone.

If the problem is not resolved after eight weeks, or you are not satisfied with their final response, you can refer the complaint to the Ombudsman Services: Energy for resolution; this may, or may not, include some compensation.

Good luck.