Scottish Power refund policy

50Twuncle

We are almost £150 in credit on our dual fuel - dd bill
According to SP website - we are on a "REFUND and REDUCE" refund basis
Which, is supposed to refund any credit over £75 - yet nothing has been refunded
Why would this be ?
And when I pump in the refund - it tries to raise my monthly payment, considerably - which cannot be correct (since the "underuse" will still apply)

anna42hmr

50Twuncle wrote: »

We are almost £150 in credit on our dual fuel - dd bill
According to SP website - we are on a "REFUND and REDUCE" refund basis
Which, is supposed to refund any credit over £75 - yet nothing has been refunded
Why would this be ?
And when I pump in the refund - it tries to raise my monthly payment, considerably - which cannot be correct (since the "underuse" will still apply)

Have you provided an up to date meter reading on the website, as I have found in my case that this can trigger a bill to be created and then a review of the payment and a refund /change of direct debit. As i understand it, they need an accurate bill for this.

That said however, they may have estimated that the likely usage for the winter will increase sufficiently to eat up the credit and need an increase in the direct debit.

Personally i prefer an excess credit amount this time of year as sets in better sted for the winter use (I am in an all electric property though so winter heating etc ramps costs up considerably).

Also not sure if SP work the same, i recall a few years ago one of the providers my parents were with on dual fuel only calculated once each part of the bill was in credit (so for example if you are under 75 on gas and under 75 on electric surplus, that could be why, they need one or other to be looked at as over the amount first).

edit just checked my sp page and looks like they review it at annual review instead, as it states on the help section:


Before you request a refund
Direct Debit customers should expect to see a credit on their account at certain times of the year as you use less energy in summer. This credit is then used to cover you during the winter months when you use more energy. Your payments are averaged across your likely usage over the year to your annual review date.At your annual review if your account is in credit, you shouldn't need to do anything, as we'll automatically refund this to you as outlined below.
- If your annual review is based upon actual meter readings and your balance is greater than one month's payment value or you are over £75 in credit, we'll automatically refund your balance during your review.
- But if your credit amount is less than one month's payment value or under £75, we'll carry it forward into next year's payment plan.
We use your current account balance when calculating your Direct Debit.
If we refund any credit now we may have to recalculate your monthly payments to ensure you don't go into debt.
If you wish to request a refund online now then please submit up to date meter readings to ensure your account balance is up to date. You will then be able to check if you are eligible from the meter reading confirmation screen.

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/customer-services/ so in likelihood you are not at annual review stage, so you can request a refund at this stage but they may also recalculate the direct debit

50Twuncle

We are pretty frugal with our Elec and Gas - at the moment, our DD is just £30 for both (it has been for the last 12 months) - yet, with the £150 credit - if I try to get a £50 refund - they raise our DD to £47 - which is way more than we could ever use and still, we would be £100 in credit....
Something is wrong with their estimation process

anna42hmr

50Twuncle wrote: »

We are pretty frugal with our Elec and Gas - at the moment, our DD is just £30 for both (it has been for the last 12 months) - yet, with the £150 credit - if I try to get a £50 refund - they raise our DD to £47 - which is way more than we could ever use and still, we would be £100 in credit....
Something is wrong with their estimation process

one thing that could also account for this, are you in a fix at the moment that is due to end before the next review date (or in the next 12 months), as their projections also include for future tariffs, so if you are due to end during that time it will assume that you will move on to a standard (expensive) tariff. Have you looked to see what your 12 month personal projection is (stated on the bills) and does this projection tie in with the amount they want to set the direct debit to?

50Twuncle

Fixed until Jan 2017
We are up to date with our bills
Predicted bills are not too clear (SP do not state this (as far as I can see) - they just have a seasonal /monthly average)

50Twuncle

Found it
Projection for the next 12 months for gas is £247.03 and for electricity is £264.88 (based on your annual
consumption, current tariff prices, discounts and VAT).
This, incorrectly estimates £42 per month

Aquamania

50Twuncle wrote: »

Found it
Projection for the next 12 months for gas is £247.03 and for electricity is £264.88 (based on your annual
consumption, current tariff prices, discounts and VAT).
This, incorrectly estimates £42 per month

Does your current tariff end within 12 months?
The amount you currently pay per month would be based on your current tariff only.
(You will be provided with a new monthly payment to make when your current tariff expires)

The indicative cost for the next 12 months consumption would be based on the cost of your current tariff for as long as it exists, and then probably the suppliers variable tariff for the remainder of the 12 months

cifpower

50Twuncle wrote: »

We are almost £150 in credit on our dual fuel - dd bill
According to SP website - we are on a "REFUND and REDUCE" refund basis
Which, is supposed to refund any credit over £75 - yet nothing has been refunded
Why would this be ?
And when I pump in the refund - it tries to raise my monthly payment, considerably - which cannot be correct (since the "underuse" will still apply)

You would be refunded any credit over £75 if your account is in credit at the time of your annual review.