Prepayment Meter in empty property

KatieMoo

My mum has a flat with a prepayment electricity meter in it which has been empty since February. She lives away and I have been popping round and topping the meter up when required. 

Obviously as the property is empty and everything is switched off no actual electricity is getting used and the top ups are paying the standing charges. 

On a couple of occasions I've left it a bit late to go up and get a top up and the supply has been switched off with anywhere up to £1 owing which then comes straight off when I insert the key with the money on it. 

In the last few weeks she has received a bill for over £90 of debt which is apparently owed and every time she contacts them they insist that the money is payable and she is getting nowhere with them.

Can anyone advise a) how it can be possible to have debt on a prepayment meter for an empty property and b) if as I suspect this is incorrect on Scottish Powers end, how can we get them to admit the error and cancel the bill when they are refusing to listen 

MWT

Unless the debt is from a time period before the prepayment meter was installed it is hard to see how it can be correct.

I would write a formal complaint to them, mark it 'Complaint' on the outside and post it to them, don't just email.

In the letter confirm that the prepayment meter has credit on it and therefore there should be nothing outstanding, so can they please explain how and when this debt has occurred.

This will start the complaint process moving and eventually will allow you to take the matter to the Ombudsman if they persist.

KatieMoo

Spoke to them on Friday and was told it was an error and that the bill would be cancelled. A further bill for the same £90 odd arrived again at the weekend so phoned again on Monday. First agent advised to call back with readings required from every screen on the meter as an investigation would require to be carried out.

Called back with the readings and the agent this time wasn't interested in what her colleague had told me and just asked for the kwh reading and then said that there was an additional £10 to be added to the amount owing taking the bill to over £100 despite the fact that the reading given was the exact same as a reading given last month because no electricity is actually being used. The agent kept harping on about "missed payments" but had absolutely no answer when I asked what the money coming off the credit balance on the meter was actually paying for if not the standing charge and told me someone would phone back in about a fortnight to explain why the money was owed.

I also noticed that they have started taking £2 a week towards the "debt" off the meter despite the bill being openly disputed and that the bills they are sending show that electricity was still being used in March, April and May with estimated readings despite the fact that the meter automatically sends a reading when it gets topped up and no electricity is being bloody used. 

I just can't even begin to get my head around how they've managed to make such a dog's dinner of it so a lengthy complaint has been sent their way