Elderly Parents getting Ripped Off

xlnc99

Talldave said:

Agree with most of what @niktheguru says, particularly about not switching electricity until it's resolved. 

My disagreement point is the emphasis on the opening reading given to SP. If you don't know which register it was from, you're no better off. What you really need is the entire billing history from which it might be possible to reverse engineer the reading/register trail (it's what Excel was made for). This should be made easier because the elderly parents are probably creatures of habit with consistent energy use year in year out.

As an aside, I don't think the ludicrous complexity of the meter is down to it being "smart", the energy industry has a track record of totally ignoring usability stretching much further back.

I will be getting the entire billing readings from SP today.

Gerry1

It would be better to start by establishing all the relevant facts (e.g. full meter reading history) rather than just relying on emotion.  Also seems to bit premature to spam the CEO and the whole management team at this stage.  A focused method is likely to be better than a blunderbuss approach.

Remind me - are your parents on the Priority Services Register?

xlnc99

2 points

Some people saying to me DO NOT switch Electricity till this is resolved and some saying SWITCH and sort it out after. First i thought the same of not switching but after looking at suppliers and how much my parents are paying if i dont switch then they will be moved to a tarriff by SP which is even moe expensive then the one now. I mean this complaint could drag on for 2-3 maybe more months and if i dont switch they will be paying through the roof and on top of that, there will be no re-claim of the charges for the next two or three months. So i am leaning towards switching now and sorting this mess out at the same time. Completely understand SP wont be as forthcoming if i am not their customer which was my initial reservations about switching, but the fact is they have to resolve the complaint one way or another. True?

Second point - is the metter my parents using rubbish? Shall i switch?

xlnc99

Gerry1 said:

It would be better to start by establishing all the relevant facts (e.g. full meter reading history) rather than just relying on emotion.  Also seems to bit premature to spam the CEO and the whole management team at this stage.  A focused method is likely to be better than a blunderbuss approach.

Remind me - are your parents on the Priority Services Register?

You could be right. Will get back to you today about that

MWT

xlnc99 said:

Second point - is the metter my parents using rubbish? Shall i switch?

Assuming that is 'meter', no, it isn't rubbish and as is actually simple to read once you know which button to press.

Your mother seems to have been able to read it perfectly well since being shown what to do, so I wouldn't try to change it even if you could...

xlnc99

ok - some comments on here suggested the meter was complicated and there are better ones out there

Gerry1

Until things are sorted out it's probably better to switch electricity to a reasonably competitive SP tariff, ideally without an exit fee.  The biggest savings to be made are with gas, and that doesn't need to stay with SP.

niktheguru

Talldave said:

Agree with most of what @niktheguru says, particularly about not switching electricity until it's resolved. 

My disagreement point is the emphasis on the opening reading given to SP. If you don't know which register it was from, you're no better off. What you really need is the entire billing history from which it might be possible to reverse engineer the reading/register trail (it's what Excel was made for). This should be made easier because the elderly parents are probably creatures of habit with consistent energy use year in year out.

My thought about the logic of using the opening meter reading for scottish power is that we are assuming the previous supplier "eon" fitted the "smart meter" and used it as a smart meter. Thus the closing meter reading for eon and thus opening reading for scottish power "should" be the accurate reading as I would have thought eon would have used the smart reading (and definitely would have used a higher reading rather than a lower submitted reading) Though could be wrong. However now it appears the OP has said that there was ANOTHER energy company between EON and scottish power. This complicates matters as we now dont know exactly when the "lower" reading started being used.

xlncc99, if you want to truly find out if all the charges have been accurate, you will need all the bills from scottish power. You will also need to know all the tariffs your parents have been on and what their unit and standing charges were during these times. (even though they'be been with the same provider, they may have been on different deals, a fixed deal, a variable deal, the standard deal. They may not have been on the same tariff for the whole time, especially if they've been with them 3 years (unless they took a 3 year fixed deal)) 
Bear in mind this is going to be painstaking and require looking at all meter readings of all bills, working out the monthly usage, accurate costs and look at how much youve paid in direct debits.
It may be more sensible to just concentrate on this Jan 2020 discrepancy, get the appropriate refund and move on, knowing to be really careful in future.

Like others have said, I would suggest not putting complaints in to all and their dog. (ceo, etc) Instead you need to call customer services and explain what has happened. They will be able to see that your parents usage, although high has been around 400kwh monthly, and then there is a 10x increase only in one month. They may be able to help. If they cannot solve the problem or raise it with someone, then you should make a formal complaint, through the normal channels. Also, your parents have been paying over the odds for some months now.....is waiting a month till the elec is sorted really going to make that big a difference overall?
Also, when making this complaint I would try not to point the finger at scottish power and say they are at fault fault fault. They could come back at you and say that they didn't fit the meter and it was your parents that supplied the readings, and that the readings show that is how much you have used overall. You need to phrase it more that there has been difficulty and a problem with reading the complicated meter correctly, when did the meter get read by scottish power last and what was that reading, how come they didn't notice that there was one month with 10x usage and act. I'm sure it can get resolved

I would suggest you stay put with scottish power until this is at least resolved. Yes they should sort out the problem even if you're not a customer, but you may find it more difficult to deal with them once your account is "closed" after switching.

Your biggest priority at the moment is contacting scottish power. Do it as soon as possible. Do it today. Get the ball rolling. You cant expect them to sort this overnight, it may take time, so don't delay!!

Vegastare

Xlnc99

Great advice from Nick above!
Your really need to speak with the supply about the problem asap, yes they will want your parents confirm you can speak on their behalf - can you call from their home so they can give verbal consent!! then you can continue the call - assure you name is placed on their account as contact person so you speak again.
Had concern re water consumption with parents in law and after consent I could deal with it on their behalf - I explained they were becoming very distressed with the bills.
The nightmare is that you never get back to the same person twice in these places - but do keep details of time your conversation started, name person and what call center/place where based. Plus brief outline of what they indicated they suggested or will do.....ie they say they will phone you back etc and don't, they say they will send old bills and don't -  you have the ammunition to use in making a complaint to CEO and Ofgem etc......you need to start with this...also the reason folks keep mentioning the Priority Service Register is because it helps give support to folk who need added help see link ....https://www.saveonenergy.com/uk/guides/priority-services-register/    home this helps.
I can't answer about switching - but feel you really need to start complaint rolling

niktheguru

Vegastare makes excellent points. When you speak to scottish power, note the time of the call, who you spoke to and what the verdict was (for each call). Then you have concrete dates in case you need to make a complaint.

You said you were confused about some telling you to switch and some not. I think what the majority of people have been saying is that you MUST switch you GAS as soon as possible. This will save you money and is not in question regarding accuracy of previous bills. You seem to be dragging your heels about this. At least you've done the comparisons now. I suggest you sign up to either ebico or so energy ASAP for this.
When it comes to switching the electricity, I personally would wait till this is sorted, it just makes it a bit cleaner. It is already a bit of a mess, why complicate it further by moving before your problem is resolved.