Direct debit that they didn’t take

danray

I am in the Armed Forces and therefore rely very heavily on direct debits to keep things in order. 

When I moved into a flat a few years ago I set up a DD with Scottish Power for my electric which as it now turns out; they never actioned. 

Who’s fault is this? Mine or theirs? Am I liable for the arrears given that (I think) it is unreasonable not to bill me for a very very long time and then pop up and ask for the whole schebang in one go. 

Can anyone suggest a way forward? I have registered an official complaint which they initially responded to and despite emailing them once a fortnight since January they haven’t got any further with. 

RelievedSheff

You surely noticed that you have not paid for your energy for three years?

You use it you pay for it! 

Carrot007

Fault? Both you for not noticing it has not gone and them for not comtacting youi soonber about it (assuming this is what occured).

Of course you are liable. Are you saying you are one of those people who just spebnds to the limt of the account and nevber checks if things go out? How does that work, do things bounce often. Otherwise surely you still have the payments (yes I coubt it since you did not seem to take note of your incomings and outgoings).

I would say best outcome you will get is a >£100 discount for this. Depends on how long, which you don;t seem to have mentioned.

matelodave

If you rely on DD's I would have thought that you'd put a bit of effort into checking your bank account fairly frequently to make sure that everything is in order, that your salary was going in and that no-one was taking money that they shouldn't and that Direct Debits and other stuff was being paid.

However that said, if they haven't been taking your DD then I assume that your account should be knee deep in money to pay the bill now it's finally come.

To answer you question about fault and blame - it's both of you, them for not taking it and mostly yours for not checking your accounts, not sending in readings and not checking either bills or bank statements.

Of course you are liable, you've used it and so should pay for it. Who do you think should pay because you couldn't be bothered.

Just my opinion you understand

MWT

danray said:

Who’s fault is this? Mine or theirs? Am I liable for the arrears given that (I think) it is unreasonable not to bill me for a very very long time and then pop up and ask for the whole schebang in one go.

Have they been providing periodic statements to you showing the amount owed on your account?

These might be paper, emails, or on your online account...

If they have literally not billed you at all for 3 years and then suddenly woken up and sent one invoice for the whole period that would be very different from having billed you correctly but not chased you for non-payment, so which is it... ?

danray

Thank you for the (slightly judgemental in some quarters) responses. 

To clarify a bit further, during the period in question I was deployed for about 3 months at a time, home for a couple of weeks and then away again. Each time I checked my online account and discovered that nothing had been taken via DD and each time rang them to instruct another DD (of which I have proof). 

My question with regards to liability (particular thanks to matelotdave for your withering response, I can only assume you are a sea dodger) is who is liable for the mistake, not the amount. 

MWT

danray said:

My question with regards to liability (particular thanks to matelotdave for your withering response, I can only assume you are a sea dodger) is who is liable for the mistake, not the amount. 

As long as you have given them the correct bank details the mistake is theirs, and if you take this to the Ombudsman you will get a token gesture, probably £60 or so and most likely an instruction to SP to agree payment terms with you.

What is not likely is that they will have to write-off any of the amount owed, as there is no reason why you would not have simply put the money aside since you clearly knew it wasn't being taken from your account, so there is no real 'bill shock' here...

... as long as they have been billing you for it but not collecting that is...

PixelPound

On one hand, surely if you knew that they weren't taking it and kept requesting they take set up a DD then you'll have been leaving the money in and so will have the funds to still pay. Whether you have paid every month or it sits in your bank and taken all at once, it's still the same amount.

They are not going to write the amount off, and I assume you have been receiving bills (even if quarterly and online) showing the balance owed, and know when you have called. Though really they should allow you to pay over time as it's their error.

You make a complaint, you raise a Subject Access Request for telephone calls. See where that goes first.