Scottish Power / Can I switch?

MancMatt77

Hi all,

Hope someone can give some advice. I moved into a rental property in January owned by a friend (who'd literally just bought it). I did the usual, signed up for council tax, water rates etc but for some reason I managed to miss the Electric bill (I was told at the time that it was with E-on which the previous owner had used). So my landlord had some contact a few weeks back from Scottish Power, constantly texting him saying he owed "x" amount of money (it seemed to change every time) at which point he asked me who I was paying my electric bill to. I assumed I'd set up a direct debit with E-on but when I spoke to them they said they had no record of anything at my address. I subsequently checked the Electricity North West database online which states that Scottish Power are the electric suppliers for my address. Btw, I've never had any correspondence from Scottish Power in the 9 months I've lived here. They're issuing the usual threats with regards further action etc of I don't pay up.

So I think my questions are;
1) As I never instructed Scottish Power, do I have to pay them? They're quoting me £600 (which includes around £300 for the first couple of weeks I moved in - Jan/Feb) which is nonsense as I'm a single householder and I rarely use anything like tumble dryers, heating etc (I'm on wall heaters).

2) As I never instructed them (and neither did my landlord the owner) am I able to switch to someone more reputable and pay them using the 2 readings I have (reading from moving in and current reading)?

I did speak to a Scottish Power myself last week and they were asking me to create an account with them. I refused as said I had been informed that someone else supplied the electricity and I also wasn't happy with the ridiculously high bill that SP were quoting me. I also told them I wanted a breakdown of the bill and that I would be checking the database to see who is listed as the provider for the property. 

SP also told me that "someone" had paid a bill from this property in early March this year but they couldn't tell me who or how much (neither I nor my landlord have paid a penny).

Sorry for the long post and hope it makes sense. I'd really appreciate some advice of anyone is in a position to tell me what I can/can't do in this situation.

Cheers in advance

Matt

Gerry1

You'll have to pay Scottish Power.  You went on to an expensive 'deemed' contract the moment you switched on a light.  That's the way it works: no ifs, no buts, end of.

Set up an account immediately and provide the opening meter reading(s) and today's reading(s).  Ask to be put on their cheapest tariff without exit fees.  If you have non-storage heaters because there's no gas, electricity will be the most expensive form of heating, so expect a BIG bill.  If you can't pay it all in one go, ask for a payment plan.

The best you can hope for is to ask very nicely to be put on a competitive tariff backdated to the start, but the chances are probably quite low.  Make sure that in future you send monthly readings and keep your own records; never allow estimated readings to be used.

Once you've paid the arrears you can switch provider: start searching with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?'.  You'll probably need a single rate tariff if you don't have storage heaters, Economy 7 if you do.

When you next move, do your homework first and find somewhere with gas central heating where the kWh rates are about a fifth of electricity.

MancMatt77

Gerry1 said:

You'll have to pay Scottish Power.  You went on to an expensive 'deemed' contract the moment you switched on a light.  That's the way it works: no ifs, no buts, end of.

Set up an account immediately and provide the opening meter reading(s) and today's reading(s).  Ask to be put on their cheapest tariff without exit fees.  If you have non-storage heaters because there's no gas, electricity will be the most expensive form of heating, so expect a BIG bill.  If you can't pay it all in one go, ask for a payment plan.

The best you can hope for is to ask very nicely to be put on a competitive tariff backdated to the start, but the chances are probably quite low.  Make sure that in future you send monthly readings and keep your own records; never allow estimated readings to be used.

Once you've paid the arrears you can switch provider: start searching with Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?'.  You'll probably need a single rate tariff if you don't have storage heaters, Economy 7 if you do.

When you next move, do your homework first and find somewhere with gas central heating where the kWh rates are about a fifth of electricity.

Thanks for the response Gerry, much appreciated. Like I said I'm renting off a mate and thought I'd sorted all this out when moved in as I don't check my monthly D/D's once they've been set up. I obviously didn't (honest oversight) but I'm still not convinced they're above board with the charges as they've changed their story/quotes every time they've spoken to either me or my landlord.

I'm actually needing to move out in the next 6/8 weeks anyway so think I'll pay up, bin them off and agree with my landlord who he wants to use going forward (as SP have appalling reviews and C/S).
Btw I have confirmed readings from when I moved in and a current one.

The fact they don't have me or my landlord as an account holder with them made me think maybe I wasn't tied in with them, hence them asking me to set up an account the other day and give them all my details. They're so shady it's untrue!

Cheers

macman

As stated above, you are in a deemed account with the existing provider from day one. Did you take a meter reading on entry? If not, you can dispute nothing.
They're not psychic, so they can't register you for an account unless you tell them you have moved in.

Gerry1

Make sure you tell all utilities and the council that you're moving out and give a forwarding address.  If they have to trace you there will be additional charges and it will trash your credit record which could be a pain when wanting a credit card, landline, energy supplier, mortgage etc.  They may be expensive and have a poor customer service record, but you'll find all suppliers are equally 'shady' when it comes to customers who don't sign up.

If you think about it, it's the only way the system can work.  The alternative would be that everything was cut off before you moved in, and wouldn't be reconnected until you'd signed up and been credit checked.  Imagine moving in late on a cold winter's day and then having to light a box of candles to stay warm and stop the pipes freezing !

MancMatt77

macman said:

As stated above, you are in a deemed account with the existing provider from day one. Did you take a meter reading on entry? If not, you can dispute nothing.
They're not psychic, so they can't register you for an account unless you tell them you have moved in.

Yeah I've got a meter reading from day one (20th Jan) of 25970kwh. On the paperwork they've sent me they've quoted a "customer reading" of 25893 on 2nd March. So amazingly I've managed to use -77kwh in 6 weeks.🤔 Like I said they seem to be plucking numbers out of the air. Oh and they haven't registered me for an account... I think they've probably done some sort of a property search and found my landlord's name as the owner which is how they got in contact with him initially. Neither of us set up anything with them at all.

Gerry1

Opening reading validation process

My opening reading is wrong

MancMatt77

Gerry1 said:

Make sure you tell all utilities and the council that you're moving out and give a forwarding address.  If they have to trace you there will be additional charges and it will trash your credit record which could be a pain when wanting a credit card, landline, energy supplier, mortgage etc.  They may be expensive and have a poor customer service record, but you'll find all suppliers are equally 'shady' when it comes to customers who don't sign up.

If you think about it, it's the only way the system can work.  The alternative would be that everything was cut off before you moved in, and wouldn't be reconnected until you'd signed up and been credit checked.  Imagine moving in late on a cold winter's day and then having to light a box of candles to stay warm and stop the pipes freezing !

Yeah don't worry I'm on the ball with everything in relation to all the other utilities/council tax... the electricity was merely an oversight (not sure why the previous tenant gave us details for E-on either which is a bit random).

Anyway, lesson learned to double/triple check everything on moving in. This tenancy has been a nightmare tbh as I've had dreadful internet and mobile signal as well so I think I just need to draw a line under it and put it down to experience.😂