Scottish Power came to my door to have me switch

FionaG145

I feel really stupid having to write this out. Last week a guy turned up to my door and said he could save me a lot of money on my energy bills (and had just sorted my neighbour out) he said he was from Scottish power, had their tshirt with logo on and an iPad with a portal to sign people up. I stupidly fell for it, gave him all my details etc, whilst he was at the door he said once he’d submitted the form I would receive a text and just needed to give him the confirmation code, which I received and did. Then before he left he said once he’d gone I would get a call from Scottish power to confirm I have set up an account with them so it would authorise the new contract. I got the phone call about 5 minutes after he’d left and the guy on the phone asked me to read out my address, once I’d done that he said it was incorrectly put and the sales guy had missed out our flat block and simply put our flat number & address - for understand purposes let’s say 7 smith drive, instead of 7 Dave Court, Smith Drive. - the guy on the phone said he would need to send the guy back to change it over, the guy came back and said he wasn’t able to do it on his end but his boss was in touch with the customer services and if he didn’t come back to assume it sorted.

Anyway, I haven’t heard anything from them, no post, no email. I just have all these text messages with an agreement number, reference number and advisor ID. I have no account number or anything & a very worryingly feeling I’ve been conned.

I rang up Scottish power and they have nothing under my name and postcode, have assured me there has been no account set up even though I have texts to say ‘this is confirmation the contract has been submitted blah blah’ - though the final step of authorising when the guy called after he visited wasn’t actually fulfilled.. Does this sound like a con? How do I go about ensuring nothing comes out of my bank account direct debit wise? I’m at a bit of a loss on what to do! Please help. 

BeerSavesMoney

Scottish Power do have sales people in shopping centres etc so I wouldn’t surprise me they are now calling at houses.

Have you tried setting up an online account to see if that works?

Usually when switching you’ll get an email from your current supplier to say something like “sorry you’re leaving us…”

If you don’t want to switch to Scottish Power it might be worth checking with your current supplier to see if you are switching away, if you are they can object to it.

They won’t be able to take any money through direct debit unless there’s an active one setup on your bank account so best keeping an eye through online banking if you have it.

brewerdave

I thought energy salesmen doorknockers had been outlawed ??

viva1

It is worrying that Scottish Power have nothing under your name and postcode, as this would seem to indicate that the guy at your door was really there just to obtain your name, address, bank account details, etc. The phone call and text messages you received were not from Scottish Power - even if they seemed to come from a genuine Scottish Power number this is easily spoofed.

You probably won't hear any more about this for a while, unless they have managed to obtain sufficient personal details to start opening accounts and obtaining credit in your name - in that case the first you will know about it is when debt collectors turn up at your place - but hopefully you did not give the guy enough details for such a scenario to occur.

rooster47

brewerdave said:

I thought energy salesmen doorknockers had been outlawed ??

So did I

macman

They are not 'outlawed', but most suppliers have voluntarily stopped doing it because of the poor reputation they got from it. Salespersons employed on a commission-only basis are never going to be unbiased or honest.

matelodave

CHECK YOUR BANK ACCOUNT to make sure that it hasn't been cleaned out

As viva1 said above, he's probably now got all the info he needs to make life pretty difficult. Hopefully that's not what has happened but make sure you take immediate steps to mitigate any fraud.

NEVER, NEVER NEVER give anyone your account details at the door or sign up to anything at the door. Always do your own homework to sort out your own deals and do your own checking using your own contact info derived from trusted sources, not from a bloke at the door or an unsolicited phone call.

BeerSavesMoney

Surely Scottish Power could at least advise if the advisor ID you have is real and if they were in your area on the day they appeared at your door?

[Deleted User]

FionaG145 said:

I feel really stupid having to write this out. Last week a guy turned up to my door and said he could save me a lot of money on my energy bills (and had just sorted my neighbour out) he said he was from Scottish power, had their tshirt with logo on and an iPad with a portal to sign people up.

Hi,

you can get a tee shirt printed with any logo you want, and if representing a company sales team not very professional, and ipads can be bought anywhere.

Hope you don't get stung Fiona, do come back and let us know the outcome.

Good luck.

Gerry1

FionaG145 said:

I stupidly fell for it, gave him all my details etc, whilst he was at the door he said once he’d submitted the form I would receive a text and just needed to give him the confirmation code, which I received and did.

I hope that text code wasn't from your bank and its use would approve a withdrawal of funds or changes to your details.

It seems highly unlikely that Scottish Power would send a text code and even less likely that they would expect you to give it to their salesman.

Check all your accounts, check all your credit reports, change all your passwords and consider a protective registration with Cifas.

smt34

FionaG145 said:

I feel really stupid having to write this out. Last week a guy turned up to my door and said he could save me a lot of money on my energy bills (and had just sorted my neighbour out) he said he was from Scottish power, had their tshirt with logo on and an iPad with a portal to sign people up. I stupidly fell for it, gave him all my details etc, whilst he was at the door he said once he’d submitted the form I would receive a text and just needed to give him the confirmation code, which I received and did. 

I've come across the forum as we had a slightly similar experience today and feeling incredibly paranoid now....the guy seemed very genuine and I was in a bit of a rush as needed to leave the house but afterwards started doubting the whole thing - usually we'd be very savvy about this sort of thing but everything he said at the time seemed to make sense but now wondering if he was just a very good salesman. 

Also had thought this sort of thing (door to door salesman) was no longer done?

Not contacted Scottish Power yet but might tomorrow. What ended up happening in your situation?