I did a referal with scottish Power and 5 months later neither of us have the £60

redhotsalsa

I'm hoping someone can assist. I had a terrible time when I discovered I had been moved from Yorkshire energy to Scottish Power. I knew Scottish Power were a nightmare to deal with from helping my mother with them. I was a bit shocked because the change notification was via email not letter. I had not read it because I am not with Scottish power so thought it was an advert. Sadly when I went to update my tariff and read the meter the discovery was made and I was hit with the variable tarrif and a shockingly high bill. In terror I contacted them and they cancelled the charges then promptly reinstated them!! So I had a big amount to pay off plus they had taken no money for 3 months so I had it all to pay. In desperation I sent a referral to my brother as that would be at least something off my bill. He got a confirmation telling him how happy Sally would be and also to tell him he would get his referral money within just 30 days. No such luck. 5 months later we are both fighting to get the referral fee. Its never been put on our accounts. We have sent many letters complaining. They seem to repeatedly request information we already answered. I admit I tried calling several times and after waits of over an hour and getting through then being accidentally cut off several times I resorted to the emails. But they are as bad.

This company is highly unprofessional. They should be dealing with customers far better. I had no choice in joining them due to the back debt. But I certainly will not stay with them. My advice is its not worth it. the saving you think you are getting is not worth the hours of time on the phone and emails! 

So my question is. Has anyone ever had to chase them for a referral fee and can you offer advice. Did you ever get it?

Thanks in advance.

freestyleskier

Hi,
I haven't had any dealings regarding referral fees with them, but do currently have a case against Scottish Power with the Energy Ombudsman. I bought a flat in December and had tenants move in at the beginning of February. I called them to give the meter readings and tenants' names but instead of taking 5 minutes, it still hasn't been done and they have switched the 2 electric meters (day/night) the wrong way round! I was told by one complaint handler that they would not block my tenants switching the supply to Bulb, but they have blocked it 3 times now including once for the reason 'you are in debt of £0.00'. They now say that I owe £116 but I've sent the calculation using the correct dates and meter readings showing that it should actually be £30. They only respond with 'that will be worked out in the Ombusdman investigation and if our bill is wrong then it will be corrected'.
If you have complained to Scottish Power and not get the resolution you need then raise it with the Ombudsman as you probably won't get satisfaction until you do. Ask for what you feel is fair compensation and you may or may not get it. The guidance is that they expect consumers to accept a certain amount of hassle in resolving issues, but I had £30 compensation the one time that I went to the Ombudsman before.
https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy
Regards,
Simon

Biggus_Dickus

@redhotsalsa

I was a Scottish Power customer a few years back and they subjected me to 18-months of serious turmoil that even now is almost too painful to recount. Their screw-up’s beggared belief,...none of which was my fault I might add.

At the time I thought I was just an unlucky ‘victim’ of their truly appalling and negligent  customer service but it was only when I managed to finally extricate myself from their clutches that I discovered I was just one of countless thousands who’d suffered greatly at the hands of that shambles of a company.

The upshot was: OFGEM fined ScottishPower £18M for their repeated and continuous failings,...yes, £18 Million !

In the intervening years I’ve seen little on these pages that makes me think they’ve improved much despite the recent hefty fine.

I often see posts on here where members say they’d prefer to stick with one of the ‘big’ energy companies rather than move to a cheaper deal with a ‘minnow’ because they believe the ‘big’ companies guarantee better service;...that belief couldn’t be further from the truth, imho.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/scottishpower-pay-ps18m-customer-service-failings

 p.s. I really hope you get your referral cash,...but don’t hold your breath!