Scottish Power - Previous Year's Usage Comparison Graphs?

RickMac

Hi Saga - I pay quarterly bills on demand and have submitted my own readings when any of their estimates have been absurd.

Like you I have learned to keep my own records up to date, including billing copies, my own regular readings, and screen grabs of their website data too.

The early 2022 usage data has me completely bemused. Their estimates shocked me at first so I retrospectively updated them with my own readings which, again astonishingly, weren't too far off. 

As I had been working away for a chunk of that period, the property was empty, I felt I had to contest this extreme alleged usage increase, so raised a formal complaint. This is still in the early stages with no satisfactory resolution in sight.

As you can see the following month's usage has dropped back in line with previous years. 

To top it all off, I went to take a meter reading in September at the request of Scottish Power (from an old-fashioned outside meter) and then found that the readout screen was blank; it had obviously gone to meet its maker. All very bizarre.

Is it a stretch to consider this may possibly in some way explain the earlier random anomalous readings (?) as the meter was on its last legs and was throwing a wobbly, so to speak? Who knows. 

Anyway, the complaint is ongoing - I can feel an ombudsman moment approaching soon!

Saga

@RickMac Sadly I'm no expert on the workings (or not as the case my be) of meters so can't add anything beyond lay speculation. One would hope there would be sufficient redundancy built into each unit to identify and mitigate a meter conking out. Is it possible while you were away someone(s) has been living in the property or tapping the supply; or some malfunctioning appliance/system was left on that was working too hard during the cold season - just wondering?

RickMac

No, it's a perfectly self-contained and very secure property, nobody was living in it whilst we were away, impossible to tap the supply and I made sure that all appliances (everything) were off, but more to the point is that 75% of that usage is alleged to be for gas, so nobody is going to be tapping into that - also my nearest neighbours look out for each other. But always welcome objective ideas - ta.

MovingForwards

@RickMac it's returned today and is in the same format as before.

inkydolphin

What do SP have to say about the 3 fold increase over previous years? Are they saying the figures don't lie or are they prepared to discuss the matter?

RickMac

inkydolphin said:

What do SP have to say about the 3 fold increase over previous years? Are they saying the figures don't lie or are they prepared to discuss the matter?

Their 'jury' is still out on this one. 

As you might expect, they have a somewhat protracted complaints procedure that consumers/customers are 'obliged' to follow.

Stage 1 – Contact us with your complaint - We’ll record your complaint, give you a unique complaint reference number and try to resolve your issue straight away.

STAGE 2 - We’ll work to resolve your complaint. If we have been unable to resolve your case straightaway, we’ll pass it on to a member of our specialist Customer Care Team. We will signpost you to our complaints handling procedure on our website and offer to send a copy via e-mail or post. Your dedicated complaint handler will aim to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. They will keep you informed of progress until they can fully resolve your complaint. When your complaint handler first gets in touch with you, they will provide contact details so you’re able to get in touch at any point via any of our contact channels while they are working to resolve your complaint. Rest assured, we will work hard to resolve your issue within 8 weeks.

STAGE 3 - Making sure you’re happy with our proposed solution. If our Customer Care Team is unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can request an internal review to try to reach a resolution by speaking to one of our complaint handlers or you can do this online at scottishpower.co.uk/complaints. If after eight weeks a resolution hasn’t been reached to your satisfaction, you have the right to contact the Ombudsman Service: Energy to review your case. Please note, you may also be able to refer your case to the Ombudsman Service: Energy if you do not accept our final offer of resolution.

As my complaint is only a few weeks old, and they are no doubt swamped with others, I don't expect any movement for a few more weeks. My complaint is still in Stage 2.

I'll keep you posted with any outcome if you wish.

RickMac

Just finished a lengthy conversation with SP - complaint now resolved to my satisfaction. They eventually agreed that the meter was faulty and thus the readings contestable. As such SP agreed to retrospectively reduce this year's first quarter consumption levels to an average of the previous 3 years and adjust billing accordingly. I am now in credit by a few £100 for which they have further agreed to refund by cheque in the next 10 days. All confirmed in writing, so watertight. Small but worthwhile victory for the consumer.