Scottish Power email "Action required: Please provide your meter readings on 30th June"

digitaltoast

I received the following email from Scottish Power. I'm assuming that it is them just trying to get me to pay the higher rate? It seems to go against every single bit of advice on all the forums so I'm assuming it is correct to ignore it and enter my readings on the 1st of July to pay the correct new rate?


Action required: Please provide your meter
readings on 30th June.

In line with the new, lower energy price cap which comes into effect on 1st July, please provide us with your meter readings on 30th June. 

Gerry1

Are you sure the new rates are higher?

digitaltoast

The new rates are lower. By entering meter readings for the last 2 months on the 30th of June I assume I would be paying the higher price?

If I wait till the 1st of July I would be paying the lower price on the last two months of units (?). I suspect this is why they are nagging me to enter it on the 30th of June!

JGB1955

digitaltoast said:

The new rates are lower. By entering meter readings for the last 2 months on the 30th of June I assume I would be paying the higher price?

If I wait till the 1st of July I would be paying the lower price on the last two months of units (?). I suspect this is why they are nagging me to enter it on the 30th of June!

If you wait until 1 July I suspect they will 'pro-rata' the bill..... 1 day at the new rate, 2 months at the old.

digitaltoast

How would they know what I use on a daily basis? That seems ridiculously unfair and possibly illegal. If I wait for petrol to come down and then fill the tank, they don't pro rata that! If they do that with my electricity I'm definitely seeking legal advice.

[Deleted User]

digitaltoast said:

The new rates are lower. By entering metre readings for the last 2 months on the 30th of June I would be paying the higher price if I wait till the 1st of July I would be paying the lower price. I suspect this is why they are nagging me to enter it on the 30th of June!

Rubbish. Let us say you give a reading of 01234 at 9 am on the 30th June and the actual reading at midnight is 01238, SP has charged you 4 units at the lower rate. Your actual SAVING will be 4(old unit price - new unit price).

Poor old suppliers cannot do right for wrong.

spot1034

digitaltoast said:

How would they know what I use on a daily basis? That seems ridiculously unfair and possibly illegal. If I wait for petrol to come down and then fill the tank, they don't pro rata that! If they do that with my electricity I'm definitely seeking legal advice.

It would be pretty daft to assume that you used no energy at all for two months and then suddenly went mad and switched every appliance on as soon as the hour of midnight struck.

victor2

digitaltoast said:

How would they know what I use on a daily basis? That seems ridiculously unfair and possibly illegal. If I wait for petrol to come down and then fill the tank, they don't pro rata that! If they do that with my electricity I'm definitely seeking legal advice.

You have already used the electricity. You don't buy it in advance like petrol.
If you don't provide a reading, they will estimate it, just like they did when prices were rising.
But I'm no legal expert, so it would be interesting to hear what such a person says.

razord

There is an industry agreed formula for the spread of annual consumption for each utility over each month of the year.

What you've used over any period, whether prices go up and down on a specific date in the middle of that period, will be allocated based on that formula.

It's not a con. There's no conspiracy. It's just how it works, it's fair and it's the same for everyone.

Gerry1

@digitaltoast That's not how it works.

Assuming you are on the SVT, your usage for April, May and up to your changeover meter reading will be all charged at the old (higher) rate.

Effectively they're giving you a Baker's Dozen offer of up to 24 hours more at the new lower rate (e.g. by entering a reading at 0001 on 30 June).  If you entered your reading at 2359 on 1 July you'd have been overcharged for 24 hours at the old higher rate.

The petrol station equivalent would be that the price shown and calculated by the pump remains the same for about 15 minutes after the totem price has been increased to ensure that everyone has been made aware of the new price.

Mobtr

digitaltoast said:

How would they know what I use on a daily basis? That seems ridiculously unfair and possibly illegal. If I wait for petrol to come down and then fill the tank, they don't pro rata that! If they do that with my electricity I'm definitely seeking legal advice.

So if your last reading was 01/05 and your next one is on 01/07, do you think they will charge you the new lower prices from 01/05? No, they’ll estimate to 30/06 based on the average daily usage between to two readings. Don’t bother even thinking about taking legal advice, you’ll just get laughed at.