Scottish Power urgent help needed

GMBgang

Hi all, I’m looking for advice on a billing dispute with ScottishPower. I’ve been charged £3,443 for electricity over the past year, despite not having a smart meter and charging my EV overnight — which should qualify me for an EV-friendly tariff.

Here’s the situation:

• My actual usage is ~13,600 kWh/year (split ~7,300 household + ~6,300 EV charging).

• ScottishPower billed me at a flat rate (~23.7p/kWh) instead of applying an EV tariff (~7p/kWh overnight).

• I’ve provided daily meter readings and EV app data showing clear overnight charging patterns.

• They’ve now set my direct debit to £766/month — which annualises to over £9,000!

• I believe I’m due a rebill under the correct tariff, plus removal of charges older than 12 months under the Billback Clause (OFGEM rules).

• My fair annual cost should be ~£1,800–£2,200, not £3,443 — and certainly not £9,000.

I’ve drafted a formal complaint and plan to submit it on 2 Jan, with supporting charts and meter logs. Has anyone had success getting ScottishPower to rebill under an EV tariff or apply the Billback Clause? Any tips on escalation routes or what worked for you?

Thank you!

Keep_pedalling

Is your smart meter actually exporting 1/2hour readings? Without that you can’t be on a EV tariff. 

QrizB

Keep_pedalling said:

Is your smart meter actually exporting 1/2hour readings? Without that you can’t be on a EV tariff. 

OP says they don't have a smart meter, which makes me wonder why they think they qualify for an EV tariff at all ...

GMBgang said:

... despite not having a smart meter and charging my EV overnight — which should qualify me for an EV-friendly tariff.

Why exactly do you think you qualify for an EV tariff? Which SP EV tariff do you think you qualify for, and what do the T&C say?

GMBgang said:

• I’ve provided daily meter readings and EV app data showing clear overnight charging patterns.

The customer providing this info is not normally part of the EV-tariff-qualifying process.

matelodave

As you reckon you dont have a smart meter then have you got a multirate meter (E7, E10 or even an RTS meter) if not then its unlikely that you'll get any sort of multirate deal based on your own readings or guestimates.

Most variable or ToU tariffs require a smart meter or a specific multirate meter rather than relying on random customer readings.

More info is required about your metering set up and tariff.

Keep_pedalling

matelodave said:

As you reckon you dont have a smart meter then have you got a multirate meter (E7, E10 or even an RTS meter) if not then its unlikely that you'll get any sort of multirate deal based on your own readings or guestimates.

Most variable or ToU tariffs require a smart meter or a specific multirate meter rather than relying on random customer readings.

More info is required about your metering set up and tariff.

Whoops! I missed the word not. 

You are not out on an EV tariff just because you have an EV, you first need to get a smart meter fitted then request a switch to an EV tariff. How are you heating your house? even with a smart tariff your bills are still going to be massive. You get a lot cheaper night rates but your day rate will be higher as well. 

Scot_39

You need either a fixed tou mulirate meter and tariff deal so e7, e10, maybe some ev deal based on registers (but those EV deals likely in main need communicating  smart meters to have configurable tariff paremeterisation sent to them) or a smart meter to get cheaper rates for part of the day based on 1/2 hrly data.

Your car logs are irrelevent - they are not certified readings for billing purposes..

You are billed on the terms and meter at the time of use.

And even smarter tariffs revert to defaults like variable svt rate if smart meters fail to communicate daily 1/2hrly readings needed.

You cannot go and use the power, then sort out the metering and tariff after the event.

So I am not sure on what basis you are complaining

Have SP installed a smart meter but its not communicating ?
If so what do their T&Cs say

In either case - you will not be entitled to any compensatiipon under current rules - and in Aug consultation - Ofgem were only proposing £40 after 3 months for failed communications.

Have you asked for say bd asking for an ev tariff and a meter upgrade for it - and they refused to fit a smart meter ?

There are still network no spots and also recently with the rts panic issues with fitter availability delaying access for many evenvwhere possible.  As above, You cannot go and use the power, then sort out the metering and tariff after the event.


Or did you really think you could just keep say an old dumb single rate meter and tariiff say and your car logs for EV rates ?

bristolleedsfan

GMBgang said:

I’ve drafted a formal complaint and plan to submit it on 2 Jan, with supporting charts and meter logs. Has anyone had success getting ScottishPower to rebill under an EV tariff or apply the Billback Clause? Any tips on escalation routes or what worked for you?

Thank you!

From more than one experience when email complaint marked complaint, Scottish Power do not treat as a complaint until unhappy with responses given and customer asks for deadock letter or manages to find right words to be escalated as a complaint.

This email address will escalate to a complaint giving complaints reference number. Complaints Tracker shows on account dashboard when SP actually have a complaint registered as a complaint.

socialmediaCS@ScottishPower.com

I will use above email address at the end of the week when I lodge another complaint. 

MattMattMattUK

GMBgang said:

Hi all, I’m looking for advice on a billing dispute with ScottishPower. I’ve been charged £3,443 for electricity over the past year, despite not having a smart meter and charging my EV overnight — which should qualify me for an EV-friendly tariff.

Here’s the situation:

• My actual usage is ~13,600 kWh/year (split ~7,300 household + ~6,300 EV charging).

• ScottishPower billed me at a flat rate (~23.7p/kWh) instead of applying an EV tariff (~7p/kWh overnight).

• I’ve provided daily meter readings and EV app data showing clear overnight charging patterns.

• They’ve now set my direct debit to £766/month — which annualises to over £9,000!

• I believe I’m due a rebill under the correct tariff, plus removal of charges older than 12 months under the Billback Clause (OFGEM rules).

• My fair annual cost should be ~£1,800–£2,200, not £3,443 — and certainly not £9,000.

I’ve drafted a formal complaint and plan to submit it on 2 Jan, with supporting charts and meter logs. Has anyone had success getting ScottishPower to rebill under an EV tariff or apply the Billback Clause? Any tips on escalation routes or what worked for you?

Thank you!

You were on a flat rate, so your consumption would cost you around £3,500 overt a year, had you been on an EV tariff it would have cost you around £2,850 because you still have very high daytime use. To get anywhere near your "fair" figure, which you seem to have just made up, rather than having any understanding of fairness, would require you shift more of your usage to off peak, so a 4,000/9,600 to 2,300/11,300 day/night split.

The reason your direct debit will have been set higher is to catch up on the debt which you have almost certainly got yourself into. 

You cannot have an EV tariff without having a smart meter, historic usage is billed on the tariff at the time, you cannot retrospectively have an EV tariff applied. You are not entitled to be rebilled under any "correct" tariff because you were not on the EV tariff. That is not how back billing works and it almost certainly does not apply in this case anyway.

In regard to your final question, accept you messed up by not being on a EV tariff and start paying off your energy debt, your choice is to either pay, or have them take you to court to recover the debt.

matelodave

If you haven't got a smart meter or ToU meter then you wont have a ToU tariff. Did you apply for a revised EV or other ToU tariff when you decided to get your EV or just expect that the clairvoyants at SP should have guessed that you were now an EV owner.

If you did apply for an EV tariff at the time and SP failed to implement it by not changing your meter or tariff then you should have sent in a complaint at the time and kept it going until they did.

If you didn't apply for a special tariff then you haven't got a hope of any sort of complaint succeeding and you'll have to pay off your arrears and keep paying a flat rate until you do get your metering an tariff sorted out.

Keep_pedalling

bristolleedsfan said:

GMBgang said:

I’ve drafted a formal complaint and plan to submit it on 2 Jan, with supporting charts and meter logs. Has anyone had success getting ScottishPower to rebill under an EV tariff or apply the Billback Clause? Any tips on escalation routes or what worked for you?

Thank you!

From more than one experience when email complaint marked complaint, Scottish Power do not treat as a complaint until unhappy with responses given and customer asks for deadock letter or manages to find right words to be escalated as a complaint.

This email address will escalate to a complaint giving complaints reference number. Complaints Tracker shows on account dashboard when SP actually have a complaint registered as a complaint.

socialmediaCS@ScottishPower.com

I will use above email address at the end of the week when I lodge another complaint. 

Before you do that could you tell us why you think you should be on an EV tariff when you don’t have a smart meter and why you don’t actually have a smart meter? 

bristolleedsfan

Keep_pedalling said:

bristolleedsfan said:

GMBgang said:

I’ve drafted a formal complaint and plan to submit it on 2 Jan, with supporting charts and meter logs. Has anyone had success getting ScottishPower to rebill under an EV tariff or apply the Billback Clause? Any tips on escalation routes or what worked for you?

Thank you!

From more than one experience when email complaint marked complaint, Scottish Power do not treat as a complaint until unhappy with responses given and customer asks for deadock letter or manages to find right words to be escalated as a complaint.

This email address will escalate to a complaint giving complaints reference number. Complaints Tracker shows on account dashboard when SP actually have a complaint registered as a complaint.

socialmediaCS@ScottishPower.com

I will use above email address at the end of the week when I lodge another complaint. 

Before you do that could you tell us why you think you should be on an EV tariff when you don’t have a smart meter and why you don’t actually have a smart meter? 

My complaints to SP relate to other matters, I merely replied to part of O/P post that I quoted.