Direct debit amount change not notified - ScottishPower

jkcool
jkcool Posts: 39
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Hi All,

I have an electricity account with Scottish Power and was paying £66 using direct debit. In mid March 2018,someone came down and took the meter readings. Because of some reason ( yet to find out) the usage was way too high. They have revised the direct debit amount to £141. I have no problem in that. But I did not get an email or a text message to notify the change in direct debit amount. I got to know only when I casually checked my bank account. I was shocked, it was more than double my usual amount and luckily I had balance to prevent it from going overdraft.

I called them up to let them know I did not receive any notifications. Instead of apologising, the customer care agent told me that I am required to check my online account once every month. What ? She kept arguing that it is my mistake.

I just checked my rights under The Direct Debit Guarantee and it says I need to be notified.

Am I right ? Shall I go ahead an complaint directly to ScottishPower?
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  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    jkcool wrote: »
    Hi All,

    I have an electricity account with Scottish Power and was paying £66 using direct debit. In mid March 2018,someone came down and took the meter readings. Because of some reason ( yet to find out) the usage was way too high. They have revised the direct debit amount to £141. I have no problem in that. But I did not get an email or a text message to notify the change in direct debit amount. I got to know only when I casually checked my bank account. I was shocked, it was more than double my usual amount and luckily I had balance to prevent it from going overdraft.

    I called them up to let them know I did not receive any notifications. Instead of apologising, the customer care agent told me that I am required to check my online account once every month. What ? She kept arguing that it is my mistake.

    I just checked my rights under The Direct Debit Guarantee and it says I need to be notified.

    Am I right ? Shall I go ahead an complaint directly to ScottishPower?

    Yes, but check your e-mail spam filter first.

    From the Ofgem website:

    Information on why your direct debit needs changing and by how much

    If your payments need to change, your supplier must explain why. If they need to be increased you will also be notified at least 10 days in advance. However, if you don’t understand why your payments are increasing don’t be afraid to contact your supplier and ask for an explanation.
  • jkcool
    jkcool Posts: 39
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    I checked my emails thoroughly. In Jan, when they changed my direct debit amount they sent me an email. But this time no emails. It could be a technical glitch but I was nearly saved with an excess 30 quid I had.

    Thank you for the reply.
  • jkcool wrote: »
    ...

    I just checked my rights under The Direct Debit Guarantee and it says I need to be notified.

    Am I right ?

    I'm sure you are :A
    jkcool wrote: »
    Shall I go ahead an complaint directly to ScottishPower?

    What does The Direct Debit Guarantee say to do?
  • thriftylass
    thriftylass Posts: 3,981
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    jkcool wrote: »
    I called them up to let them know I did not receive any notifications. Instead of apologising, the customer care agent told me that I am required to check my online account once every month. What ? She kept arguing that it is my mistake.

    I guess if you don't receive paper bills etc that is the equivalent of it now. If you have an online only account I would expect that you check it regularly including the notifications posted on it.
    DEBT 09/23: CC 6347 5120, Other 1763 NSDs 0/20 Planned debt free date: Dec 2024
  • jkcool
    jkcool Posts: 39
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    I guess if you don't receive paper bills etc that is the equivalent of it now. If you have an online only account I would expect that you check it regularly including the notifications posted on it.

    OK. But when direct debit amount is changing then they should inform me. They cannot completely wash the hands off because I opted out for paper bills.

    This is what Direct debit guarantee says
    • If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request
    • If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
  • thriftylass
    thriftylass Posts: 3,981
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    edited 18 April 2018 at 10:13AM
    jkcool wrote: »
    OK. But when direct debit amount is changing then they should inform me. They cannot completely wash the hands off because I opted out for paper bills.

    This is what Direct debit guarantee says

    But they did notify you, on your online account. The direct debit guarantee doesn't specify how you get notified. You could've checked your account after realising that your usage was so much higher when the read was taken. My electricity account has a notification/account activity section where all changes are announced etc. As I do actual reading every month I see these.

    It's like saying because you don't get paper bank statements the bank is responsible for payments that come out and you hadn't noticed.

    (was your previous usage based on actual reading, just out of interest, as you said you don't know why the usage was higher)
    DEBT 09/23: CC 6347 5120, Other 1763 NSDs 0/20 Planned debt free date: Dec 2024
  • jkcool
    jkcool Posts: 39
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    When I report it they will adjust direct debit amount and I usually get an email in 2 days saying my direct debit is changing. But this time, no email was sent. I had no clue. They sent some agency to do meter reading. I did not know about it until I checked by bank account.

    Notifying me is letting me know. I don't think checking online account is a way of "notifying me". Anyways I am not happy with the current arrangement. I will ask them to make changes so that customer will be notified via email/Text when direct debit amount changes.

    Increase in usage is probably due to the extra cheap heaters used during Jan-March for all the cold weather.
  • jkcool
    jkcool Posts: 39
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    edited 23 April 2018 at 9:33AM
    Updates. ..

    I sent an email to them explaining the issue. Their reply was not clear. They did not address the issue properly. So I called them back again. They acknowledged that no email/post was sent when the direct debit amount is changed. But they insisted that 'The Direct Debit Guarantee' does not mandate to send emails. They have notified via the online account. And that is it. I have asked them to send me a confirmation saying that no email was sent to notify me when direct debit amount was changed. They said they will do that and close the complaint. So email was not sent, 100% sure and confirmed.

    I am not happy with the way notification system works with Scottish Power. I firmly believe that customers should be notified ( pushed to them) via email or text when the direct debit amount changes. I don't think that people who sign up for online accounts logs in and check their usage /changes in DD amount every week. People sign up because you don't want to have utility bills printed off. The discount scottish power offered for signing up was around £5 when you spend around £1,000 an year. They also advertise it is "Green". I can't really find the online account T&Cs to see what's there in the fine print.

    Not sure what I can do to make Scottish Power change the way they notify customers in the future. Can I make a complaint to Of Energy ?

    Please let me know your thoughts. Don't know if Martin agrees with me on this :D
  • System
    System Posts: 178,077
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    jkcool wrote: »
    Updates. ..

    I sent an email to them explaining the issue. Their reply was not clear. They did not address the issue properly. So I called them back again. They acknowledged that no email/post was sent when the direct debit amount is changed. But they insisted that 'The Direct Debit Guarantee' does not mandate to send emails. They have notified via the online account. And that is it. I have asked them to send me a confirmation saying that no email was sent to notify me when direct debit amount was changed. They said they will do that and close the complaint. So email was not sent, 100% sure and confirmed.

    I am not happy with the way notification system works with Scottish Power. I firmly believe that customers should be notified ( pushed to them) via email or text when the direct debit amount changes. I don't think that people who sign up for online accounts logs in and check their usage /changes in DD amount every week. People sign up because you don't want to have utility bills printed off. The discount scottish power offered for signing up was around £5 when you spend around £1,000 an year. They also advertise it is "Green". I can't really find the online account T&Cs to see what's there in the fine print.

    Not sure what I can do to make Scottish Power change the way they notify customers in the future. Can I make a complaint to Of Energy ?

    Please let me know your thoughts. Don't know if Martin agrees with me on this :D

    You can raise the matter with Ofgem at:

    Consumeraffairs@ofgem.gov.uk

    Then wait 10 days to get a holding reply which will usually state that they do not look into individual complaints. Whether it will do any good depends on how many other SP customers are unhappy about online notifications of DD changes.

    At the end of the day, apart from feeling aggrieved, does it really matter? You could have DDs set at a £1 or £100 and it will not change what you actually pay for the energy used. This is based on tariff and actual usage.

    I think that Martin may be a bit busy at the moment trying to win his fight with Facebook.
  • jkcool
    jkcool Posts: 39
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    It doesn't matter. But it helps to plan my budget properly. Especially when struggling to find a deposit for a house ( working in the South of England).
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