Yahoo Finance 'Scottish Power kept billing me months after closing my account'
My wife and I have lived in our home since it was built in 1991. It was fitted with two electricity meters.
In 2015 we switched to Scottish Power. I made sure to tell the company that we had two meters.
After three months, Scottish Power requested a further meter reading and only then did it become apparent that it could not handle the two-meter situation. It informed me it would have to close the account and the supply should go back to my original supplier which, it advised, would bill me for the three months’ use of electricity.
It said that I would owe Scottish Power nothing in what it defined as an “erroneous transfer”. It has billed me though and, despite my best efforts to resolve it, this problem with Scottish Power has been going on ever since.
PH, Lancs
You had two meters, one of which was for the heating. That one recorded a preserved heating tariff you had with the previous provider, which Scottish Power could not support.
There was another hiccup when initially it did not carry out the transfer back properly. Uneasy that Scottish Power might not return the money you had already paid, you arranged for your bank to organise a refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee.
Then you received many emails and printed bills from Scottish Power for the three months you had been with it. You called the company, telling it why you owed nothing.
However, the bills kept coming. This year you were being asked for £508.
When you rang you were told the account was reading as zero and there would be no more bills. Then there was a bill for £21.02 followed by a letter enclosing what was described as a refund cheque for the same sum.
Just after you wrote to me there was an email requesting £21.02 again.
This brought the number of demanding emails you had received since you had been assured the matter was resolved to five. By now you were worrying that this might affect your credit rating.
Scottish Power told me the latest mix-up was down to human error. The agent involved had intended to clear the balance but unfortunately sent you the credit that was supposed to be applied to the account to do this. Scottish Power says it does not want the other money back, and has paid you £25 for goodwill.
On Sept 1, Ofgem introduced a new licence condition that requires all electricity suppliers to support all types of multi-rate meters. These are known as restricted meters, which is the type you had.
Suppliers must now make all their single-rate electricity tariffs available to customers with restricted meters, without them having to replace their meter or incur any costs associated with keeping their existing meter. This change came in too late for you.
