Pre payment meter issue

Pound Shilling & Pig

Pound Shilling & Pig

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
3,334
Reaction score
6,526
Points
1,475
Location
shropshire
I pay for my electric by pre payment meter and gas by direct debit, with Scottish Power. Recently I changed supplier for the electric only.

Scottish Power then sent me an electric bill for £171! I didn't pay it as it is simply not possible to owe them for something I paid for in advance. So they have transfered it onto my gas statement.

I spoke to someone there today who at first confused me saying there were gaps in my top ups! Well that's the beauty of prepayment you buy as little or as much as you want depending on how flush you are feeling and how much you have left on the metre, at random intervals, so of course there will sometimes be longer gaps than others🤬 It is still all being paid for in advance.

After putting me on hold for a while she agreed this didn't seem to account for it, so has raised an investigation, which should take 4 weeks to get back to me.

Anyone know what might be going on? (The prepayment metre was in the house when I moved here so have only ever paid that way and have no outstanding prior debts)
 
The problem with a prepayment meter is they require a minimum amount on the meter at all times, like a standing charge. I wonder if that's where the issue is?
 
Yeah, sometimes it gets run right down and occasionally goes into the £5 emergency debt, but that gets taken off as soon as you top up again. I would have thought if there wasn't enough to pay the standing charge at, say, the start of a week it would be adjusted the next time you top up? The standing charge doesn't seem come off in one go ever. £171 would amount to a lot of missed standing charges and they have never contacted me saying this has been happening and the bill they sent gives no explanation as to where the 171 has come from. I hope its an error.
 
I'm guessing it started with standing charges and developed into the usual insanity that is utility company shenanigans. But with it being a prepayment meter they can be right funny about actually getting in touch before they send someone out to cap the thing off, because you're not a "bill paying customer" (if you get what I mean) they like to pretend they got in touch when they didn't. I don't miss prepayment meters.
 
Don't wait for them. Write it briefly but factually in a formal complaint as you are correct, it is impossible to run up a bill like this on prepayment meters. For standing charges you would have to not top up for almost a full year to account for this cost. Tell them you want them to remove the debt from your gas account and cease any further pursuance of it.

The reason for this is, if you need to take them to the energy ombudsman, you can't do so unless you have exhausted Scottish Powers complaints procedure. If they get back to you after 4 weeks and you are back at square one then you are 4 weeks behind being able to refer the complaint to the ombudsman. They are fined for every complaint that has to go to the ombudsman.

My guess is it is SP still being absolutely appalling and incompetent. A few years back they decided I owed them money but couldn't tell me how so I kept requesting breakdowns, was promised one was being emailed and then 3 weeks later would get collections calling and threatening action. When I put a formal complaint in they decided to take the debt and move it on to an account I had with them 4 years earlier at a previous address which lo and behold was in a slight debit and resolved through formal complaint because it was down to their error as well. So I complained to the ombudsman, they offered a resolution I was happy with and £50 goodwill gesture so I accepted and the ombudsman closed the case. Well within weeks I had the £50 in my bank and the collections team called chasing the debt! So I had to make a second complaint to the ombudsman (because they can't reopen resolved complaints) and SP offered another £50 goodwill, there was a lot of discussion over me having faith in them if I accepted their resolution but I did in the end and thankfully they finally stopped chasing me. It's put me off ever using them again that's for sure
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top