Paid bill after writ, now want refund (Scottish Power).

[reded]

I received a writ for £1600 which was due in court on 24th Oct. I sent cheque to S/P solicitors on 19th and they replied that they will present cheque as payment but still require another £240 for legal expenses, £57 for outlays, £160 for 8% interst from date they billed me totalling £457 before they will stop court action. I investigated through the CAG site and found out about codes of practice, Energywatch and decided to contact S/P solicitor who stated i had to settle to avoid court so i grudgingly paid another £457.
I contacted Energywatch who put me through to S/P, i told them i wanted them to review the bill i had paid as i had a direct debit set up to pay my bill at £43 per month from early 2002 till early 2006, i had my meter read regularly yet my direct debit remained unchanged. My argument is that scottish power were less than professional in not billing me properly and allowing me to build up a debt caused by their mis-management of my account, i am just worried that since i have paid the bill i am onto a loser, anyone been through this or got advice for me. will keep you informed.

[hagenuk]

Have they been sending you bills during this time?

[reded]

got a bill january 2006, they gave me a choice set a d/debit of £160 per month or get a card meter, was no choice really as i could not afford direct debit. got the meter installed feb 2006 and moved house after that then served with writ 3 weeks ago, initial bill was £1,300, total cost to date over £2,000 as £300 added for elec charges and the rest for legal fees.

[reded]

the bill i received jan 2006 was only bill i received.

[hagenuk]

Did you inform them of your new address, as you say you moved after the meter was installed?

How long after the meter was installed did you move?

[reded]

did not inform of new address and moved 6 months after meter was installed.
Guy from scottish power called me yesterday to inform me that i would not be entitled to any refund and stated that they had sent me letters to take a meter reading and pass it onto them and that i did not do this therefore they could not adjust direct debit amount, i told them that scottish power had read the meter during this time and still did not adjust direct debit so both responsible but only me that suffers. the fact that i deduce from this is that s/p had the means to send me a bill and adjust direct debit as they had read the meter. i asked the guy to send me a letter stating all we spoke abt during or conversation and i will post this on site when i get it.