Scottish Power nightmare...please help

[Lisey Loo]

This situation has become horrendous but I will try to keep it short.

 

Privately renting a flat in a converted house since 2001,

my gas was & still is with British Gas,

electricity paid via coin meter that landlord had installed.

 

After a few years of the meter, I asked landlord to remove it which he did.

I then had a Dual Fuel tariff with BG.

 

Near the end of 2003, I suddenly start getting 'welcome' letters & bills from Scottish Power!!

I rang to say I wasn't with them, as I wouldn't spilt my bills & cost myself more money

but they refused to listen as I had apparently signed up with them.

 

I asked for proof of this which they have never had or shown me.

I have spent years trying to cancel the account that I never wanted & trying to go back to BG but SP just don't listen.

 

They have been billing me for electricity but the meter serial number they have is for an address in the next street!

I also have the problem that it seems that my meter/account is somehow attached to the flat upstairs

which means that I am being held responsible for all the tenants who have lived up there too.

 

I have been to the Ombudsman who agrees with me but who says as SP no longer have proof of my signature, the onus is on me to prove

I never signed anything with them

 

The bill is approx £6k at the moment.

 

I am disabled & on benefits and have now had a warrant entry letter & I cannot deal with this anymore.

 

Sorry to ramble but this is making me ill & I know it has gone on for too long but the Ombudsman took a year before getting back to me.

 

Any advice & help very gratefully appreciated...

Edited October 23, 2012 by citizenB
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[citizenB]

I have been to the Ombudsman who agrees with me but who says as SP no longer have proof of my signature, the onus is on me to prove I never signed anything with them

 

Surely this cant be correct.. it is Scottish Power who are demanding money and as such.. they should be the ones who have to prove that you DID sign with them.

 

I will try and find some help for you.

[Lisey Loo]

Thank you so much!!!

[slick132]

Hi LiseyLoo,

 

I agree entirely with CitB and believe the Ombudsman's opinion is wrong.

 

It is surely down to SP to prove that you signed up with them. If SP "no longer have your signature", my response would be, "Of course they haven't, because I never signed with them in the first place."

 

I suspect that, back in 2003, agents were signing up new customers recklessly, possibly without the consumer's knowledge or consent.

 

As this has gone on so long, you could make one final approach to the Ombudsman giving them 14 days to reply, failing which you could contact your MP asking for assistance in resolving the matter. Also, ask for the Entry Warrant to be suspended pending resolution of the matter.

 

As regards the matter of you being responsible for consumption by other flats in the building, this is for the landlord to rectify and ensure that your meters register only your consumption.

 

[seanamarts]

Are the meter numbers the same as the numbers on the bills that SP are sending you.

 

Also as Freaky has stated, you need to get onto your landlord to get this rectified and get a refund for all the power that the other tenants have been using.

[seanamarts]

I would also check with BG that they havnt made any mistakes either, they tend to make a habit of claiming meters that they are not registered with.

[Lisey Loo]

Hi LiseyLoo,

 

I agree entirely with CitB and believe the Ombudsman's opinion is wrong.

 

It is surely down to SP to prove that you signed up with them. If SP "no longer have your signature", my response would be, "Of course they haven't, because I never signed with them in the first place."

 

I suspect that, back in 2003, agents were signing up new customers recklessly, possibly without the consumer's knowledge or consent.

 

As this has gone on so long, you could make one final approach to the Ombudsman giving them 14 days to reply, failing which you could contact your MP asking for assistance in resolving the matter. Also, ask for the Entry Warrant to be suspended pending resolution of the matter.

 

As regards the matter of you being responsible for consumption by other flats in the building, this is for the landlord to rectify and ensure that your meters register only your consumption.

 

 

Hi, the Ombudsman said I should accept the bill, and they would get SP to give me £150 off as a gesture of goodwill but I refused. So the Ombudsman has said I have to deal with it alone now. Will find out who my Mp is & contact them, thanks for that. Who would actually be able to put a hold on the WoE? The letter shoved through my door was a very badly photocopied template with my name added from Secus.

 

My landlord is the worst landlord ever, he knows about the problems with the meters as last year we tried to get correct readings as there isn't a meter I can get to in my flat.

[Lisey Loo]

Are the meter numbers the same as the numbers on the bills that SP are sending you.

 

Also as Freaky has stated, you need to get onto your landlord to get this rectified and get a refund for all the power that the other tenants have been using.

 

I will double check that tomorrow, I have a big box file of papers, so it will take a while to go through them all.

[Lisey Loo]

I would also check with BG that they havnt made any mistakes either, they tend to make a habit of claiming meters that they are not registered with.

 

I will call them again, they were useless when this all kicked off & didn't want to know

[seanamarts]

I will double check that tomorrow, I have a big box file of papers, so it will take a while to go through them all.

 

The meter number will be on the bill.

 

You can also call to find out who is supplying you, have a look at this link and see what area you can call.

 

http://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/who-supplies-my-electricity-and-gas/

 

If it works out that SP are your provider, then BG has a lot of explaining to do. They will also have to pay back what you have paid them.

[dx100uk]

dont forget we have a scottish power rep on this board too.

 

it would be 'poor' to not let them get involved and comment

 

dx

[MARTIN3030]

I have contacted him with a link to your thread here.

[ScottishPower Company Rep]

Hi, I am the ScottishPower company rep on this forum, can you please email account and contact details & we will look into this as a matter of urgency. [email protected] thanks Gerry

[seanamarts]

I will call them again, they were useless when this all kicked off & didn't want to know

 

Thats BG for you.

 

I hope our rep can help you out here, please keep us updated on the situation.

[MARTIN3030]

Thanks for fast response Gerry.

[Lisey Loo]

Thank you all for your help, much appreciated.

 

 

I have emailed Gerry now and my MP.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Lisey Loo

[MARTIN3030]

Good keep us updated as you are able.

[Lisey Loo]

Right guys, I have had this response from my MP's office:

 

Your email has been forwarded to me for attention. I have read your story with deep interest and some of the points simply amaze me. It's your responsibility to prove that you did not sign anything says the Ombudsman? That's almost as stupid as saying prove to me you've never been to the moon. The whole situation is a series of cock-ups and deserves to be exposed. I appreciate that you have a bill for £6k that is not your liability and time is critical in getting some action.

 

I wish to suggest two things. Firstly invite the media in the form of the Chronicle and Echo to make an article of this and to challenge the claims of Scottish Power as a demonstration of your innocence. If they do run a story then the national press will pick up on it and expose SP for their incompetence. Additionally you might want to get the strength of Ann Robinson (Watchdog) on TV and her team to investigate matters and challenge the CEO of Scottish Power. Watchdog are looking for people with disputes with energy suppliers as their website states and I would imagine that your story is an interesting and deplorable one.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/about/

 

Whilst there is a TV investigation they are more likely to suspend demands until everything has been sorted and hopefully in your favour.

 

Certainly Mr Binley can write a letter to Scottish Power asking for an explanation but it may take weeks until they reply and even then there is no guarantee that they would reverse their decision against you.

 

Locally, have you contacted the Citizens Advice Bureau or Community Law? Their numbers are CAB - 08448552122 and Com Law is 01604-636112.

 

Please let me know if I can be of any further help and I'd be interested to learn what progress you have made.

 

 

Graham Goldcrown (Senior Caseworker)

Office of Brian Binley M.P.

The White Lodge

42, Billing Road

Northampton

NN1 5DA

01604-633414

 

I sent him this reply:

 

Thank you so much for your quick reply.

I have contacted Watchdog several times over the years and most recently back in February but unfortunately had no response to my emails.

I shall try the Chronicle and the CAB again as they said I had to deal with the Ombudsman first.

I would certainly appreciate a letter to SP from Mr Binley as they will probably take more notice of him rather than me.

 

...and in the meantime I have heard back from Gerry but his email has just made me more upset & worried than ever. Am I allowed to put his email on here for you to read & advise me on?

[citizenB]

Very positive response from your MP's office.. I will just check if you can put the email from SP on the forums.. I dont see a problem... but just making sure..

 

BRB

[slick132]

LiseyLoo,

 

If you're unsure about posting the email from SP, send it to one of the Site Team first so we can decide if it's ok to post on-thread.

 

Good to see the quick and helpful response from your MP's office.

 

[MARTIN3030]

Yes please forward any concerns to site team via the report icon lower.

[BankFodder]

I think that we would also like to see the Ombudsman letter which tells you that you have to prove that you did not sign anything.

 

We can help you contact the press on this as well.

 

Please would you send an email to our admin email address with a phone number so that we can call you for a chat.

 

Ta

[Lisey Loo]

I have gone through my box file quickly and I have found electricity bills from BG from 2004 & 2005, letters from SP to a Ms Sonia Lane at my address welcoming her as a new customer in 2007 & 2008 (nobody of that name has ever lived here), a letter from SP that states I signed a form but no proof of my signature.

 

I will be back later with more info as I have to go to hospital now.

[ScottishPower Company Rep]

• The old BG bills will be very helpful.
  
• We are happy for you to post a copy of my email but please be cautious about your details, in particular the MPAN and address. Please also remember that we cannot post information about you or your complaint or account as we have a duty to keep your information secure.
  
• Because we cannot respond in detail on this public forum it may appear that we are being defensive or overly cautious, this is not the case but we balance this with our requirement to safeguard our customer's privacy.
  
• We are happy to deal with your representatives.
  

I will email you this afternoon.

Gerry

[IdaInFife]

You can certainly post up your response from SP on the forum removing any personal/identifiable markers or if you would prefer to pm me or citizenb who can check it and put in a summary for you