@sp_energypeople Alternative to Energy Ombudsman for problem with Scottish Power

[clairemp]

Hi

 

Has anyone had any success dealing with Scottish Power with any alternative remedy to the Energy Ombudsman, please?

 

I'm helping out a seriously ill friend whose bills have got in a mess over a number of year

he's been in and out of hospital with various internal organs packing up.

 

I've been trying to disentangle his energy bills which is through Scottish Power

which he had no choice about as it was mandatory as part of his rental.

 

It's all very convoluted but comes down to them refusing repeatedly to amend the billing address to make sure he received bills,

failing to provide any tariff information at all

and simply applying whatever tariff at any one time was the most advantageous for them, and

 

now it turns out that the meter readers he was letting into the property (which is a redeveloped mill with many apartments)

weren't in fact reading the meters at all so the bills have been estimated.

 

Not getting the bills means he's not been able to draw down any of the discounts he'd have been entitled to

and he's now being billed for usage they can't prove he ever used.

 

While this complaint has been ongoing, even though I'm Court-appointed as his representative

they won't use my address or contact to resolve this,

have ignored offers to pay,

and have passed the account while in dispute and with the Ombudsman to debt collection agents who keep ringing him on a mobile number

Scottish Power have told the Ombudsman they've never had

when I personally have been fielding up to 10 calls a day from Scottish Power and its agents to that number.

 

The Energy Ombudsman's view is that Scottish Power don't and still don't have to amend the address even though that would mean that him,

as one of the parties to the contract, would actually receive bills for the service they're trying to charge for.

 

They also say that Scottish Power can charge whatever they want without him agreeing or seeing tariffs when surely he is entitled to clear, accurate and timely bills.

 

They say it doesn't matter that there's no proof of what energy he's used, he has to pay it anyway.

 

I genuinely don't understand that at all,

when any supply is between two parties and must be equitable.

 

My view is that he should have to pay what he's used but not for what they can't prove was him

and could've been earlier tenants,

he shouldn't be charged high tariffs he never agreed to in the first place,

he should be allowed the discounts they've deprived him of.

 

With the harassment on top of this, and their steadfast refusal to try and get the matter sorted in a way that's equitable to both sides of the contract,

my inclination is to take Scottish Power to Court to get it sorted.

 

Has anyone tried this, or been able to get other mediation involved to get it sorted fairly?

 

Any help much appreciated, ta,

Claire

[dx100uk]

Claire we have a good Scottish power rep onboard here

 

i'll alert them to pop in for you

 

they normally get things sorted for users here.

 

ah..edit: its the one we cant get ahold of recently...i'll try though for you.

 

dx