Scottish Power

[gpick24]

Hi all,

I`ve been having problems with Scottish Power for ages now, it`s quite a long story so I`ll try and keep it as brief as I can but can go into more detail if needed.

I`m on a PAYG meter for electricity, but due to a mess up by Scottish Power (wrong meter installed) I was due a refund for over payment ( £207.52 ) which I eventually received last summer.

A few weeks ago I went through some electricity bills and noticed something that didn`t look right so did a bit of investigating, I logged into my Scottish Power account and checked back to when I received the refund (last June) , although it did actually show that Scottish Power had credited my account with the £207.52, the balance on my account didn`t increase but when they sent me the cheque my the £207.52 was knocked off my balance, so I was actually given the refund from my own balance.

Then, as if that isn`t bad enough, on my bill dated 1st September, the £207.52 has been added onto the bill so I have had to pay it back.

So, I`ve printed of the bill in question and did a screen capture of the credits part of my account a few weeks ago and have kept going back to it thinking that I must have this wrong somehow, but still can`t so how.

Then, last week I decided it`s time to ring them and see what they say about it, logged into my account and things have been altered, what was a £207.52 credit has been changed into a debit, and there are entries that weren`t there before.

I rang them last week, got cut off.

Sent them an email, only reply I`ve received is an automated reply saying they will respond within 5 working days, today is day 8 and I`ve heard nothing.

I`ve attached captures, am I going mad and all this is right or have they pulled a fast one.

 

Thanks for looking,

Gpick.

[Bazooka Boo]

OK, don't ring them, you've emailed them, so keep that email you sent and their response.

 

Have a look on SP website and see what it says about customer service and the timescales they give themselves to respond and rectify your complaint.

 

Don't be too surprised that they're inept, they've just had a huge fine off the ombudsman for cr@p IT systems and customer service.

 

The longer they take to rectify your complaint the better for you.

 

I think, although you'll have to do your own research on their site, that they have 8 weeks in which to rectify your complaint, after which, you can escalate it straight to the ombudsman for investigation, which is what you want ideally.

 

Keep an eye on your credit file to see if they are dumb enough to leave markers on your file,, if they do, then you may have grounds for suing them for defamation.

 

Keep EVERYTHING in writing or email ONLY, unless you can record your calls?

 

And obtain ''proof of posting'' which is free from the PO counter, and keep with a copy of the letters you send them, keep a diary of events also.

[unclebulgaria67]

There has been some recent media on Scottish Power accounts problems.

 

Does not make much sense what you have posted. Can't follow the account transaction attachments you have posted. I think they have had problems with your account over a period and it has been a gargled mess. Someone at SP need to manually go through everything.

 

You really need to known how much you have been charged for energy and how much you have paid over say the last 2 years. I think you should raise a complaint about the state of your account records.

[gpick24]

Hi, thanks for the replies, I`ll try and make it a bit clearer what has happened. Last year I raised a complaint with SP that ended up going to the Ombudsman, it was decided that we had overpaid and SP should refund the overpayment of £207.52. In June I received a cheque for that amount. If you look at the attachment with the red ring, you will see that they "credited" my account with £207.52, but the balance to the right that normally goes up with each credit, in this case didn`t, but when they sent me the cheque, the balance was reduced, so the refund they sent me was from our credits.

Also, on Septembers bill, the £207.52 was added to the bill, meaning we have now paid it them back.

 

Hope that makes sense.

GPick.

[Bazooka Boo]

Give them an email or send a letter, outlining what has gone on, and what it is they need to do to rectify it, they'll probably, hopefully, send you another cheque?

[gpick24]

Emailed them last week, I got an automated reply saying 95% of emails take 2 day for them to respond but to allow 5, it`s now over that and still nothing. I`ll send another over the weekend.

[Bazooka Boo]

Start their complaints process, it might rattle their cage a bit and get them to hurry up!

[gpick24]

Hi again,

I emailed SP again last week, and once again my email has been ignored (apart from the auto response), I have now emailed them back asking that it be sent to their Customer Care Team in line with their complaints procedure here - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/customer-services/complaints/

 

Thanks,

GPick.

[Bazooka Boo]

Follow it up with a written response, outlining your complaint and that they have failed, miserably, to even follow their own complaints procedure, therefore should they insist on continuing their ignorant attitude to their customers, you will inform the energy ombudsman to investigate their failings.

[ericsbrother]

compalin to their chief exec, they have a team that deals with high level complaints. Unfortunately they also tell lies to the Ombudsman but you can let them know you will be seeking copies of everything as a SAR at a later date so they should write things down properly.

[gpick24]

Thanks for the advice, I didn`t know you could SAR and energy company, how would I go about that? How would I complain to the chief exec?

I`ve also found that the £207.52 that was added to Septembers bill has also been added to February 2016 bill as well.

I have received a reply from them now saying that the customer care team are now investigating the issue and have received a complaint reference number.

 

Thanks,

GPick.

[ericsbrother]

google for the name of SP chief exec and search for email addy. there are sites that list all company bosses emails.

As for the SAR, tell the person you last communicated with that you want the address of their data controller so you can do a SAR. There is a £10 fee for this but make sure that you get them to repay you this when you settle a comensation offer from them.

[gpick24]

Thanks,

I have sent a email requesting the address of the Data Controller and have found the email of the CEO here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/energy-bills/11183690/Scottish-Power-how-to-make-customer-services-listen-to-your-complaint.html

 

I haven`t emailed him yet, will do it today if I get time.

 

Thanks again,

GPick.