Jump to content


  • Tweets

  • Posts

    • Yep, I read that and thought about trying to find out what the consideration and grace period is at Riverside but not sure I can. I know they say "You must tell us the specific consideration/grace period at a site if our compliance team or our agents ask what it is"  but I doubt they would disclose it to the public, maybe I should have asked in my CPR 31.14 letter? Yes, I think I can get rid of 5 minutes. I am also going to include a point about BPA CoP: 13.2 The reference to a consideration period in 13.1 shall not apply where a parking event takes place. I think that is Deception .... They giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other!
    • Six months of conflict have also taken a heavy economic toll.View the full article
    • the Town and Country [advertisments ] Regulations 2007 are not easy to understand. Most Council planing officials don't so it's good that you found one who knows. Although he may not have been right if the rogues have not been "controlling" in the car park for that long. The time only starts when the ANPR signs go up, not how long the area has been used as a car park.   Sadly I have checked Highview out and they have been there since at least 2014 . I have looked at the BPA Code of Practice version 8 which covers 2023 and that states Re Consideration and Grace Periods 13.3 Where a parking location is one where a limited period of parking is permitted, or where drivers contract to park for a defined period and pay for that service in advance (Pay & Display), this would be considered as a parking event and a Grace Period of at least 10 minutes must be added to the end of a parking event before you issue a PCN. It then goes on to explain a bit more further down 13.5 You must tell us the specific consideration/grace period at a site if our compliance team or our agents ask what it is. 13.6 Neither a consideration period or a grace period are periods of free parking and there is no requirement for you to offer an additional allowance on top of a consideration or grace period. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________So you have  now only overstayed 5 minutes maximum since BPA quote a minimum of 10 minutes. And it may be that the Riverside does have a longer period perhaps because of the size of the car park? So it becomes even more incumbent on you to remember where the extra 5 minutes could be.  Were you travelling as a family with children or a disabled person where getting them in and out of the car would take longer. Was there difficulty finding a space, or having to queue to get out of the car park . Or anything else that could account for another 5 minutes  without having to claim the difference between the ANPR times and the actual times.
    • Regarding a driver, that HAS paid for parking but input an incorrect Vehicle Registration Number.   This is an easy mistake to make, especially if a driver has access to more than one vehicle. First of all, upon receiving an NTK/PCN it is important to check that the Notice fully complies with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 before deciding how to respond of course. The general advice is NOT to appeal to the Private Parking Company as, for example, you may identify yourself as driver and in certain circumstances that could harm your defence at a later stage. However, after following a recent thread on this subject, I have come to the conclusion that, in the case of inputting an incorrect Vehicle Registration Number, which is covered by “de minimis” it may actually HARM your defence at a later stage if you have not appealed to the PPC at the first appeal stage and explained that you DID pay for parking and CAN provide proof of parking, it was just that an incorrect VRN was input in error. Now, we all know that the BPA Code of Practice are guidelines from one bunch of charlatans for another bunch of charlatans to follow, but my thoughts are that there could be problems in court if a judge decides that a motorist has not followed these guidelines and has not made an appeal at the first appeal stage, therefore attempting to resolve the situation before it reaches court. From BPA Code of Practice: Section 17:  Keying Errors B) Major Keying Errors Examples of a major keying error could include: • Motorist entered their spouse’s car registration • Motorist entered something completely unrelated to their registration • Motorist made multiple keying errors (beyond one character being entered incorrectly) • Motorist has only entered a small part of their VRM, for example the first three digits In these instances we would expect that such errors are dealt with appropriately at the first appeal stage, especially if it can be proven that the motorist has paid for the parking event or that the motorist attempted to enter their VRM or were a legitimate user of the car park (eg a hospital patient or a patron of a restaurant). It is appreciated that in issuing a PCN in these instances, the operator will have incurred charges including but not limited to the DVLA fee and other processing costs therefore we believe that it is reasonable to seek to recover some of these costs by making a modest charge to the motorist of no more than £20 for a 14-day period from when the keying error was identified before reverting to the charge amount at the point of appeal. Now, we know that the "modest charge" is unenforceable in law, however, it would be up to the individual if they wanted to pay and make the problem go away or in fact if they wanted to contest the issue in court. If the motorist DOES appeal to the PPC explaining the error and the PPC rejects the appeal and the appeal fails, the motorist can use that in his favour at court.   Defence: "I entered the wrong VRN by mistake Judge, I explained this and I also submitted proof of payment for the relevant parking period in my appeal but the PPC wouldn't accept that"   If the motorist DOES NOT appeal to the PPC in the first instance the judge may well use that as a reason to dismiss the case in the claimant's favour because they may decide that they had the opportunity to resolve the matter at a much earlier stage in the proceedings. It is my humble opinion that a motorist, having paid and having proof of payment but entering the wrong VRN, should make an appeal at the first appeal stage in order to prevent problems at a later stage. In this instance, I think there is nothing to be gained by concealing the identity of the driver, especially if at a later stage, perhaps in court, it is said: “I (the driver) entered the wrong VRN.” Whether you agree or not, it is up to the individual to decide …. but worth thinking about. Any feedback, especially if you can prove to the contrary, gratefully received.
    • Women-only co-working spaces are part of the new hybrid working landscape, but they divide opinion.View the full article
  • Recommended Topics

  • Our picks

    • If you are buying a used car – you need to read this survival guide.
      • 1 reply
    • Hello,

      On 15/1/24 booked appointment with Big Motoring World (BMW) to view a mini on 17/1/24 at 8pm at their Enfield dealership.  

      Car was dirty and test drive was two circuits of roundabout on entry to the showroom.  Was p/x my car and rushed by sales exec and a manager into buying the mini and a 3yr warranty that night, sale all wrapped up by 10pm.  They strongly advised me taking warranty out on car that age (2017) and confirmed it was honoured at over 500 UK registered garages.

      The next day, 18/1/24 noticed amber engine warning light on dashboard , immediately phoned BMW aftercare team to ask for it to be investigated asap at nearest garage to me. After 15 mins on hold was told only their 5 service centres across the UK can deal with car issues with earliest date for inspection in March ! Said I’m not happy with that given what sales team advised or driving car. Told an amber warning light only advisory so to drive with caution and call back when light goes red.

      I’m not happy to do this, drive the car or with the after care experience (a sign of further stresses to come) so want a refund and to return the car asap.

      Please can you advise what I need to do today to get this done. 
       

      Many thanks 
      • 81 replies
    • Housing Association property flooding. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/438641-housing-association-property-flooding/&do=findComment&comment=5124299
      • 161 replies
    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
      We will be recommending that people do include this adverse judgement in their bundle so that when they go to county court the judge will see both sides and see the arguments against this adverse judgement.
      Also, we will be to demonstrate to the judge that we are fair-minded and that we don't mind bringing everything to the attention of the judge even if it is against our own interests.
      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
        • Like
  • Recommended Topics

ScottishPower


mutzi
style="text-align: center;">  

Thread Locked

because no one has posted on it for the last 6553 days.

If you need to add something to this thread then

 

Please click the "Report " link

 

at the bottom of one of the posts.

 

If you want to post a new story then

Please

Start your own new thread

That way you will attract more attention to your story and get more visitors and more help 

 

Thanks

Recommended Posts

We get dual fuel from ScottishPower and have done for about 2 years now. On the 20th April we got a letter from SP telling us there is an outstanding balance of £800+ on the account and that it can be paid by increasing (more than doubling) the direct debit payments for either 12 or 18 months. This we cannot afford.

 

Obviously we weren't happy about this. Phoned them up and the woman on the other end explained that the estimated bills they had been sending were too low. However the revised bill they had sent was composed of actual readings left on their automated phone system by us every few months and a couple of readers they had sent round (marked on the bill as A and C rather than E). When challenged to explain why they hadn't used these readings in the first place she got very defensive. Supposedly the problem is partially our fault for not chasing them up about sending estimates rather than using the real figures. Surely if we provide them with readings then its their responsibility? The only other option given was a pre-payment meter, which costs more per unit. Why should we pay extra for your mistake we argued? There was nothing more she could do.

 

So, after consulting the great and wise google I phoned energywatch (who were very helpful) and lodged a complaint with them. They'll get in contact with SP who are supposed to reply to us within 12 working days.

 

Just today however when scanning their T&C's I noticed this:

13.4 If information on the quantity of Fuel supplied by us is not available we may bill you on the basis of estimated readings for your likely consumption. When that information is available, we will make the appropriate adjustment, if any, to your next bill.

Surely this is a breach on contract on their part then. We have written evidence of their possesion of actual readings for all billing periods in the revised bill. Can this be used in any fashion against them?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Lueeze

Im not too sure what can be done about this, you have contacted the right people though!

 

The problem is, they will argue that you used this amount, and therefore have to pay for it.

 

If the readings were taken into account your bill would have probabally doubled anyway.

 

They have run your account badly, but I really dont know if you will be able to write any of it off...I suspect SP will carry on billing you for the £800.

 

Let us know how you get on!

 

Lou x

Link to post
Share on other sites

They should be willing to accept a repayment plan for the outstanding amount.

 

You would need to agree this figure with them, and my initial guess is that they would be looking to clear the outstanding amount within 12 months max - meaning you would need to be offering around £66 / month on top of your current payments.

 

If this is not going to be achieved because your finances are too tight, you may need to fill in an income and expenditure sheet - the CCCS will help you with this, freephone 0800 138 1111 - and will also give more detailed advice.

 

If it gets to that stage you can also get back to me and I will offer advice from personal experience.

 

If S.P. play hard ball, then using their terms and condition as you showed above may be a weapon for you to use.

 

John

..

.

 

Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice, you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Lueeze
£800+ on the account and that it can be paid by increasing (more than doubling) the direct debit payments for either 12 or 18 months. This we cannot afford.

 

 

I dont think they can afford much extra to pay off the amount owing...and SP have already offered for it to be payed over a period of time.

 

Sorry we cannot help more, but stick to your guns and see what happens, they may offer a discount to you, but Its unlikely!

 

Good Luck

 

Lou xx

Link to post
Share on other sites

Only a few weeks ago a friend of mine experienced very similar problems with Scottish Power. SP hadn't read her meter for over 2 years, but they sent her a bill for a few hundred pounds. Whilst the meter readings were more or less right the bill represented Scottish Power's price increases that had come into force during the period her meter remained unread.

When she originally changed to Scottish Power everything was arranged over the phone, and she was not provided with, or asked to sign a contract. She was quoted the price per unit and future price increases were never even mentioned.

When my friend refused to pay this bill SP told her that until this debt is paid they will prevent her from changing supplier.

She is now in the process of changing her energy supplier to Seeboard Power, as SP do not have the Power to block such a move.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Quote from CCCS website

 

 

Gas and electricity companies must take notice of customers in need and should allow you to pay back what you owe at a rate you can afford. If you require further help and advice you can contact us on 0800 138 1111.

..

.

 

Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice, you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

@ Mutzi

 

Hi there, I work as a supervisor for a well known supplier, but not Scottish Power.

 

Whilst there is a responsiblility on a customer's part to check the reads used to produce a bill are accurate, there is also the responsibility on the suppliers part to ensure that the account is billed accurately and correctly. This can be done as a catch up bill from previous estimates as has happened here, however it would appear that Scottish Power have chosen to ignore the actual reads provided by both you and a metering agency and are in breach of their own terms and conditions.

 

What should have occurred, and although I base this on my employers policies it is generic throughout the industry, is you should have been rebilled to the actual reads on the day these reads were received, this probably would have resulted in a small catch up bill on the account. This should have occurred each time actual reads were provided following an estimate. Further to this had Scottish Power used these actual reads then future estimates would have been more accurate.

 

Although all suppliers T&C's state that you must pay for what you have used, in this instance I would not expect a customer to be responsible for 100% of the amount of underbilling as they had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that a correct read was provided and used.

 

This complaint should have gone to a supervisor or manager to deal with as they have the authority to reduce the amount owing and negotiate a longer period of repayment on direct debit.

 

With the involvement of Energywatch you will on probability find that Scottish Power will agree to spread the cost of the underbilling over a longer period of time, and can be ordered to do so by Energywatch. However Energywatch, as yet, do not have any power to order compensation to be paid.

 

@ diddled

 

Currently there are only 2 valid reasons a supplier can object to and block a change of supply, these are incorrect technical details and debt over 28 days.

 

Your friend may well find that they cannot change supplier as SP will object as they have issued a demand for payment which remains unpaid after 28 days, and will at some point in the process receive a letter from the proposed supplier stating they have received an objection. However if your friend is on a direct debit scheme SP cannot block the change of supply as per recent Ofgem/Energywatch rulings in 2005.

 

The objection to change of supply where there is an oustanding debt over 28 days will eventually not be allowed, although I do not have a timescale for this, it is known that Ofgem/Energywatch are looking into this.

  • Haha 1

The advice I give in relation to benefits should be viewed as general advice and not specific to your individual claim circumstances. I cannot give specific advice on your claim as I cannot access the claim.

 

If you find the advice useful please click on my scales.

Link to post
Share on other sites

My friends problem first arose when she asked SP to change her onto DD scheme instead of having to to buy tokens to feed her electric meter. She was already paying for gas on SP DD scheme. SP never bothered read or update her electric meter when they increased their prices, but claimed that she owed them money.

When you pay as you go, how can you lawfully incur a debt

Link to post
Share on other sites

My friends problem first arose when she asked SP to change her onto DD scheme instead of having to to buy tokens to feed her electric meter. She was already paying for gas on SP DD scheme. SP never bothered read or update her electric meter when they increased their prices, but claimed that she owed them money.

When you pay as you go, how can you lawfully incur a debt

 

The only way there can be a debt on a prepayment account is if the meter was installed originally to claim a debt owing on an account. if this does not apply then I would strongly recommend speaking to a manager at SP, and if this does not get a satifactory response contact Energywatch on 08459 06 07 08.

The advice I give in relation to benefits should be viewed as general advice and not specific to your individual claim circumstances. I cannot give specific advice on your claim as I cannot access the claim.

 

If you find the advice useful please click on my scales.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The alleged debt on the meter appears to have resulted from Scottish Power's price increases. Scottish Power failed to reset the meter's tariffs when price increases came into effect.

Link to post
Share on other sites

SP should have ensured that their prepay meters were reset to the current prices in a timely manner, where I work in a situation like this an appointment would be made to reset the meter and the theoretical debt on the account would be written off as it would be our mistake as the customer pays as they use.

The advice I give in relation to benefits should be viewed as general advice and not specific to your individual claim circumstances. I cannot give specific advice on your claim as I cannot access the claim.

 

If you find the advice useful please click on my scales.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Recieved a reply to our complaint last week:

 

The content is very patronising.

 

We're so sorry blah......

 

Until recently, no action was taken to correct the electricity account using actual readings. Meter readers have called regularly and we have an actual reading from you in April 2006 (they have readings for the last two years according to the revised bill.) I can only apologise it has taken such a long time to update your account with the correct readings. If in the future you recieve another estimated bill, I suggest you call the number on the bill (WE DID!), give actual readings and ask for an amended bill to be issued. (The automated woman will understand this request??)

 

...In the interest of good customer relations I have reduced your balance by 15%...

 

...I can offer you 24 months to repay the balance...

 

...Any default in repayment can result in the full outstanding balance being requested...

 

 

I'm satisfied with the reduction and extended repayment period but still have a few niggles.

 

They have not addressed the issue which caused the problem in the first place. Is there a way we can actually refuse the accept any sort of estimated bill in the future, such that they are obligated to accept our readings or collect their own every few months?

 

The sentance on defaulting payments. Does this constitute a credit agreement, bearing in mind that the outstanding balance is their fault? I'm just not too sure about this point.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 12 years later...

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019.

If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there.

If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened.

- Consumer Action Group

Link to post
Share on other sites

style="text-align: center;">  

Thread Locked

because no one has posted on it for the last 6553 days.

If you need to add something to this thread then

 

Please click the "Report " link

 

at the bottom of one of the posts.

 

If you want to post a new story then

Please

Start your own new thread

That way you will attract more attention to your story and get more visitors and more help 

 

Thanks

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 Caggers

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Have we helped you ...?


×
×
  • Create New...