Is my Mum due some compensation?

[tiggersmum]

My Mum lives in sheltered accommodation which is all electric supplied by Scottish Power. She is 78, confused and disabled.

Last year I noticed her electric bills were spiralling, her DD increased gradually to £125 per month! A lot of money out of a pension. I was telling Mum she had to be more careful with her heating but she was cold.

In Jan 07 I got Power of Attorney. Checking her bills, I realised she was being charged at the Standard Rate on her units and not White Meter. I phoned SP many times and eventually (having being promised calls back never received) I talked to someone who accepted what I said and told me that the meters had been changed in Feb 06 and not set at the correct rate. He promised to sort it but never did. I phoned again and was promised it would be sorted. I received bils adjusted from Oct 06-Feb 07...6 months short!.

So I gave up phoning and wrote. Had a letter of apology and repeated back to me everything I had told them, said DD reduced to £44 a month from £115. This still left Mum £109 in credit.

I wrote back and said I thought Mum should be due some form of compensation as the situation was all their fault and they had been taking money off Mum under false pretences. If I hadn't been looking out for her, it could have gone on forever.

Had a letter back offering £10 for phone calls which I think is an insult bearing in mind the hours I spent hanging on the phone trying to sort this out. Not to mention the money they have had the use of for a year.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[anjipl]

My sympathy is with you and your mum. I too am currently in a battle with ScottishPower. Their customer service is awful. I won't go into details about my case but I can tell you that I have asked for compensation under guaranteed standards. Not sure if this case falls under this, but if I were you I would contact Energy Watch and get their advice. ScottishPower is awful and as soon as my case is sorted, I will be changing supplier and I suggest you do so for your mum too. 125 pounds per month for a pensioner!!! Outrageous. Good god, how does she manage?

[tiggersmum]

Hi anjipl...well, she wasn't really caring...the benefits of being confused I guess..lol

It was me who was jumping up and down. But she got upset because I was upset.

Where could I read up about the "guaranteed standards?"

[anjipl]

Hi Tiggersmum, go onto energy watch website. Interesting stuff on there. And then change supplier. My friend from Energy Watch recommended Ebico. They are a christian, not for profit organisation. Not the cheapest around (yet cheaper than SP) but they don't penalise you for not using direct debits. A big plus in my book.

[tiggersmum]

Thanks again anjipl. Will check these out.