We have quarterly readings and monthly direct debit, set at an amount designed to keep us in credit. Now they have started demanding readings 80 days after the previous one. Result? Sooner or later your bill will only have 2 direct debits paying it instead of 3, so you will be short. Their reaction: they claim that that shows that the direct debit was too small, and they vastly increase the estimated direct debit required to keep you in credit. Consequence: you soon end up with a huge credit balance. Good for them, I suppose, if they do it to everybody.
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Job motivation: how the powerful steal from the stupid. -
It's not just Scottish Power. E-on just did something pretty similar, randomly upped our monthly direct debit by £25. As this also coincided with us installing a new combi-boiler, we're now massively in credit. :-/ -
Yorkshire Water
I had a YW statement last week that showed me £75 in credit over the year. Being fair, the statement said it would be repaid automatically. However, they were putting my debit up by 20% based upon forecast for the coming year. Only when I rang them and pointed out that my existing payment more than covered my usage did they drop it back to where it was.Comment
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It is common to overestimate the required monthly payment, in order make you to keep interest-free credit balances with them. What is especially cunning about Scottish Power's trick is the mismatch between billing and payment, which inexorably results sooner or later in one of your payments being taken by them too late for it to be included in the billing period that it was meant to be in, making it look as though you are severely short.Job motivation: how the powerful steal from the stupid.Comment
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They keep reminding me that I need to give them a reading every 90 days or less. I keep forgetting to provide one, so they go with the estimated reading, which is pretty close to reality.Comment
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First Utility. Monthly billing and monthly DD.
Make sure you give them the meter reads on the last day of the month otherwise they over estimate the consumption from the day of submission to the end of the month. They used to bump my bills by 20% doing this so now, they get the reading on the last day.I couldn't give two fornicators! Yes, really!
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Towards the end of this last "90-day" billing period, they sent an email asking for readings, giving us 7 days to supply them - leading to a limit date of 80 days from the previous readings, not 90. My partner replied by email that they would get their readings on 17th March (being the day before 90 days from the previous readings). They went ahead regardless and entered estimated readings 3 days before even their own deadline - and marked them as "actual". So now their system has worked out a bill for last-time up to their estimate, PLUS the cost for last-time up to our real actual readings.Originally posted by BolshieBastard View Post
There is more, but I'm not strong enough right now.
BTW Scottish Power have also installed meters in the house, that no other retail suppler can use: so to change to another supplier we'd have to pay Scottish Power to come and remove their meters, and pay someone else to come and install the new meter. We can't really do this since it;s a rented house.
So here's where my peace of mind comes from: the new house purchase went through today. We haven't decided on the energy supplier yet, but one thing is for sure.....Job motivation: how the powerful steal from the stupid.Comment
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Don't have a direct debit then?!
I get a bill every month, and a "early payment discount" of about 3.5% which is similar to the discount most people get by paying by Direct DebitOriginally posted by Stevie Wonder BoyComment
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Every supplier will charge extra when payment isnt by DD and some will even give a reduced DF discount when DD isnt used.Originally posted by SimonMac View PostI couldn't give two fornicators! Yes, really!Comment
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