power companies - the rip off continues

I'm afraid you will get nowhere with it!

My elder sister was overpaid to Powergen by over £800.00.

Following Lord knows how many phone calls to customer service people, who were too thick to comprehend the situation,
and many letters, they finally relented and agreed to reimburse the money.

Guess what! When the next bill arrived they had added £800.00 to the bill!!!!!

I'm afraid that at that point I gave up on it!

My sister had been in residential care, for some time, and she passed away last February.

ah yes. the customer service mob.

when i was dealing with eon, the lady informed me that the reason my bill had increased from 300 a quarter to 400 a month was maybe because 'i had left a light on'.
my reply, surprisingly, was 'what? a light on?'
she then said 'maybe u drink a lot of tea.'
i screamed 'tea? wtf is wrong with u? are u on drugs?'
her reply was 'not at the moment, but i wish i was.'

and guess what? after the subsequent internal investigation - she still ddint get sacked!

This is why I never bother with price comparison sites or with switching provider. If you're lucky enough to be with one where the supply/billing to your particular address is reliable and the customer service deals sensibly with bill queries, then stick with them.

You're never going to save enough by switching suppliers to compensate for the potential aggravation as another member of this cartel takes the p1ss out of you.

As it happens, Southern Electric works OK for my (electric-only) home, and is always fair when about refunding overpayments, so I'm happy to stay with them, even if there might be a cheaper supplier out there.

I pay £94 a month. Scottish Power, 3 bedroom semi.

^ That's gas and electric.

371pm - 3 bed detached. thats gas and electric. this waqs downgraded 289 (?).

my winter quarter bill was in excess of 1200 quid.
my bill from jan to april was over 1010 quid.

thats broken down like this:

electric:
379 night (read)
322 night (est)
1427 day (read)
1032 (est)

gas:

actual

secondary 9058 @3.524 = 319.20
primary 285 @7.663 = 21.84

est

secondary 7854 @3.314 = 260.28
primary 329 @ 7.453 = 24.52

if that means owt tio any of u.

what i did find out was just how much of my money went on actual fuel - 50%. 9% tax. 20% to get the power to my house and, finally....

21% to manage my account!

21% to process the bills, read the meters and maintain the call centres. and towards profits.


http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/billing/what-makes-up-your-bill.aspx

so im paying around 1500 quid a year in account charges.

scottish power have 5m customers.

those electric kwh charges:

night = 5.72

day secondary = 11.471
day primary 21.821

"your power supply is at risk"


Yep, they always got you by the balls with this policy....The tw*ts should be banned for doing this.... Whilst they are raking in record profits every year, it should be a HUMAN RIGHT to live somewhere that is a minimum of 20C.


In the meantime 100´s of elderly people die every year because they are forced to either heat or eat.



IT´S A COPORATE AUSCHWITZ

It's the "Economy" 7 that's killing you.

I presume you have storage heaters?

egg - no. gas central heating, squire!!!!!

dont understand the bills. never have done.

just intrigued that they take 21% of my bill to maintain my account!

i had a similar problem with eon, went on for about a year trying to convince3 them that i wasnt responsible for the bill in the empty property downstairs that they had wrongly linked my name to, after many phone calls to them after threatening letters in the post, it was eventually resolved. I never received any compensation or apology.

what do i do now?

You are on Economy 7 where you are charged much more than standard for day time electricity and less than standard for night time electricity.

This is only more economical if you have storage heaters or stay up all night using the washing machine, dryer, iron etc.

You should contact your supplier and ask to go off Economy 7 onto a standard tariff.

You are needlessly paying way over what you could be.

I manage the utilities at work and have to say it has put years on me, had battles with all of em'. The best one was receiving a bill for 94k. - after weeks of phone calls they sent a revised bill - 103k !!

Worst trick is claiming they have sent you a renewal letter with a deadline for cancellation and renewing your contract because you never responded.

I say let's re-nationalise the utilities - they will run at a loss but it will still be cheaper than paying these legalised crooks.

egg - thankyou. i'll try that. the power of chit chat, chaps.

as for renationalisation - totally agree. but it wouldnt just be the power providers - it would be the suppliers, too. and how much would it cost to go buy their shares?

Danthechip.....'re-nationalise the utilities'.

No ! We forget how awful the nationalised utilites were. They were a standard part of any 1970s comedians act. eg. the 'Smith and Jones' tv sketch of two British gasmen staking out a house, and waiting till the householder went out,  before dropping a 'the gasman called card' throught the letter box.

Telephone system was run by er....'the Post Office'.....you could have any colour you wanted, as long as it was black......and were prepared to share a phone line with a complete stranger, who could listen in at will to your calls ('party lines' remember them ?)

British Rail ? My dad 'worked' for them. Used to sun himself in garden at home then drive into work to er....'clock OFF!'

we are with eon an pay £97 a month for gas and electric in a 3 bed chalet bungalow..deal ends in july so whilst i dont think this is too bad will have a look on comparison site for a better deal..

u aint gonna believe this!!!!

i just got a letter from sterling collections, demanding full payment of whats owed, with a charge of 39 for a bailiff to attend and fit a pre payment meter, then additional exes of 275!

so they can owe me nearly a grand and its tough, but when i owe 792 quid, i get threatening and abusive letters and a whole host of charges....

i screamed 'tea? wtf is wrong with u? are u on drugs?'
her reply was 'not at the moment, but i wish i was.'

At least you know where the extra money is going then.

If your creditor sends a representative to your door
It's important to distinguish between a bailiff, who has authority from the court, and a creditor's representative or debt collector, who doesn't. (A 'creditor' is a person, company or council that you owe money to.)
If you have a visitor, ask to see their ID and their warrant from the court. Only a bailiff will have a warrant. If it's merely a company representative or debt collector, SON1C's sound guidance is:
'Keep your cool and don't panic, you do not have to discuss the matter with them and they do not have a right of entry to your home. Tell them you have made your position clear and that you do not wish to discuss it any further. If they won't take no for an answer, tell them that you have asked them to leave and if they remain then they are trespassing and you will call the police. If they remain, do so.'
This time it is a bailiff at the door. What can they do?
If your creditor gets a court order, the judge can authorise bailiffs to visit and attempt to collect the debt. (In Scotland, a judge doesn't need to authorise bailiff visits for council debts.) You will know if you can expect bailiffs, because you should have received notice in writing.
Further advice from SON1C is:
'Contrary to popular belief, most bailiffs are reasonable, they just want to get the job done and they don't bear you any personal malice. If they call and you are not in, they will generally leave you a letter to say they have been and will leave you a number to call them on. You would be best advised to call them and try to make an arrangement to pay the debt, they will always generally listen to any proposal that you make, but don't mess them about.'
What can they take?
Bailiffs can take non-essential items, but they can't take essentials such as your oven, fridge, clothes, most furniture and tools of trade. They can take possessions outside your home, such as your car, garden furniture and shed contents.
Can they force their way in?
The basic rule is:
'Unless the debt that you owe is a Crown debt (a fine or council tax), a bailiff does not have a right to force entry.'
However, there are exceptions. If you're behind with your rent or mortgage payments, your landlord or mortgage lender may get a court order to evict you. In this situation, the bailiffs are allowed to break into your home.
SON1C also points out:
'You do not have to let them in and whatever you do, do not fall for the "well OK, if you just sign this to say I can't come in, I'll go" trick.
'What they will be asking you to sign is a walking possession order. Warning: If you sign this, then they can return at a later time and they can force entry then. The best way to deal with enforcement officers is to be polite but firm. My advice in this situation is: Make an offer of payment if you can afford to (it doesn't matter if this is only a couple of pounds per month) Do not let them in and Do not sign anything'
More dirty tricks
Experiences reported by our board users include bailiffs:

    Peering through windows to log your possessions
    Entering through open windows and unlocked doors, and scaling walls
    Taking vehicles
    Attempting to 'befriend' you, or asking to borrow your phone
    If you get a court summons, always attend to get your case across. If you've made a reasonable offer within your means and kept written evidence of this, the judge may even reduce what you have offered to penalise the creditor for wasting the court's time.

These are all tricks to gain entry. Once inside, they can force their way into the home next time they visit.
What you should do

    Contact your creditors before bailiffs get involved, if possible. Offer them something, but not more than you can afford, regardless of how little that is. Always follow-up phone calls with your offer in writing.
    Don't answer the door to bailiffs. Ask them to leave their card and say you will make an offer in writing.
    Keep your curtains and windows shut, and your car parked away from your property.
    If you get a court summons, always attend to get your case across. If you've made a reasonable offer within your means and kept written evidence of this, the judge may even reduce what you have offered to penalise the creditor for wasting the court's time.

Can Ts+Cs not be worthless if they are deemed unreasonable?