To Switch or not to Switch? The Saga. (Scottish Power)

Member Name: flutel

Product:	Scottish Power
Date:	02/07/09 (158 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheaper tariff that supplier before

Disadvantages: Customer Care don't use plain English on the phone. Slow to give cash back

Having just had five phone calls with Scottish Power, I thought I'd review them.

I spent some months with SP last year with an dualfuel online tariff. I really liked the ease with which I read my own meters and submitted the details. Immediately, a price was calculated. There was also a useful energy breakdown with a chart. I paid by direct debit. I think it was the best way of sorting out bills that I ever experienced... But that was then.....


The problem came when energy prices dropped and I was still stuck on my fixed tariff until Next September. It cost me £50 to switch, but I reckoned that this would be less than the prices of SP at that time.


A short while after I switched, I was contacted by a SP salesperson who tried to recruit me back to SP on a new cheaper tariff. When I discovered it was cheaper I was tempted to switch back. The sales guy clinched it when he said he would refund my £50 switching fee. I agreed.


A couple of months later, when lookinng through my energy statements, I see that I have been charged the switching fee but it has not been refunded as they promised. I contacted the Customer Service Helpline. The woman at the end investigated a bit and then told me I would need to talk to Sales as they were the ones that arranged this. I rang through to be told that the job of Sales was just to sell energy - not rectify any gaffs.


By this time, I was getting a bit peeved. I asked her to put in a complaint. Something I had been promised was not easily forthcoming - and the staff did not seem to be very competent. The Sales person told me that it really was the job of the Customer Services Team - so I rang them back.


This time, I got an assistant who made a bit of effort for me although she cut us off in the middle and rang me back. Fimally, she told me a person form 'Customer Care' would call me in the next 5 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, Customer Care called and told me that they could rectify the problem. I requested a cheque to be sent to me as the charge had gone out of my account. The assistant explained some total bunkum to me that I could not understand with lots of words like 'rebill' and 'recalculate' being bandied about. Finally, I stopped him and said that I could not understand him - I teach English - but I had no idea what he meant. It seemed to me that he was reticent to give any real money back to me.

After stating this and that I wanted a cheque sending to me, he finally agreed to process my charge and send me the money within 10 working days.


I wait to see whether the cheque will arrive or that somehow the costs will be reabsorbed into my credit with some excuse.


To Conclude
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It seems that switching suppliers can be a headache - even though eager beaver salespeople might want to make you believe it is effortless.

Scottish Power have been quick to take my money but are slow to admit that they still owe it to me and slow to actually pay it to me. I find it a real pain in the a**e to have to endure 5 calls with them to get it back. A less tenacious person might have let this go and SP would be in pocket.

Mental note to self - avoid having SP as a supplier when I am old.

Summary: Check your statements carefully.