Thieving gas and electricity providers

[Mrs Reject]

this is a warning that energy providers including ours (Scottish Power) are sending out letters to people saying they have underestimated their monthly DD's and they will be increased to cover the loss. Ours has been increased to £100 per month
This is a scam to increase their revenues and they will back down sharpish when challenged. we challenged them and demanded an explanation as we don't use our gas - we are installing a wood burning stove for winter and never have the gas on for more than 15 minutes for heating washing up water + we take showers not baths so we use very little power of any kind because we can't afford to.
They are also sending these letters to old and vulnerable people. yesterday I found a 95 year old patient of mine with very poor circulation who needs heat sitting in the dark covered by blankets - she said she was terrified because she can't pay the new estimate out of her pension and won't be heating her house this winter
If you get one of these letters please not only challenge the company but send a copy of this letter to trading standards and energywatch:
http://www.energywatch.org.uk/contact_us/index.asp
They must not be allowed to rip off "customers" in this way and terrorise vulnerable people.

[critch]

Originally Posted by Mrs Reject

this is a warning that energy providers including ours (Scottish Power) are sending out letters to people saying they have underestimated their monthly DD's and they will be increased to cover the loss. Ours has been increased to £100 per month
This is a scam to increase their revenues and they will back down sharpish when challenged. we challenged them and demanded an explanation as we don't use our gas - we are installing a wood burning stove for winter and never have the gas on for more than 15 minutes for heating washing up water + we take showers not baths so we use very little power of any kind because we can't afford to.
They are also sending these letters to old and vulnerable people. yesterday I found a 95 year old patient of mine with very poor circulation who needs heat sitting in the dark covered by blankets - she said she was terrified because she can't pay the new estimate out of her pension and won't be heating her house this winter
If you get one of these letters please not only challenge the company but send a copy of this letter to trading standards and energywatch:
http://www.energywatch.org.uk/contact_us/index.asp
They must not be allowed to rip off "customers" in this way and terrorise vulnerable people.

twats just upped mine to 130......... we already have a wood burner

admittedly ive also got noahs gas boiler and my missus is alergic to turning things off,but still......................

[Mrs Reject]

I think you'll find they back down if challenged - ask them to prove you intend to use that much. We cancelled our DD and now will only pay quarterly on meter reading, we won't accept any estimates.

[critch]

wankers fekked up me direct debit only found out today

£370 for me quarter......... any way i queried it and indeed me gas was over priced by £90

however my sparks were under by £70


swings and fekkin roundabouts......

plus theyve just put a new meter on and ive no idea how to.... erm...... shall i say "live with it" ahem

[XJphil]

I`m with scottish power too, they upped mine to £141.20 a month
got my gas & electric bill , £158, the bill had a note on it saying don`t alter the DD as this will help for your winter bills, i didn`t alter it i cancelled it instead
so if i`d have carried on paying my DD at 141 a month that would be £423.60
so take off say £200 for my next bill, then do the next one they would owe me £447, do you think they would give me the money back? naw would they fuckaslike, British gas did the same on me a few years ago so i left em
they owed me £357, i got £150 back off em, they said it was to cover what i`d used and administration charges
tossers

[Yoda]

I was with scottish power and they messed us about so much so i went to uswitch and Believe it or British gas was the cheapest - and boy have we noticed a difference

Yoda

[Grav]

They are all doing it. I'm with Powergen and they sent me a bill for £140. I use card meters and challenged them through Energywatch. Three days later I got an ammended "Bill" that cleared the "debt and made them out to be doing us a favour. No apology for trying to rip us off or anything.

All the energy providers are doing it, the bastards.

Watch your bills folks.

[Kylie]

I'm with southern electric and aside from estimating my bill at something half what the previous reading was and asking me to provide a new reading i've got no problems, I'm always in credit with them, and I pay £17 a month gas and £24 a month electric. Last refund after just under a year was about £100 between the 2. I have no extra ways of heating the house and i leave my pc on all the time....

This is of course the joys of having a well insulated shoe box for a house!

[Bosun]

they tried this with parents bill

one meter reading later and several calls and back down again

[lowrider]

Will keep an eye out for that

[Grav]

Not even councils are safe from the conning bastards.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/6952388.stm

[John Hopkins]

Originally Posted by XJphil

I`m with scottish power too, they upped mine to £141.20 a month
got my gas & electric bill , £158, the bill had a note on it saying don`t alter the DD as this will help for your winter bills, i didn`t alter it i cancelled it instead
so if i`d have carried on paying my DD at 141 a month that would be £423.60
so take off say £200 for my next bill, then do the next one they would owe me £447, do you think they would give me the money back? naw would they fuckaslike, British gas did the same on me a few years ago so i left em
they owed me £357, i got £150 back off em, they said it was to cover what i`d used and administration charges
tossers

You should not have to pay administration charges as these charges are for answering the phone and writing letters and should be covered by profit margins as they are factored in, tell them in writing that any administration charges are a direct result of their mistake in overcharging you and that you will be notifying trading standards, also print out an invoice for your administration charges listed by date and reference number, keep a copy on your computer, and if they ignore it send an overdue warning next month and a final notice the month after stating that they will be taken to the small claims court if they don't pay within fourteen days.....probably won't do you any good, but it is fun... John

[rob]

fuck me, you lot use some power, don'tcha!!

my leccy's on a key meter, £40 a month in the summer, £60 in the winter. no gas.

[Creature]

im on a card metres - 25.00 per month eleccy and its building up goty some 50.00 in credit on meter ready for winter

40.00 per month on gas and thats in credit by some 30 odd quid

great no montly bills after a few times of running out early ewvening and kids not able to play on there comps or watch tv - everyone turns things off now when not needed

considering last year we were paying nearly 150.00 per month fot gas n ellecy - nice saving me thinks

[gothtec]

Either get a meter in, worked for us in London even then they tried it on a couple of times.... Or buy yourself a windturbine and solar set up (get grants for them and they pay back very quickly) and ditch the gas completely...Or biofuel generator and bottled gas...

If they cant play fair cut them out..

[Mrs Reject]

Originally Posted by gothtec

Either get a meter in, worked for us in London even then they tried it on a couple of times.... Or buy yourself a windturbine and solar set up (get grants for them and they pay back very quickly) and ditch the gas completely...Or biofuel generator and bottled gas...

If they cant play fair cut them out..

That's what we are doing, we plan to be almost self sufficient by next June when we do the house up - wood burner, solar power, wind turbine, diesel generator. I'd sooner sit about by candle light of an evening than give £100 to those scumbags!

[Bosun]

Originally Posted by Mrs Reject

TI'd sooner sit about by candle light of an evening

sort of mrs r by candlelight
rather than fanny by gaslight

[Shifty]

We're on quarterly billing for gas - the last 2 bills have been estimated. When I gave them my reading instead of paying their estimated amount, the revised bills were half the estimated amount both times.

The lesson? NEVER accept estimates, read the meter yourself and make them revise the bill.