... Looking at the previous reviews on some internet sites , Scottish Power seem to have been a bit of a disappointment to many . Not so to us however . Let's hope it stays that way .
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
******************************
Before the government in it’s wisdom decided to deregulate ... Read review
Advantages: Cheaper than others , easy and convenient , on-line account Disadvantages: None for us , YET .
...on some internet sites , Scottish Power seem to have been a bit of a disappointment to many . Not so to us however . Let's hope it stays that way .
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
******************************
Before the government in it’s wisdom decided to deregulate the fuel industries , consumers had little if any choice in who supplied their gas and electricity . Once the rules and regulations were lifted most of us ... ...looked around and decided on Scottish Power . Of course once we had decided to swap supplier , and sent of the details , Npower began inundating us with deals and promises designed to make us change our minds . Ever the stubborn ones we went ahead with the swap . If you decide to swap it may be worth noting that you can often get a cashback payment if you use an internet site to do so ( something like greasy palm ) . However we just did a straight ... more
THE PROLOGUE **********************
I have been going to do this review for a while now but wanted to see if there were any problems which came to light first . Looking at the previous reviews on some internet sites , Scottish Power seem to have been a bit of a disappointment to many . Not so to us however . Let's hope it stays that way .
A LITTLE BACKGROUND ******************************
Before the government in it’s wisdom decided to deregulate the fuel industries , consumers had little if any choice in who supplied their gas and electricity . Once the rules and regulations were lifted most of us were inundated with door to door salesmen trying to persuade us to change or suppliers . Hubby and I decided to stick with either of the tried and tested British Gas and our local YEB , Yorkshire Electricity Board .We settled on YEB for both our gas and electricity .
Somewhere along the line , and I am not quite sure how , this evolved so that we were receiving our fuel through Npower . For quite a while we had no complaints , until late last year that is . We have always payed by direct debit , and in so doing have received a yearly discount .
Once a year the suppliers look at your account and decide if they need to increase your payments . Late last year they did just that and came up with a ludicrously high figure . This was based on the fact that their prices were set to rise and it seemed as if they were edging their bets . After much tooing and froing we said our goodbyes to Npower and set about changing supplier .
We researched the internet at the time and looked around and decided on Scottish Power . Of course once we had decided to swap supplier , and sent of the details , Npower began inundating us with deals and promises designed to make us change our minds . Ever the stubborn ones we went ahead with the swap . If you decide to swap it may be worth noting that you can often get a cashback payment if you use an internet site to do so ( something like greasy palm ) . However we just did a straight forward swap and what we have found up to now has been fine .
SO IF YOU WANT TO SWAP TO SCOTTISH POWER HOW EASY IS IT *************************************************************************************
I have to say it is very easy . We looked them up on the internet and initially contacted them by the phone number supplied . They contact your previous supplier and do so fairly quickly . However you do need to keep paying you previous gas and electricity suppliers bills until the transfer goes through .
What you may find , depending on the time of year is , that if you have been paying by monthly direct debit , after the swap you may get a bill from your previous suppliers . Once you are with Scottish Power you will receive a notification letter asking for your meter reading . Around the same time we were asked by Npower for our final readings and then within a short time received their final bill . This can be a bit of a pain as you will have started paying your Scottish Power direct debits now . However at least you will start with a clean slate and Npower gave us the option to pay our final bill over a short period of time .
The starter pack you get from Scottish Power has all the information you need and we did really feel supported and as if they were doing all the work for us . As we chose the on-line account I cannot comment on their other billing and meter reading reliability .
WHAT SCOTTISH POWER OFFER ****************************************** When you join Scottish Power there are quite a few different schemes you can opt for :-
Gas & Electricity - One bill and meter reading with a combined discount of up to £15.75 .
Electricity - Receiving Electricity only
Gas - Receiving only Gas . When we swapped the savings against British Gas were huge , I don’t know if that is still the case .
Online Energy Service - This is the one we plumped for . We manage our account on-line for which we receive a discount . There are no paper bills and you receive an e.mail when your meter reading is due . If you forget about the reading you get a couple of reminders and eventually an estimated reading , until you supply the details . As of yet we have had no problems but obviously if the computer goes up the Swanee we will no doubt have a few . However there is a customer service available and the end of a phone line if needed .
You can sign into your account at any time and amend details such as payment methods , amount of payment , the type of energy account , enter a meter reading or just check out the current state of your account .
PriceFall Energy - This has a maximum set price for your energy and the prices are guaranteed not to rise above this until November 2008 . If prices fall your price still falls so you should be in a win win situation .
Green Energy Options - There are two of these- Green Energy Fund -This is supposed to be a fairly cheap rate and each year you can donate your discount to a green energy fund . No matter how little energy you use Scottish Power will also donate £10.50 on your behalf . Green Energy H2O - However much electricity you use the same amount is put back in to the electricity grid with electricity from clean Hydro Power .
Standing Charge or No Standing Charge - This option lets you choose whether to pay a standing charge or not .If you opt for no standing charge a certain amount of energy used is at a higher rate , and then it is lowered .
All of the above are more fully explained on Scottish Powers website were I have taken this information from in part .
OUR EXPERIENCES **************************** We are pleased we have swapped supplier . Having found it such a straight forward task I would not leave it so long again if a better deal came up . However we have just been notified that Scottish Power’s prices are coming down on 15th June 2007 so hopefully we will have no need to .
The site where you manage your account is really easy to use and seems very safe . The fact that there is a helpline , albeit at the end of an 0845 number is comforting . So many on-line services leave you stranded if suddenly you have no computer access . We did get confirmation paper work initially so we have a means of checking and contacting Scottish Power .
Reading the meters ourselves saves the hassle of a meter reader calling . Always a pain when you work shifts and have two dogs .
RECOMMENDATION ************************** I have no complaints at all regarding Scottish Power but of course it’s still relatively early days . They do seem to have a good variety of accounts to suit most people and although other suppliers prices have come down are still very competitive . We are paying about £25 a month less than with Npower and are still on target to remain in credit this year so for us it was not only a good move but a cost effective one .
...truthful and painful review on Scottish Power, I would you like to bear in mind that this opinon contains numerous tips on how not to get caught out like I did, if you fully read this review, then there is no excuse for you to be as stupid as I was!
When we first moved in to the house we are in, Scottish Power ( I will call SP) were already the supplier of our electricity, rather than go through the hassle of pricing up and changing suppliers we ... ...not stress enough to people that you really should find out what you are paying for and how much it is all going to cost.
Our SP bills arrived and we payed them as they came in, we were paying quartley, and when the bills arrived I would write out a cheque and post it. That was that. I never thought twice about it, it was all so easy.
(2nd mistake) Always check your readings against the reading on your meter, as most bills are estimated, and there ...
jennylou 21.09.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scottish Power
Advantages: Ability To Shop Around For Prices Disadvantages: Do They Offer Your Tariff? Are Claimed Savings Realistic? What About Meter Reading And Billing?
...I'm on a tariff with Scottish Power called 'Comfort Plus'. I own a house in a remote area where there's no gas supply, but I don't have a garden to put calor gas or oil, so my only option for heating is electricity. The tariff I'm on means that all my heating, hot water, showers etc. is on a 2p per unit tariff, and all the lighting, plugs etc. is on a higher tariff. And I pay a slightly higher standing charge. But it's better than the usual 'Economy ... ...available at night and during the day you're paying about 10p a unit. I get the same 2p rate regardless of what time of day it is, which means that I can have a shower during the day or put a heater on and not have to worry as much about the cost. It also means that I can have instant electric heaters as well as storage heaters. Storage heaters are a fine idea, but because they store heat at night and release it during the day, they're not really ...
fallen121 10.05.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scottish Power
Advantages: Great communicators, Good Value Disadvantages: None Yet!
...it came up with using Scottish Power for both my Gas & Electric. I found out that by going with them I could save over £150 a year. I wish I had found this out sooner. I have never had my Gas & Electric with the same company before and so decided it was the right thing to do. After signing up online in January this year, I received a Confirmation email from Scottish Power the next day. And got a letter the following week from them. They welcomed ... ...originally received an email from Scottish Power about my application, I was told that it would take between 4-6 weeks. They have actually managed to sort it out within 4 weeks which was excellent. I also received a phone call the day after the letter arrived to explain what was currently happening, and to ask me if I had any questions. They have been very helpful indeed.
To give you an idea on how much I have saved, I was paying two different suppliers ...
ShellyQ1975 14.02.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scottish Power
Advantages: None what so ever Disadvantages: My god where to start
...own place we went with scottish power for our gas and electric supply.
At the time we only had a small 2 bed flat so our bills where pretty cheap, they where paid on time every month and we never had any problems with them.
That was untill we came to move out!! we gave our final meter reading and all was well then we where told we had under paid by a whopping £370? so not ones to argue we thought they must be right so paid a lump sum of £100 and ... ...to british gas and told scottish power they could carry on looking into why the bill was so high, and if it turned out we owed it i would pay if not then bye bye.
British gas~
So british gas where great moved us over sent people out to do meter readings and set up direct debits, bills where great came in at £35 a month for gas and £30 a month for electric a big saving compared to scottish power!. That all lasted for a happy 3 months and then scottish ...
sarah24484 20.03.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scottish Power
Advantages: cheaper fuel. Disadvantages: minor hitches when changing to them.
...supply area for electricity with Scottish Power Manweb the cost for gas would also be cheaper in comparison when taken as a duel fuel package.
I contacted the SP sales team and asked them to take my supply over from British Gas who were the suppliers of the house I had just moved into.
I decided to pay by monthly direct debit which gave me a monthly discount and for my account to be done online which gave me another discount, [they are trying to ... ...set for new customers as Scottish Power.
The third and hopefully last problem was with the starting reading n my account for the gas. They had started billing my account from 2500 units over the actual amount on my meter and this was apparently collected from a data serve meter reader. Impossible I kindly informed the customer services lady over the phone. The reading is definately incorrect and I know this because my meter was changed due to it ...
karinsmar 12.09.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Scottish Power
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Scottish Power"
Advantages: NONE Disadvantages: Customer service on a par with BT, harrassment and lies.
My complaint to npower...
(I haven't felt necessary about complaining about much for a while and this has annoyed me so much I hope it loses them business.)
I spoke to npower on Friday or Saturday about bills I have been receiving for ac number 56979821. I explained that I didn't understand why I was getting bills as I changed to ScottishPower last year. The guy at npower said no I was definitely with npower for gas and electric.
I then phoned energyhelpline who confirmed my elec and gas are with scottishpower since 15/09/08. I also spoke to consumerdirect who confirmed my electric is supplied by scottishpower and gave me the national grid number. I phoned that to confirm my gas is with scottishpower also at that address.
Then I rephoned npower today (26/1/09) and spoke to James Edwards who said there is no record of my ...
Sukey113 26.01.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Npower
Advantages: cheaper for a few weeks!! Disadvantages: Almost everything is a disadvantage with this lot.
I am sure most people out there have had the visits and the phone calls attempting to get you to change your gas and electric suppliers to various different companies, well here`s a warning for anyone thinking of choosing npower as I did.
There was no doubt at the time that npower were indeed the best value for money and this was exactly the reason I chose them but I soon found out there`s a lot more to the choice at hand then just the cost. The first problem I had with them came almost instantly after joining them, I have meters installed in my home which require you to top them up using pay cards rather than receiving bills. After joining npower I needed new cards from them to replace my old Scottishpower cards, my gas card arrived within two days but I was advised that my electric meter would need to be read first before sending ...
thebigc1690 19.01.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Npower
Advantages: Good service while you're with them Disadvantages: Get nasty when you move to a new supplier
At our old house we were supplied by British Gas, which had been saga and a half since moving in. Originally when we moved in there was no gas meter at all, as the house had been repossessed. We had to argue with them for three days that we didn;t have a gas meter before they eventually came out and fitted one so that we could be supplied.
A few months later we changed from British Gas to ScottishPower so thatw e could have both the electric and gas from one supplier. After three months of being with SP, we received a bill for £75 from British Gas. Despite ringing them numerous times to tell them they no longer supplied us, we continued to receive bills, until we received a nasty letter advising us that they were sending the bailiffs round to collect the money that didn;t owe them.
It took ages to sort it all out and was ...
Biffa 23.09.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BG Plc
