Scottish Power Bill - I'm confused!

[coralush]

Sorry to post here - I know it's not juicy but I'm confused.

I trying to overpay my Scottish Power direct debit payments so I can close it down at the end of September and move to Bulb.

On my account page it says I am £312 in debit.

But in my annual review section it says that in Sept I'll be in credit. See attached.

What does this mean? Can someone explain?

Sorry I can't help, but just had to share how much I loathe Scottish Power. They have made so many mistakes, errors and fuck-ups with my electricity bill that I never trust anything I receive from them. I keep meaning to switch provider, but they'll somehow manage to screw that up as well so I keep putting it off.

So, er, in answer to your question I have no idea but whatever they say, check it!

I can't even begin to tell you the nightmares I've had with SP over the years - utterly incompetent. That's why I'm throwing everything at it in order to leave ASAP and move to a smaller provider. They're no longer getting my hard earned cash!

I've heard nothing but good things about Bulb, and they seem like they'll be cheaper too.

I highly doubt I'll be this much in credit, that's why I thought I would ask here, I'm more likely to get an accurate answer than if I call and ask them.

Another household that has had a nightmare with Scottish Power. Took a year to get rid of them. Left hand/right hand comes to mind. They couldn’t even get the usage right and I have rarely seen DH so apoplectic with rage after dealing with them.

I've lost it with them a few times - they make my blood boil. I've had so many issues with then over the years - I just want shut of them.

Couldn't wait to get rid of them as my supplier. Will never ever use them again. Get rid asap

Scottish power are terrible. I had a letter from Them stating they were switching my supply to them. I’d never ever been in contact with them to switch my supply! Turned out they supplied the house I brought years ago and were acting in a request pending then .... my supplier was rather surprised when I rang them as they were told by Scottish power it was at my request ... took ages to sort out

You're overpaying so by September (before the cold weather properly starts) then you'll be in credit. When you close the account, you'll give a final reading and then they'll send you any money you're owed.

You're currently paying £151 per month but only using £100. Are you using actual readings and when was your last bill?

We've used Scottish power for ages, find them good as long as you supply your own readings regularly, we do ours via the app monthly. When we moved or house was British gas and it took a few weeks to change over, it was so expensive!

Thanks slash.

I submit my readings regularly (last time was 7 days ago).

My last bill was the 12th August.

It appears to generate a bill every time I submit my meter readings.

Yes Fash. I use the app. To be fair the app is quite good, easy to use.

Ugh I hate them. Moving to Bulb was the best thing we did.

They probably mean you will be that much in credit by the annual review date next year, not next month

Bulb seem to be the one at the moment, everyone says how good they are.

Ah yeah dementedpixie. That would make a lot more sense.

You don't need to wait to the annual review date to move, the only issue would be if you have a fixed price tariff with an end date, and this could be completely different to your annual date.

SP would send you a bill for any money owing though.

Don't know how it could go from £312 in debit to nearly £900 in credit in a month though.

I'm with SP and enter my readings monthly (have a smart meter though so takes 2 seconds)

I'm on Basic Fixed January 2019 Online - so does that mean I can't move until then?

Just logged onto my own account. If you check your last bill then on page 2 it will tell you the tariff end date and the exit fee for the tariff (if there is one). You can switch to a tariff with no exit fee for free but you have to stay on that tariff for a certain amount of time before switching to another supplier, not sure how long. It also tells you your usage for the last year which is helpful when switching.

I'm on an online fixed and it's £30 per fuel exit fee.

I can't find your specific tariff but most Scottish power fixed tariffs have a £30 exit fee per fuel for leaving before the fixed time. So you might want to check that before moving.
Use the Martin Lewis comparison www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub
To see whether it would be cheaper to move anyway.

Most systems are automated to create a bill everytime readings are given.
You should be able to move for a few even on fixed tarriffs
It just means you’ll have paid it off by then, most people are in credit come September as the winter months consume more energy it keeps the direct debits the same throughout the year (or is supposed to help to)

Fee not few*

Also moving whilst most of the time is easy and simple can sometimes cause issues. Not sure how long it takes now but 10 years ago was 6-8 weeks so it’s not a quick process, make sure you keep a record of your meter readings prior to and on the ‘move date’ to avoid any overlap.

If you are on a fixed tariff I would advise against switching - wholesale prices having been marching up steadily all of this year - if you switch out of a fixed contract now ( even if you have no penalty fee, which is unlikely) your new fix or new variable tariff is going to be higher

My fixed tariff with SP has a £60 penalty fee so I would check. I didn't know this under I just looked into it.

Although, according to MoneyExpert Bulb offer to refund your exit fee up to £120. Not sure if this is based on a particular tariff though.

Kisskiss thanks for that piece of information, I'm now a bit happier with my current fixed tariff.

Thanks everyone.

Your comments have been really useful and made have made me think.

kisskiss yeah, you might be right about staying put for now. I hadn't really thought about it like that. When I did a quote in bulb it estimated my monthly bills would be about £80 a month, but there was a disclaimer as I was getting the quote saying energy prices were increasing so the chances of my bill being £80 a month are probably slim.

I have made a really effort since March to turn lights off, not leave tv on standby mode, only use the tumble dryer when I absolutely have to. Putting a jumper on instead of the heating etc etc. So my usage is lower than last year.

I've just had a look at my Scottish Power account and there doesn't seem to be any exit fees. I sill don't want to move until my SP account is in credit, otherwise I'll be paying the new supplier bill and still owe SP £312.

I did see there were some offers on my account for switching tariffs now. Although tempting, it would mean being locked in with SP for another year or two. I guess my best bet would be to hang on until the end of my fixed deal in Jan and do a bit of shopping around.