Scottish power still owes me nearly £500 - ombudsman says they can't help

[bodenbiscuit]

Because it is just over 9 months ago. Is there anything else I can do? Scottish Power promised me they would refund me this money at the time I closed my account - they said it could take some months but that I would definitely get it back.

I have tried calling to them and writing to them since and they are ignoring all my communications with them.

Is there anything I can do or am I going to have to write this money off? I really can't afford to

Have you got anything in writing ref the promise of a refund?

Small claims court? Write to Tony Hetherington (Sunday Mail)? I'm surprised at the ombudsman, is that because of a 9 month deadline or something?

Also have you emailed the CEO? Have you all the relevant docs to prove you are owed the money? How was it accrued?

No there was no promise in writing. They said that they were having problems with their computer systems and that people were getting refunded but that it was taking a long time.

They had my direct debit up too high and even though I gave them regular readings they kept billing me using estimated figures. My online account shows the credit in July 2014, which is 3 months after I closed my account.

Oh and also I do have an online bill from them which states the credit.

small claims court?

Ring the consumer service at citizens advice and explain the situation. They may refer you to a unit called the extra help unit which deals with complex cases.

Or they can also refer you through to Scottish power complaints team

Why are the Ombudsman not pursuing it for you?

We had massive problems with ScottishPower - to get our issues resolved, we put in a complaint to the CEO's office with a detailed timeline of what had happened and copies of the necessary documents.

Then we put in a complaint about a specific staff member who dealt with the account. The latter was at the suggestion of another member of staff. It's a process that they don't really publicise but it has strict response guidelines and tbh it did help. So if a named member of staff said you were entitled to the refund and that they would send it out to you, put in a complaint about their lack of follow-through.

Normally the ombudsman will only act when you have complained to the energy company and have received like a final letter from them saying you are not entitled to a refund/ they refuse to refund. I understand the 9month thing but could you get back in touch with Ombudsman and show them your letters/emails/dates of phone calls and explain that you hadn't referred it earlier due to non response?

I would definitely call the energy company again. They can't NOT pick up the phone to you when you ring. Ask for complaints dept. If phone handler refuses to put you through (though why would they??) then ask for their supervisor. If refused, take their name and tell them you will be complaining about them. Record name, date, time and tell them you're taking notes. Keep doing this up the ladder till they know you mean business. They can't just ignore you.

Thank you for your replies. If I call them, I spend ages in a queue and then I get cut off. This has happened several times and even when I do speak to someone they don't know what they're talking about anyway.

I will try your suggestion shakes

Shakey - damn iPad!

You could definitely try a newspaper money complaints section. They can work magic. If you have a sob story as to why you really need the money now, and don't mind doing a DM sad face then so much the better.

You can put in a complaint to the customer service director. The address is on the ScottishPower website in the complaints section. Since it's taken 9 months, I'd start there. They have to reply to any letter within a certain timescale. Include a copy of the final bill showing the credit.

It's not difficult for them to refund it (I worked there many moons ago!) so I'm unclear why it has taken them so long unless you have moved house and not given them a forwarding address or they did a bill with an actual reading which negated the credit? Either way, sending a recorded delivery letter to the customer services director will mean they have to respond and give you a clear explanation of why they aren't refunding it and it means you don't need to wait in telephone queues.

you can book a call back with Scottish Power.

you certainly need to raise a formal complaint.

the problem will be cocked-up IT systems and overworked staff; I don't think they have an overseas call centre where the problem is added to by poor English skills.

oh, and a blast on twitter often works wonders.

Thanks again. Well it was already raised to official complaints level - the staff themselves initially suggested that I do this. And since then...nothing...

ok. How far have you got with these stages?

www.scottishpower.co.uk/customer-services/complaints/

I'd email the ceo.

I definitely have a complaints reference number. But will they just not bother to deal with this now that the deadline has passed for the ombudsman? I think maybe I need to find a higher person to write to?

Email the ceo, outline your issue and say the next step is small claims and you'll be adding 8% interest to the debt.

Open a new complaint with Scottish Power. If they then fail to deal with that then the ombudsman will get involved based on the date of that complaint (that's what I've had to do)

Thank you LaLyra