POWER CRAZY!
ScottishPower offered this 87-year-old widow an apology after the MoS highlighted TWO YEARS of blunders over her bill. Now, incredibly – as it finishes its new £100MILLION offices – she has been threatened with debt collectors
UTILITY giant ScottishPower is still failing to deal effectively with customer complaints – just seven months after it was handed an £18million fine by regulator Ofgem.
In the latest episode of customer service ineptitude, it has allowed debt collectors to threaten an 87-year-old widow despite giving previous assurances that her billing problems had been resolved.
Jacqueline Leberne, who runs Pickwicks gift shop in Kensington, West London, is one of many victims of ScottishPower’s disastrous billing debacle, which unravelled between June 2013 and December 2015 after the supplier completed an IT upgrade.
Its calamitous handling of the fallout – reported extensively by The Mail on Sunday – led to the massive fine by Ofgem in April this year.
We told in September how problems for Jacqueline began when ScottishPower failed to send her electricity bills based on meter readings she provided for her shop. It then billed her using incorrect tariffs. It also failed to send a breakdown of usage when she asked for it.
She was happy to pay money due – but only on receipt of an accurate bill stating the correct rates, rather than paying direct debits based on guesswork.
After The Mail on Sunday intervened, she was told all charges from January 2014 to early February 2016 would be removed in light of the errors ScottishPower had made. She was also offered £300 for the inconvenience suffered.
But 12 days later – early last month – Jacqueline received a letter from a debt collection agency called Face2Face Contact, claiming she still owed nearly £700.
After The Mail on Sunday contacted ScottishPower a second time, it confirmed Jacqueline would not be chased for money again and would receive the refund within a week. It promised to send flowers and chocolates by way of an apology.
The £300 duly landed in her account. But rather than an apologetic note and flowers, she received another hand-delivered letter from Face2Face Contact, informing her someone had visited in person about her outstanding debt.
It said the next step would be to apply to a local magistrates court for a warrant to enter her property and disconnect the supply.
Jacqueline says: ‘I’m at the end of my tether. This has been handled extraordinarily badly by ScottishPower. To involve Face2Face when it knows my situation is unacceptable. I was delighted to get the money but I should have received a letter of apology rather than a threatening letter. It’s not right.’ She adds: ‘Some vulnerable, elderly people in this situation would think a letter like this is the end of the world. It could damage their health.’
A GROWING PROBLEM
LARGE companies – including gas and electricity suppliers – are too swift to turn to debt collectors to demand money owed.
James Walker is founder of consumer rights website Resolver, which provides a free and independ- ent hand-holding service for people struggling to sort out a dispute.
He says: ‘Many businesses, including energy companies, find it easier to pass debts to collection agencies than to chase unpaid bills themselves. It’s difficult for consumers to fully grasp who they should be dealing with and what the simplest route is to sorting out such problems.’
Walker says more than half of complaints about energy companies made through his website so far this year relate to billing. He is now pushing for better communication between suppliers and their customers. ‘Resorting to debt agencies too quickly means consumers are left unnecessarily frightened and uncertain,’ he adds. ‘Often energy companies have automated processes that make it hard to get through to a human to sort out the problem quickly, logically and efficiently. This means consumers are regularly treated unfairly.’
THE RESPONSE
ON Friday ScottishPower yet again assured The Mail on Sunday that Jacqueline would not receive any further correspondence – or visits – from debt collectors. We asked the company how it selected debt col-
lection agencies and ensured they behaved in a responsible way.
It said: ‘A diligence process is completed prior to any agreement and once in place all agencies are regularly audited.’
THE RULES
DEBT collectors acting on behalf of energy suppliers must abide by Ofgem’s rules for working with customers in arrears.
Vulnerable customers – classed as the elderly, disabled or households with young children – must not have their energy supply disconnected between October and April when the cold can bite. Visits in person to a property by a debt agency (as happened to Jacqueline) are allowed.
However, they are not bailiffs and cannot seize personal property. A supplier must apply to a court if they wish to disconnect a customer’s supply. If this happens customers will be given the opportunity to attend a hearing.
Citizens Advice recommends that people attend because it gives them the chance to argue their case. The court has the power to delay disconnection pending fur- ther investigation. Michael AgbohDavison, of the StepChange Debt Charity, says: ‘Debt collection agencies are almost always signed up to the Credit Services Association code of practice, which says any collection activity should be suspended if a debt is reasonably disputed or a complaint is received.’
CO-OP Energy customers affected by last year’s billing and service fiasco will share £1.8million in refunds. The energy firm agreed the sum with regulator Ofgem after it failed 260,000 customers.
The Mail on Sunday reported on the fallout last year. Customers who believe they are owed compensation should email customerexperience@cooperativeenergy. coop or call 0800 9540693.