O.A.P. POWER
Retired miner wins battle with energy giant over sky-high bills
A retired miner has won a major battle against an energy giant which over charged him thousands of pounds for heating bills.
John Walls secured a judgment from watchdog the Energy Ombudsman, which has severely criticised the actions of ScottishPower.
It has been ordered to apologise, pay him £400 compensation and refund overpayments which are believed to total £2500.
Disabled John, 77, reported the company to the Energy Ombudsman after his electricity costs almost tripled – despite the installation of a new heating system designed to reduce bills.
John, who was forced to use a food bank due to the crippling effect of soaring bills on his finances, said: “It should not have come to this if ScottishPower had done their job properly. My winter bills were between £70 and £ 80 a month but after the new system was installed they were as high as £260.
“My complaints that I was being overbilled were ignored. The overall service was very poor and all the stress involved had a detrimental effect on my health. It makes me wonder how many people like me are in the same situation but not being listened to.”
An appeal by the firm against the decision and size of compensation was thrown out last week by the Ombudsman. The new heating system was installed at John’s home in the Lanarkshire village of Coalburn in December 2021 by his local housing association.
John, who suf fers f rom osteoporosis and angina, found his bills rocketing even though he was using the same amount of power and lodged a complaint with ScottishPower the next month.
John said the company ignored his complaints over the bills and concerns his electricity meter was not compatible with the new heating system. Following a visit in September by a ScottishPower representative, it finally agreed he had the wrong type of meter.
The firm has now installed a modern smart meter and his bills have returned to affordable levels.
In a damning judgment released last week, the Energy Ombudsman said ScottishPower ’ s bi l ls conta ined “inaccurate” meter readings and didn’t make sense. The judgment added: “ScottishPower have failed in their duty to provide an appropriate and fair service for a vulnerable consumer.”
John’s former neighbour Brian O’Hare, 55, who helped with the complaint to the Ombudsman, said: “We are delighted with the outcome but it should not have come to this.”
Frazer Scott, of Energy Action Scotland, said: “I hope ScottishPower has learned from this case and will not repeat the numerous failings that occurred.”
Jonathan Bean, of Fuel Poverty Action, said: “People are being forced to battle for months, even years, to get billing errors fixed.
“Energy firms get paid billions and most deliver shockingly poor service.”