ScottishPower Pay in Advance for fuel and save 5%
Published: 1 April 2009 By MoneyhighStreet Staff 2 Comments
ScottishPower is introducing a Pay in Advance option which enables customers to save 5% on their fuel bills.
The Pay in Advance scheme is only available to customers who pay quarterly by cash or are on a direct debit scheme.
It is available to customers who take electricity or electricity and gas. It is not available for those who only take gas.
The 5% discount is against the standard ScottishPower Direct Debit rates and a minimum payment is required equivalent to one year’s estimated energy usage.
Willie MacDermid, Director of Energy Retail at ScottishPower, commented ‘Our new Pay in Advance option will mean that customers receive a guaranteed 5% saving on final bill amounts regardless of future price movements, for as long as their payment lasts. This offers good value for money and is an excellent way for our customers to make their money work harder.’
ScottishPower is also the first of the ‘big six’ energy suppliers to pay interest on direct debit overpayments.
From June 2009, ScottishPower will pay customers £1 back for every £33 they are in credit.
The balance will be assessed annually and the payment will be made on overpaid balances between £100 and £500.
This new credit guarantee scheme from ScottishPower will benefit all its 3.2 million customers who pay via monthly direct debit.
As usual Scottish Power’s information on this “Pay in advance” scheme is as bad as their information on all their other schemes – incomplete, incredibly long winded and, on the printed version they send out, VERY difficult to read (who thought of putting white print on to a light green background!!! )
Among questions they don’t address with the prepayment “deal”
a. What happens if you are still in credit at the time the deal comes to an end?
b. What if you want to change supplier during the deal (becuase Scottish Power’s rates are so poor?
I’ve always been with Scottish Power. Last winter I decided to give E-On a chance and switched. Scottish Power phoned me and even sent an advisor to my home to convince me to come back to them.
Why should I when E-On were cheaper?
The guy promised to make my monthly payments cheaper.
Not logical said I as Scottish Power had upped my monthly payment amount too.
They dropped my monthly payments by about £40 a month,.
Result my winter bill was short about £400 and they doubled my monthly payment to the highest it’s been.
I’m definitley looking around now that I am up to date.
If more customers switch then the prices will come down.
People Power go for it.