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Dear Katie,
In November last year, my elderly parents, both 89 years old, had to move together to a sheltered housing. However, 10 days before the move, my mother suffered a stroke and we had to put her in a residence. I convinced my father to continue moving to the self-protected bungalow as he is quite fragile, with various health issues such as heart problems and prostate cancer.
Once he came in, I started setting up his utility companies. I contacted Scottish Power and accepted a monthly debit of £ 230, although this seemed very excessive for a tiny bungalow. However, it was agreed that costs would be adjusted once a few months of readings had been submitted through the smart meter.
We have now realized that the property’s gas meter is not working. Instead of adjusting payments, Scottish Power has increased my father’s monthly payment from £ 280 to £ 575. That equates to £ 6,900 a year for gas, which is absurd.
My father spends much of the day at the residence where my mother now lives and uses very little energy in the bungalow.
I told Scottish Power that this monthly charge is ridiculous, but you won’t hear it. He has acknowledged that the meter is defective, but will do nothing because of the Covid.
Currently, my dad is paying all of my mom’s care expenses and can’t afford those gas bills. I hate the way big companies like Scottish Power think they can treat vulnerable people. They should be ashamed.
– JL, via email
Dear reader,
I was horrified to learn how Scottish Power had treated your father, especially because energy suppliers are required to treat vulnerable customers like him with special care.
And what about refusing to replace the smart meter? Well, in my opinion, Covid is no longer a legitimate excuse for anything.
After my involvement, your dad’s smart meter was quickly replaced. Scottish Power has canceled the exorbitant charge of £ 575 a month and has retrospectively applied a charge of £ 50 a month, reducing its bill to less than a tenth of what it was during the six-month period in question.
A Scottish Power spokesman said: “We regret the difficulties the customer has experienced with their gas meter. We have now replaced it and will only charge a minimum usage for the six-month period it has been on the property.”
It has now been resolved to your satisfaction, but it should not have required my involvement to get to this point. Scottish Power has to do much better for its customers.