i have been offered a meter to pay off a debt of £138 which they will collect at £15 per week in the first 2 months as i have missed two payment they say i can have the meter for free but should i miss another one then they will charge me £250 to install it.
at the moment i pay £60 per month for gas(and at that i am struggling) so if i have the meter put in now i will be paying another £60 on top of an already hard payment i cant believe that this is allowed to happen they want to put me in more debt have i got anyway of making another payment plan with them??? the supplier is Scottish power.

using a prepayment meter to collect a debt of £138 is like using a hammer to open a carton of juice, complete overkill.

Scottish Power are being unreasonable here. First of all, you haven't explained how the debt occurred. Was this through estimated bills? If so, you may have a case for complaint.

The first thing you should do, is notify them immediately that you are disputing the proposed plan and you would like them to put any further measures on hold while a solution is worked out between yourselves.

Personally, my advice would be to obtain the chief executives office address (they have complaints teams for these people) and write, recorded delivery to them. If they still do not see reason (i.e. a sensible payment plan over a period of months), then you can always contact Energywatch/Consumer Focus, who will mediate with Scottish Power on your behalf and come to an agreement that is best for both parties.

sue0245:

I agree with what mrstella0 says but I would add a greater focus on your consumption and billing, including what tariff you are on.

Its really important to get a handle on your consumption with the approach of the heating season. Forgetting the issue of arrears or debit balance for the moment, do you know whether £60/month will cover your gas for the next 12 months? Where are you on your electric? Are you on a competitive tarif? One reason to avoid prepayment is that you are excluded from competitive tariffs. For £138 probably counterproductive.

With some more info on your tariff, consumption and meter readings it may be possible to offer more focussed advice.