Scottish Power apologises to Greenock pensioner for energy bill error

David Fyfe, 72, turned to the Tele after receiving dozens of letters since 2020 demanding payment for the supply of gas and electricity to his Greenock home.

But Mr Fyfe refused to cough up any money and pointed out that he didn't owe the utility firm a penny because he has been contracted to rival supplier E.ON for 20 years.

The OAP, of Antigua Street, said: "For the past three years, Scottish Power have said they supply energy to this house and E.ON say they supply it.

"Scottish Power are sending me bills for £13,000. A previous bill in November was for £6,000, so from November to February it has doubled.

"The interest alone is over £8,000.

Scottish Power demanded payment of more than £13,000 from Greenock pensioner David Fyfe (Image: George Munro)

"I haven't a clue where they've got this figure from. All of these bills came in the one bundle and each one is totally different."

The retired joiner received a letter from Scottish Power on April 19 stating the payment demand had been 'escalated' and 'urgent action' was required.

A debt collection agency had been instructed by the firm to collect 'outstanding arrears of £13,169.56', with further written correspondence telling Mr Fyfe 'it is in your interest to pay... as a matter of urgency'.

That letter threatened the elderly homeowner with a 'personal visit' by debt collectors, and forced entry to his property to install a 'pay as you go' meter - for which Mr Fyfe would be charged up to £150.

Prior to the Tele and Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan taking up his case, Mr Fyfe said: "I can't sleep at night, it's affecting my health. I've got bad health anyway but that doesn't make it any better.

Mr Fyfe pays E.ON via direct debit every month for his home energy supply (Image: George Munro)

"I'm still with E.ON, that's 20 years I've been with them and I've never missed a payment.

"I don't think they [Scottish Power] care.

"I told them I'm on pension credit, I only get £172 a week, how can I pay all that kind of money?

"They just say 'you need to pay it, that's your debt'."

Following a Telegraph investigation into the case, red-faced Scottish Power bosses apologised 'for the issues experienced by Mr Fyfe' and said they are 'doing everything we can to resolve things as quickly as possible'.

A spokesperson said: "While there is only one meter at Mr Fyfe’s property, there are two energy supply numbers correctly registered on the national meter database because of the type of heating system at his home.

"However, these supply numbers have historically been registered to two different suppliers - one of which is Scottish Power.

The meter at Mr Fyfe's home in Antigua Street (Image: George Munro)

"This is a very unusual occurrence and should not have happened as customers can only be contracted to one energy supplier at a time.

“To correct this, we’ve put a block on any further billing on the Scottish Power supply, reversed all our billing to take things back to a zero balance - so there is no amount to pay, and have asked E.ON to take over the supply number currently registered to us.

"We will continue to work with both Mr Fyfe and E.ON to ensure this is actioned and, once complete, we will then discuss a goodwill payment in recognition of the distress caused and the time taken to sort this out.”

MP Mr Cowan slammed the treatment of his constituent as 'completely unacceptable'.

He said: "Mr Fyfe has endured needless worry and anxiety over a bill he had no prospect of being able to pay, and an assertion by Scottish Power that he should pay them more than £13,000 immediately, and then attempt to claim this money back from another energy company.

"My constituent is a pensioner and in no position to even contemplate paying this kind of bill, notwithstanding the fact that he should never have been held liable for it.

For access to more exclusive local news subscribe to the Greenock Telegraph HERE

"And his treatment is even more disgraceful when you consider that he is totally up to date with payments to his actual energy supplier, E.ON."

Mr Cowan added: "I am pleased that this issue has now, finally, been resolved in Mr Fyfe's favour, and I thank E.ON and the Greenock Telegraph in helping to bring this about.

"But it is noted that this has only happened after weeks of correspondence to Scottish Power from my office, and the attention of the Tele.

"I hope that Scottish Power can learn lessons from their treatment of Mr Fyfe to inform their policy decisions going forward."

A spokesperson for E.ON confirmed the company had spoken to Mr Fyfe 'to reassure him that he is indeed our customer and that our database is up to date'.