We gave plenty of notice to BT and Scottish Power of closure of our accounts in mid-Feb this year.
Dealing with BT over the phone was, er, difficult/frustrating. Giving the same info time and again so that different screens/fields could be updated was just plain farcical. And then repeating several times that we were leaving the UK was annoying, as they asked were we looking to keep the phone but drop the b'band. But, to be fair, after 2 months they finally got the message.
Scottish Power; oh god, what an absolute crock of.... rubbish. Went through the process of providing a meter reading, then having them come out to take a reading. Then we're accused of not closing the account, and that we owe the standing charge + gas and electric used since mid-Feb - so why did they send a guy out for a final reading. Cue the most stupid game of tennis I've ever experienced when dealing with a utility company. At one point they dragged up an account for a previous property that, apparently, we didn't close the account for.
Sorting the previous account was hilarious. The final nail that sorted that one was when I asked why we hadn't received any correspondence for that account. "Well, you'd moved. I guess there were bills sent to your old address." Oh how I laughed. I asked, "is this call being recorded?" "Good, and for the tape. You guess there were bills sent to the old address. Maybe I should now chase the Royal Mail and ask why our year's redirect of mail didn't pick up any of your correspondence."
A week ago we received an email saying that we owe £258. Two days ago we received an email saying that we are to ignore the demand for £258, and that we are owed £88. And this morning we receive an email saying we will be receiving a cheque for £409. I have no confidence that they have finally got to the bottom of their cock-ups. To be fair, two of the reps we spoke to were great, one of which couldn't apologise enough for the errors he could see on the system - I do wish he'd put some sort of flag on the system that highlighted how far he'd got in sorting the mess as we seemed to have to start from step 1 every time we responded to one of their emails/demands.
Including a couple of calls prior to moving, and the physical visit by a meter reader on moving day, plus about 8 phone calls and a dozen emails since the move... I dread to think what its cost Scottish Power, and me, in phone calls and time.
Always keep all the correspondence you receive. Do follow up phone calls with emails confirming what was said. Don't lose the will to live.
Is it really that hard to close an account?
Dealing with BT over the phone was, er, difficult/frustrating. Giving the same info time and again so that different screens/fields could be updated was just plain farcical. And then repeating several times that we were leaving the UK was annoying, as they asked were we looking to keep the phone but drop the b'band. But, to be fair, after 2 months they finally got the message.
Scottish Power; oh god, what an absolute crock of.... rubbish. Went through the process of providing a meter reading, then having them come out to take a reading. Then we're accused of not closing the account, and that we owe the standing charge + gas and electric used since mid-Feb - so why did they send a guy out for a final reading. Cue the most stupid game of tennis I've ever experienced when dealing with a utility company. At one point they dragged up an account for a previous property that, apparently, we didn't close the account for.
Sorting the previous account was hilarious. The final nail that sorted that one was when I asked why we hadn't received any correspondence for that account. "Well, you'd moved. I guess there were bills sent to your old address." Oh how I laughed. I asked, "is this call being recorded?" "Good, and for the tape. You guess there were bills sent to the old address. Maybe I should now chase the Royal Mail and ask why our year's redirect of mail didn't pick up any of your correspondence."
A week ago we received an email saying that we owe £258. Two days ago we received an email saying that we are to ignore the demand for £258, and that we are owed £88. And this morning we receive an email saying we will be receiving a cheque for £409. I have no confidence that they have finally got to the bottom of their cock-ups. To be fair, two of the reps we spoke to were great, one of which couldn't apologise enough for the errors he could see on the system - I do wish he'd put some sort of flag on the system that highlighted how far he'd got in sorting the mess as we seemed to have to start from step 1 every time we responded to one of their emails/demands.
Including a couple of calls prior to moving, and the physical visit by a meter reader on moving day, plus about 8 phone calls and a dozen emails since the move... I dread to think what its cost Scottish Power, and me, in phone calls and time.
Always keep all the correspondence you receive. Do follow up phone calls with emails confirming what was said. Don't lose the will to live.
Is it really that hard to close an account?
