Sheila's Wheels grind very very slowly and don't mention ScottishPower!

Not sure how to introduce this other than to say I feel the need to rant.

Scottish Power are the first to be driving me up the wall. (Not the last as you'll hear.) I get my gas and electricity through Eon. No particular reason other than that's what was here when I moved in and I've not looked at other options. Last September however Eon wrote to me and said "please don't go, stay with us" etc. "What can you mean?" I asked "I wasn't going anywhere". Apparently I was. Apparently I had told ScottishPower I wanted to move to them.

No I didn't.

I wasn't asked. I've never had a phone call from Scottish Power, never had a letter, never had anyone at the door so I'm quite sure I didn't ask to switch to them.

I've had this before. My ex flatmate found he'd switched supplier (funnily enough to Scottish Power) and it turned out some sales person had not got him home so decided that meant he was a switcher (no doubt earning him a nice commission).

So I told Eon no I don't want to switch and that was that. I was quite pleased that my fuel bill over winter wasn't too high - not that I've paid it yet but I'll "get round to it".

And now I know WHY it wasn't too high. Because I have indeed switched to ScottishPower. So not only are they stealing me as a customer, Eon are letting them despite me being quite explicit in my instructions. (Sounding quite school marmish now aren't I?!)

Worse though, I opened two letters yesterday without looking to see that they weren't for me. One was for the woman who sold me this flat over a year ago and it was a ScottishPower electricity bill. The other was for someone I've never heard of but she has my address and it, too, was an electricity bill.

Is it me?

Onto Sheila's Wheels

"Why" I enquired of them "are you taking two direct debits from me, one of which you've been taking for two years when I've only been with you a year"?

Reasonable enough question. Here's the answer:

"One is for your Hyundai Amica" (don't ask, 5 year warranty) "and the other is for the Peugeot 306, Reg R262 FSU". Ah, the one I got rid of in January 2009. Or should I say the one that abandoned me in Jan 2009.

That'll be the one that used to be insured by Sheila's Wheels until I wrote to notify them of its death. Now I know it's daft of me not to have checked my bank statements until now but you know, things happened shortly after that and I got quite busy. Besides, if you tell them you don't need their insurance, you surely can expect them to stop taking your money!

And I'm thinking it must be pretty easy for folk to give a cheaper insurance address to save money because they clearly don't check given that I had two cars insured with them at two different addresses. That's the other thing, the two flats are a street apart. If I was going to have a second home it wouldn't be round the corner!

And that brings me onto my final point. They must have written regarding renewal of insurance. To the old address. Because why would I give them the NEW address if I was no longer with them? These days however, insurance companies don't wait for you to say yes or no, they just tell you if they don't hear from you they'll renew you anyway. I don't like that and this is the reason why.

Anyway I replied to the "you have two cars and two homes" letter on 1st December and what do you think they said? Nothing! My calculations tell me I've paid £400 for nothing and I want it back. No doubt if they EVER reply they'll need me to jump through time consuming hoops and make it as difficult as possible for me to comply. Guess who I won't be renewing with next year!