ScottishPower introduces late payment fees on energy bills

Customers will be charged up to £20 for late paying

Millions of ScottishPower customers have been warned their energy bills may be higher if they delay paying them.

The energy supplier has introduced a late payment fee as energy prices hit record levels and inflation hit a 40-year high.

It has been reported that the new fee is £10 if customers are 14 days late or £20 if billpayers are 28 days late paying.

There are also two other fees – £30 if ScottishPower passes the debt to a collection agency or £150 if the company has to get a warrant to install a prepayment meter.

The company told ELN these costs were previously absorbed by the business.

A ScottishPower spokesperson added: “We introduced an additional fee structure for retail customers’ accounts at the start of May 2022, including charges for missed direct debit payments as well as late payment fees.

“The charges bring us in line with other suppliers and reflect the costs to the business of collecting the debt.

“Information on the potential charges is included in our collections correspondence so customers are aware of the impact of unpaid bills and missed payments.

“The easiest way to avoid these potential charges is to pay on time or set up a direct debit to manage payments throughout the year. We would encourage any customer who has concerns about paying their bill to contact us as soon as possible.”

Last month, speaking during a session of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, ScottishPower Chief Executive Keith Anderson raised concerns about the available government support for the poorest people in the UK.

Make sure you check out the latest Net Hero Podcast episode:

Latest Podcast