With energy bills soaring, I am concerned about a recent change in the terms and conditions (T&Cs) of my ScottishPower account, which means I could be charged £5 if my payment does not go through.

When I received my latest gas bill, I noticed a new message stating: “Important: if we’re unable to collect your payment when it’s due, we may apply a £5 administration fee as per our T&Cs.”

This has never appeared on any of my previous bills. I know this is a new policy because I have had issues with payments bouncing in the past and have not been charged a £5 “administration fee”. This month, my payment did not go through, and I am going to have to pay this extra money.

I find this policy disturbing given the cost of living crisis, where many customers are struggling to pay their bills. We are going into a winter when energy prices are going to go up even further, meaning customers are even more likely to incur missed or delayed payments.

I want to know why ScottishPower thinks it’s appropriate to introduce a policy like this now, and draw your readers’ attention to this outrageous practice.

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FT, by email

This is not a good look, not least because, when ScottishPower’s chief executive Keith Anderson appeared before MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee a few months ago, he was “massively concerned” for people facing rising bills who would “really, really struggle”.

ScottishPower says it introduced an additional fee structure to retail customers’ accounts at the start of May, including charges for missed direct debit payments as well as late payment fees. It says the charges – these costs were previously absorbed within the business – brought it into line with other suppliers and reflect the costs involved in collecting the debt.

ScottishPower said: “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.”

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