ScottishPower owes a customer more than £1,000 in solar panel feed-in tariff (FIT) payments after a 14-month delay. The company took seven months after confirming it had the required data to register ownership, and a further month before instructing the customer to register for its payment portal.
Delayed Transfer and Payment
The customer moved into a new house 14 months ago and applied to ScottishPower for transfer of ownership of the solar panels and the FIT. After multiple emails, ScottishPower confirmed it had all necessary information. However, 10 months later, no payment had been received. The customer estimates being owed over £1,000.
Company's Slow Response
ScottishPower’s handling of FIT transfers has been criticized before. In March, a widow was deprived of payments because the company failed to accept her husband’s death and transfer ownership. In the current case, system glitches prevented the customer from registering for the payment portal. The complaint was redirected to the FIT team, which reportedly takes up to 12 weeks to reply.
Resolution After Intervention
After the Guardian intervened, ScottishPower called the customer the next day, promising instant resolution. The customer received £1,575 in backdated payments plus £200 in goodwill. However, a further month passed before the money arrived. ScottishPower blamed an “administrative error” and admitted service shortfalls. It stated that transfer of ownership should take eight to 10 weeks, with payments following within three weeks.
