TL;DR
- Scottish Power scored 3.10 out of 5 in the Q4 2025 Citizens Advice supplier rating, sitting in the lower half of major UK suppliers.
- Recurring complaint themes for 2025-26: billing system issues following the 2022-23 platform migration, smart meter install delays, direct debit miscalculations, and call-centre wait times.
- The internal escalation route is the Customer Service Centre Manager team. Reaching them through written contact rather than phone produces faster resolution.
- Energy Ombudsman cases against Scottish Power average around 3,500 per quarter through 2025. Typical awards: financial correction plus £50 to £175 goodwill.
- Customers facing billing system glitches from the platform migration can ask for a manual reconciliation; this often resolves long-running disputes faster than the standard process.
Last reviewed: May 2026
Scottish Power's customer service has had a difficult few years. The supplier completed a major billing platform migration in 2022-23 that produced data quality issues lasting into 2025 for a residual customer cohort. Volumes have moderated but the complaint themes still cluster around legacy issues. The internal complaint process is competent when reached through the right channel; the call centre remains the supplier's weakest contact route.
Where complaints originate
The Q4 2025 Citizens Advice rating put Scottish Power on 3.10 out of 5. Complaint volume per 10,000 customers averaged around 65 per quarter through 2025, the second-highest among major suppliers behind British Gas.
The dominant themes for 2025-26 fall into five clusters. Billing system errors from the 2022-23 platform migration account for around 20% of complaints. Smart meter install delays beyond the published 10 to 14 week lead time account for around 18%. Direct debit calculations and disputed increases come third, around 15%. Call-centre wait times and frontline responsiveness account for around 12%. PSR and vulnerable customer handling, where the platform migration disrupted some registered profiles, accounts for around 8%.
The residual platform migration cohort is small but vocal. Customers transferred during the 2022-23 migration who experienced data quality issues at the time sometimes still find inconsistencies surfacing in 2026 bills. The fix is usually a manual back-office reconciliation, which the supplier can arrange on request.
First-line contact
Scottish Power runs four customer service channels. Online chat through the customer portal is the fastest. Email is slower but provides a written record. Phone calls land in a queue with longer waits, especially Monday and Tuesday mornings. Letters are slow and rarely necessary.
The supplier's published target is 10 working days for a first response on written complaints, longer than the sector average. Chat typically responds within a few hours during business hours. Phone wait times peak around 9 to 11am weekdays.
The most effective opening is online chat with a clear summary of the issue, followed up by email to confirm the conversation. This produces both speed and paper trail. Customers who only call the phone line tend to have to re-explain the case each time.
Internal escalation
If the first-line response does not resolve, customers can request escalation to the Customer Service Centre Manager. The escalation team has authority to issue goodwill payments, override automated direct debit changes, correct billing errors, and arrange engineer or meter work with priority.
Reaching the team requires explicit request: "please escalate this to the Customer Service Centre Manager" in the chat or email thread. Some frontline agents resolve internally before referring; persistent issues should reach the manager team within two follow-up exchanges.
The manager team responds within 5 working days on average. Most cases close within 2 to 4 weeks of being raised with the team. Where the case requires DCC, meter, or back-office data action, the timeline extends; the customer should ask for a named handler and a target resolution date.
The deadlock letter
If escalation does not resolve, Scottish Power can issue a deadlock letter. The letter formally records that internal routes are exhausted. Customers can also refer to the Energy Ombudsman after 8 weeks without a deadlock letter under standard Ofgem rules.
Customers should ask for the deadlock letter explicitly when the case is genuinely stuck. The supplier sometimes delays issuing it because the Ombudsman handling fee is paid by the supplier; the letter is a customer right and should not be unreasonably withheld.
The 8-week clock starts on the first written complaint. Emails, chat transcripts, and portal messages all count.
Energy Ombudsman submission and typical outcomes
The Energy Ombudsman handles cases against Scottish Power as it does other suppliers. Submission is free. Cases average 7 to 11 weeks from submission to decision, slightly longer than the sector average because some Scottish Power cases involve complex platform migration data.
| Outcome category | Typical range at Scottish Power cases | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Billing correction | Variable | Refunds of overpaid amounts; rebilling at correct rate |
| Goodwill / inconvenience | £50 to £175 | Higher than sector average due to complaint complexity |
| Platform migration data fix | Non-monetary plus £50-100 goodwill | Where data correction is required |
| Distress / vulnerable harm | £100 to £500 | Reserved for serious cases |
Scottish Power implements Ombudsman decisions within the required 28 days in most cases. Delays past 28 days are referrable.
Guaranteed Standards of Performance
Ofgem's automatic compensation regime applies. GSOP payments around £30 per failure are due for missed appointments, late switch refunds, and supply restoration delays. The current rates were set in April 2024 and unchanged in the May 2026 review.
Scottish Power's record on automatic GSOP payouts has been weaker than the sector leaders. Customers who experience a GSOP-eligible failure should explicitly raise it in the complaint thread to ensure payment.
The supplier published an internal compliance update in October 2025 acknowledging missed automatic GSOP payments and committed to a backlog clearance. Customers who experienced eligible events in 2023-24 and did not receive payment can raise it now; the supplier has been catching up.
The platform migration issues and how to resolve them
Customers whose accounts show legacy data inconsistencies from the 2022-23 platform migration should request a manual back-office reconciliation. The supplier has a dedicated team handling these cases. Reconciliation typically requires the customer to provide meter readings from the migration period (if available) and confirms or corrects the account history.
Reconciliation takes 4 to 8 weeks once initiated. Customers should ask for a named handler and a target completion date.
If reconciliation does not satisfy the customer, the case can be escalated through the standard complaint process and then to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has experience with platform migration cases and tends to direct supplier action on data correction along with a modest goodwill payment.
Where it breaks: cases where the migration data is genuinely lost, with no recoverable source records, can leave the customer and supplier in dispute. The Ombudsman in these scenarios typically directs the supplier to accept the customer's stated history and rebill accordingly, with a goodwill payment for the inconvenience.
Specific recurring issues
Direct debit increase disputes. Scottish Power runs an automated direct debit review every six months. Where the algorithm projects higher consumption ahead, it raises the direct debit. Customers sometimes find the new amount unreasonable. The escalation team can manually override and reset to a level the customer accepts, provided projected annual consumption is met.
Smart meter install delays past 14 weeks. The supplier's published lead time is 10 to 14 weeks. Where the install has not been booked within that window, escalation through the Customer Service Centre Manager can re-prioritise. Past 16 weeks the case should move to the Ombudsman.
PSR and vulnerable customer profile loss. A small number of customers found their PSR registration disrupted by the platform migration. Re-registration is straightforward but the customer must initiate; the supplier does not automatically re-register lost profiles.
Practical advice
In practice, the migration cases that win at the Ombudsman are the ones that produce dated screenshots and a clear before/after of what the customer was billed for, so capture both as early as possible.
Open in writing through chat or email. Phone calls produce less reliable paper trails and add friction.
Note dates and reference numbers. Keep the case in one thread.
Request the Customer Service Centre Manager explicitly at escalation.
Be specific about the remedy sought. "Reconciliation of the account history from December 2022 to June 2023, plus a goodwill payment for the time spent" is actionable.
For platform migration cases, ask for the manual back-office reconciliation team by name. The dedicated handlers are faster than general escalation.
Track the 8-week clock. Prepare to submit to the Ombudsman with documented evidence if the case stalls.
The platform migration data: what to ask for specifically
Scottish Power's 2022-23 platform migration produced data quality issues for a residual customer cohort. The specific data items most commonly affected, based on Energy Ombudsman case data, are: opening balance at the migration date, meter reading history before the migration, direct debit history during the migration period, and the legacy fuel mix disclosure record.
For customers suspecting their account holds migration-related issues, the request to the supplier should be specific. "Please provide my account history for the period October 2022 to June 2023, including all meter readings, bills issued, direct debits processed, and any balance adjustments applied during platform migration." The supplier's manual reconciliation team can produce this data.
Once the historical record is in hand, the customer can identify specific anomalies. Most commonly: a meter reading missing on a specific date, a bill that does not reconcile to readings before and after, a direct debit collected but not credited to the account, or an opening balance that does not match the customer's records.
For each identified anomaly, the manual reconciliation team can correct the record or explain why the supplier disagrees with the customer's reading. Where disagreement persists, the case escalates to the standard complaint process and then to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman has consistently directed Scottish Power to accept the customer's stated history where the supplier cannot provide source data to the contrary. Customers with photo readings or bank statements documenting their position win these cases more often than not.
Editorial disclaimer. Kaeltripton is an independent UK finance publisher. This article is general information for UK adults making their own decisions, not regulated financial advice. Complaint processes, compensation thresholds, and Ombudsman timelines change. Figures reflect Scottish Power, Ofgem, Citizens Advice, and Energy Ombudsman publications dated before the last-reviewed date at the top of this page. For complaints, refunds, or vulnerable-customer protection the formal route runs through the supplier first and then the Energy Ombudsman.
FAQ
How long before a case can go to the Ombudsman?
Eight weeks from the first written complaint, or earlier if Scottish Power issues a deadlock letter.
What if the account still shows errors from the platform migration?
Request a manual back-office reconciliation through the customer service team. The supplier has a dedicated handler group for these cases.
How does the Ombudsman handle Scottish Power cases?
Same process as other suppliers: validation, investigation, binding decision within 6 to 11 weeks. Median goodwill award is around £100.
Is supply affected by complaining?
No. Supply continues unchanged regardless of complaint status.
Is the complaint kept open after switching supplier?
Yes. The complaint continues against Scottish Power through the existing channel.
Does Scottish Power offer compensation proactively for the migration disruption?
Generally no. Customers affected by the migration typically need to raise the issue to receive any compensation. The supplier does not run a proactive scheme equivalent to British Gas's PPM force-fit compensation route.