A Scot was left having to borrow money to pay for his bills after being left without electricity or heating in one of the coldest weeks of the year, while waiting for three overdue energy bill support grant payouts.
Retail worker Sean Quinn should have so far received £199 in UK Government vouchers as part of the scheme to help people with the crippling costs of electricity and gas this winter.
However the 54-year-old, from Motherwell, has yet to receive a single penny in the last three three months, and has hit out at the 'incompetency' of Scottish Power after spending hours trying to contact them for help.
Despite the company saying all customers had been given the payments, Sean claims to have been constantly been fobbed off and says he has received no answers as to where his vouchers are.
During a week of freezing temperatures in early mid-December, Sean was left with no heating or power at all after a pay blunder at work meant he was unable to top up his pre-paid meter.
Sean told the Record: "I have really needed the support grant, especially when my electricity got cut off in the cold weather.
"I've been left waiting three months and haven't received a single payment from Scottish Power. It's unacceptable. How can they get away with this?
"I've called them countless times to try to get some emergency assistance but you can't even get through to the line.
"The online messaging service just says the vouchers are 'being processed'.
"I was on hold for well over an hour multiple times before I gave up. I ended up having to go and borrow some money. It's total incompetency."
The UK Government announced in July that households would start receiving £400 off their energy bills from October, with the discount made in six instalments to help families throughout the winter period.
Traditional prepayment meter customers are provided with Energy Bill discount vouchers from the first week of each month, issued via SMS text, email or post, using the customer’s registered contact details.
Sean added: "Scottish Power have been entrusted to administer these grants by the Government at a time when people really need the help and they're just not doing it."
After being contacted by the Record, a spokesperson for Scottish Power said: “We are sorry to hear about the issues Mr Quinn has experienced. We are investigating and will work to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
A UK Government spokesperson also said: "The UK Government has stringent compliance and enforcement measures in place with all suppliers for the Energy Bills Support Scheme, and we require them to report to us on a monthly basis on their delivery.
"Suppliers are also held to account by the energy regulator Ofgem on all matters relating to their business and service to customers. BEIS has contacted Scottish Power regarding this particular complaint."
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