Scottish Power plans to install a prepayment meter - but we are not customers

We are desperate. Scottish Power is about to force the installation of a prepayment meter in our North London home - despite not even being customers - and there seems to be nothing we can do to stop it.

It appears that at one point our gas account was mistakenly transferred to Scottish Power by a neighbor trying to switch suppliers. She somehow selected the wrong address from a drop-down menu, entering ours instead.

We paid our gas bills by direct debit as usual, but we started sending invoices to a stranger so nobody sent them back thinking they had the wrong address. After finally opening the newest last week, we were shocked to find that the company had sued for non-payment and was about to kick down our door and install a new meter.

We've been on the phone for three days, but we continue to be transmitted from one department to another, with no one willing or able to stop this.

We don't owe this company any money. Please help me please.

SS, London

This is a great example of why you should always open letters sent to your address, even if you've never heard of the person named. Obviously this was in no way your fault - but it could have been dealt with much sooner if you had opened the mail.

Also this n was not the work of Scottish Power. The supplier your neighbor was trying to switch to, Entice Energy, then went bankrupt and Scottish Power inherited its customers and debts.

However, the company allegedly could act better and interrupt the procedure after making contact. To tell you, as he did, that there was nothing you could do to prevent the execution of the warrant was cavalier to say the least.

Fortunately, after contacting the company, someone from the press office was able to stop the action at the 11th hour, and your front door remains intact. Had we not been involved and had the meter change taken place it would have been an expensive nightmare to sort out.

Scottish Power apologized for the " distress and frustration you suffered due to the failures of the previous supplier".

It says: "We will remove all debt and late payment charges from the account, as well as payment to their account as a gesture of goodwill."

You are just extremely relieved and I assume will open any future letters that come up.

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