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Fergus Muirhead answers your consumer questions

I'm Fergus Muirhead and I'm here to answer any questions you may have about any money or consumer issues.

Please drop me a line here at fergus@bbc.co.uk with your questions.

You can also read more on money and consumer issues on my own blog .

Q. Last September my parents received a statement from Scottish Power advising their account was £17.86 in credit and their direct debit payment would be £23 per month. They then received a statement advising the account was £838.52 in debit and their new direct debit payment would be £228.00 per month. There was no explanation accompanying this statement. When I contacted Scottish Power initially they were unable to provide me with an explanation. After a number of days of contacting them they finally advised that they had discovered my parents had two meters in their home (one for daytime electricity and one for night storage heaters) and although they had been reading both meters they had only been charging for one. They advised that legally they were able to claim a year's worth of arrears. When I advised that this was unacceptable they advised they would look into the matter. My father also spoke to them and advised that I was handling their account and all correspondence should be sent to me. We fully accept that my parents will have to pay an increased sum per month to cover the cost of the night storage heaters, however to force them to pay the arrears in addition to this increased monthly sum will force them into fuel poverty. Scottish Power made a profit of £1.3 billion last year; it is immoral that they are pursuing this claim. Jackie Foster

The last statement you received from Scottish Power advises that your parents' account is now £1,153.67 in arrears, their anticipated electricity costs for the next 12 months is £796.87 plus VAT and their monthly payment will be £166.00 for a one bedroom flat in sheltered accommodation, which you reckon is completely unacceptable and unaffordable. You also said, in another email to me, that you have spoken to the Ombudsman and that he has proposed that your parents receive an apology from Scottish Power and that Scottish Power have to agree a repayment plan, but they feel that it was your parents' responsibility to understand the metering system in their house - even though you have pointed out that your parents are 80 and 79 years of age and you feel met their obligations by ensuring the meter reader had access and paying their direct debit on time. I'm happy to say that I have spoken with Scottish Power and they have agreed to wipe out the debt, and to go forward with a new monthly payment based on actual usage. A great response and one that I know you are happy with. If other readers are to take anything from this story, however, it is that you need to make sure that you are having meters read regularly and that you don't rely on estimated readings, since there can be a discrepancy between the two, and this can lead to larger than usual bills. Also please make sure that you regularly review the amount you pay by direct debit if you use this method of payment, since usage alters at different times of the year and you don't want to get caught out with a larger than usual bill after a particularly cold winter spell.

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Consumer debt has reportedly reached a level that may have been comparable to levels we saw before economic downturns began and consumers started struggling when it comes to areas like their job, income, and overall personal financial life. Due to the fact that we are seeing more consumers acquire debt, there are those who are looking for debt relief plans through common programs like debt consolidation loans as there are those who feel this particular plan of debt repayment will be best for their situation. Obviously, consumers in this category where debt has been increasing, which according to reports indicates that this debt increase was tracked as of September 2011, may be in a position to avoid a great deal of financial distress when consolidating multiple debts, but of course advisers often differ on the usefulness of debt consolidation and particularly how it can help in certain situations.

As an example, some consumers have used various types of debt consolidation options, be it credit cards that may offer transfers on balances or personal loans that are being used to consolidate debts, yet when it comes to using some form of debt consolidation, consumers are often advised to remember that this could lead to higher costs in the long run, despite the fact it may look like more affordability is being seen at the present time. However, there are also some indications that the amount of consumer debt that has been reported may have increased, some financial institutions are reporting positive numbers in the area of delinquency, despite the fact that there have been some that are also seeing consumers struggle to pay back what they owe.

Last month we saw information that indicated areas like personal loans did see increases in delinquency, but this does not mean that it was a universal problem with all lenders, as there are some consumers who have borrowed a debt consolidation loan, been able to group all of their debts into one area, and begin combating this particular obligation rather than fighting multiple debts that, obviously, will be costing them multiple charges in the area of interest as well.

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