Npower SOL price hike: across the SOL board, or just for SOL14?

andyfuk · 16 April 2010 at 5:19PM

I've just had a shock letter from NPower. They want to increase my gas standing charge from 20p per day to over 74p per day! Note I am on an IGT.

I'm also with them for my electricity. There are some changes there, but not as massive.

I've put all my details into a spreadsheet and done a before and after comparison.

Basically I'm going to be around £173 per year worse off....

Looking at their website, I'm going to be better off on their SOL 18 tariff, BUT the prices are for April, and not necessarily for the price hike which is happening in May.

The letter states "we are changing some of our online tariffs.........". What I'm wondering is if the SOL 18 is included with this?

Can anyone comment who is on SOL 18? Have you had any letters?

In the mean time, I'm going hunting for a new energy provider. NPower has 6million customers apparently. I'm expecting this value to drop soon.....

Hoof_Hearted · 16 April 2010 at 6:31PM

I had the same letter. It's really annoying that they take you off your current tariff and put you on the standard rate instead of the best comparable one. I have contacted them and you can move to SOL 18, which saves me £290 a year over the standard tariff. EDF has a slightly better deal, but I can't be bothered to change for a tenner.

andyfuk · 16 April 2010 at 6:53PM

Thanks for info Hoof Hearted: out of curiosity are you on an IGT too? Something I find really annoying about NPower is that they charge extra for being on an IGT. When I originally got a quote from NPower, they quoted a standing charge of £44 pa. When I eventually got transferred over, this standing charge increased to £74pa, just because I was on an IGT. I felt like kicking up a fuss because the online quote I had from them (and still do) states £44 pa.

They are effectively mis-selling. The only reason I didn't kick up a fuss was because I was still saving a lot of money.

I've looked at Sol 18: the standing charge is £120, but I'm wondering if I'm going to end up paying more again, which would take it up to £200, by my estimate.

Hoof_Hearted · 17 April 2010 at 2:15PM

I don't know what IGT is.

The standing charge is not really important on its own. You have to take the SC and tariff together to work out how much you'll pay over a year. In some cases a higher SC and lower tariff is better than a slightly dearer tariff with no SC. You have to do the sums. Some of the comparison sites have inaccurate information, so drill down to the tariff.

andyfuk · 17 April 2010 at 4:48PM

An IGT is an independant gas transporter. You'll know if you are on one because your bill will have something like SOL14 IGT in it's title.

When houses are built, the builders can either go the national grid and say "hook me up to the gas" or go to an IGT who will do the same job. The difference is the price: the IGT is cheaper, which is naturally what the builders go for, but then they make money by charging the utility services for using their pipe network, who pass the charge on to the customer. As I said, it was about £35 on top of the standing charge of £44 for SOL14 . If you do it pro-rata, the £120 standing charge becomes a £200 standing charge. Not very nice....

I've done the sums, and I think I'm going to tell NPower to take a hike. Scottish power seem the cheapest at the moment.

emmaur1 · 18 April 2010 at 9:52PM

EDF Energy have a tariff called Online Saver Version 6 which is pretty cheap. Might be worth checking that out.

ilikepoints · 18 April 2010 at 10:09PM

Big increases on sing online 10 too.

Sign online 18 seems a good price - but need to bear in mind it has exit fees if you leave early, not to mention that fact that all customer service and billing is carried out online.

Is there anyway to get quidoco type cashback for changing form sing online 10 to sing online 18?

edit - just realised that OVO dual fuel is the best option for me - nicer company too!

Fire_Fox · 18 April 2010 at 11:52PM

IIRC if you switch as a direct result of a price hike, the supplier has to charge you the old (cheaper) price right up until the day you switch. Then you add in Quidco or Topcashback and it may well be worth defecting. Scottish Power were doing good cashback a while back, you could switch again for more cashback before winter hits if they are not the cheapest.

ilikepoints · 19 April 2010 at 2:03AM

thanks Firefox - will delay the switch for a couple of weeks! (new Npower prices don't start until 7th May)

notbritishgas · 19 April 2010 at 8:04AM

ilikepoints wrote: »

Big increases on sing online 10 too.

Sign online 18 seems a good price - but need to bear in mind it has exit fees if you leave early, not to mention that fact that all customer service and billing is carried out online.

Is there anyway to get quidoco type cashback for changing form sing online 10 to sing online 18?

edit - just realised that OVO dual fuel is the best option for me - nicer company too!

Have you received a letter about SoL10 increasing? I am on that tariff and have not been informed yet.
If correct then this is a good time to move as my yearly cash back is due in April.

AbbieCadabra · 19 April 2010 at 11:02AM

notbritishgas wrote: »

Have you received a letter about SoL10 increasing? I am on that tariff and have not been informed yet.
If correct then this is a good time to move as my yearly cash back is due in April.

we're on SOL10 & have just had the letter this morning, it will cost approx £150 more per year based on the standard tariff we're being changed to wef 7th May.

the letter states these tariffs are affected: SOL 8,9,10,11,12,13,14 & web14.

i've just taken some readings today & i'll be off to the comparison sites shortly! :cool:

one thing that is stated on the letter "changing your supplier when we change our prices - if you decide to choose another suplier we'll make sure you're not affected by these changes until you leave us. you must let us know with 20 working days. we must receive notice of transfer from your new supplier within 15 working days of you telling us that you wish to move & your transfer must take place within a reasonable time".

is that 20 days from this notice being received then? our £100 discount was applied on our last bill in January 2010 but you'd if your discount is due soon, probably best to check your dates before you go ahead & switch.

i've just checked the SOL18 info on their site, at the moment, it would actually work out approx £90 per year less than we're paying on SOL10, it does state though that prices may vary on this tariff during the tie in period to 30.06.11. with that & the exit fees, £20 each for gas & elec, i suppose it's the chance you take...

Npower SOL price hike: across the SOL board, or just for SOL14?

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