Confused over NPower

littleemmie · 6 July 2008 at 7:33PM

Hi everyone,

I apologise in advance if my questions are stupid or obvious! NPower are doing my head in :mad: and we are trying to work out why our gas and elec bills seem to be so big and they want to increase my dd to £117 a month.

Basically there are two of us living in a small 2 bed terraced. We have gas central heating and switched to npower when we moved in. The previous tenants used British Gas and we were supplied by them for approx 2 months while npower sorted out swapping us over.

Our last BG bill itemised day and night electricity units separately but charged us for them at the same rate - if that makes sense!? Now NPower are charging us day and night units at separate prices under their economy 7 service. To me this doesn't make sense as why would one company lump the units in together and another charge separately? Either we are on economy 7 or we are not?

We have 3 separate meter readings for electricity. They are T, R1 and R2. Can someone please tell me what they mean/are? Also, if we are on economy 7, which ones relate to day and which to night?

My main question is should we be charged for economy 7? If British Gas didn't I don't understand why Npower are. We do not have night storage heaters and everything else is switched off at night so I don't really see the advantage to it (although please tell me otherwise if I am wrong!)

Also, we have apparently used around 1050 kWh units of day electricity in 6 months, 1500 of night electricity and 12000 of gas. This is costing us £250 for electrictiy and £370 for gas over the 6 months. Does this seem about right/too high/too little?

Thank you very much in advance for any help!

dellxps · 6 July 2008 at 8:36PM

Hi,

T means total, r1 means rate 1 and r2 means rate 2. It is not always clear which one is the day reading and which one is the night reading.

Easy way to find out is to read the meter during the day, and then read again in an hour. whichever reading has moved is the day reading.

Npower may simply have assumed that because you have economy 7 meters you wish to be on an economy 7 rate. when they sent details of the transfer they should have included these rates which would have shown they intend to bill you on separate day/night reads.

As a general rule of thumb, economy 7 is only beneficial to those who use more than 30% of their electricity during the night period. Otherwise you are paying more expensive day rates and cheap night rates when you're using hardly any energy.

If you want npower to bill you on a single rate (add the two rates together) you need to tell them this. They may need to change the meter or simply change you onto the single rate version of your tariff on their own system.

littleemmie · 6 July 2008 at 8:49PM

Thank you for your reply. I could hug you right now because you have just solved our problem!! NPower have been charging us for T claiming it was our day rate, and what should be our night rate (presumably as it is the lesser) as our day (even though when providing our readings we expalined T= x , R1 = y and R2 - z). Will ring NPower tomorrow and get them to give me a revised bill for the last 8months. I will also have a think about coming off economy 7 as everything bar the fridge, alarm clock and phone charger is switched off at night.

Thank you so much for your help!

Incisor · 6 July 2008 at 9:08PM

littleemmie wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I could hug you right now because you have just solved our problem!! NPower have been charging us for T claiming it was our day rate, and what should be our night rate (presumably as it is the lesser) as our day (even though when providing our readings we expalined T= x , R1 = y and R2 - z). Will ring NPower tomorrow and get them to give me a revised bill for the last 8months. I will also have a think about coming off economy 7 as everything bar the fridge, alarm clock and phone charger is switched off at night.

From the figures in your first post, you are using about 40% at night, so economy 7 might still be good for you, applying dellxps' rule of thumb.

dellxps · 6 July 2008 at 10:40PM

littleemmie wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I could hug you right now because you have just solved our problem!! NPower have been charging us for T claiming it was our day rate, and what should be our night rate (presumably as it is the lesser) as our day (even though when providing our readings we expalined T= x , R1 = y and R2 - z). Will ring NPower tomorrow and get them to give me a revised bill for the last 8months. I will also have a think about coming off economy 7 as everything bar the fridge, alarm clock and phone charger is switched off at night.

Thank you so much for your help!

Glad to be of help! Let us know how you get on!

littleemmie · 7 July 2008 at 4:34PM

I rang NPower today and explained how we were being overcharged. Looking into it further it origniated from British Gas who gave NPower our final readings and who were doing the same thing. Seeing as we were only with BG for the first 2 months though I'm not sure I have the energy to try to get a refund on what we overpaid them. (lets be honest, I should have worked it out sooner than this!) I have asked for a revised bill dating back to October from NPower and they said this will take 6 weeks as they have a backlog of revised bills to do!! Anyway, hopefully when it eventually arrives it will be much less than the original bill.

On a separate note, my gas bill still seems a lot at £370 for 6 months. Where am I going wrong?!

Thanks again for your help with getting it sorted. A huge weight has now been lifted!!

littleemmie · 4 August 2008 at 10:03AM

Just a quick update as I am, yet again, fuming.

Npower have today taken a £117 direct debit from me even though I was assured that as my account was under review they would not revise my direct debit and would leave it at the £40 it originally was. I telephoned to ask them why and was told that 'as a goodwill gesture' they would refund the difference when it hits their bank (apparently it has not yet) and that this would take up to 5 days. I am so angry because I needed that money for other bills and now cannot pay them.

Anyway, the lady on the phone also told me that my previous query regarding the overcharging had been closed as British Gas' final reading coincided with their start reading. I had already told them it would. It doesn't change the fact that I have been overcharged by NPower since October, and although I understand they need to check that is the case, I am so angry that they just closed my query without telling me or coming out to check the meter readings themselves.

I thought it was all too good to be true.

Confused over NPower

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