Electricity payment problems

Obi167

Hi everyone,

I’m a new forum user and hope I haven’t put this in the wrong place - I’m sorry if I have.

My problem is to do with my electricity supply. I moved in to my new ‘new build’ house back in December, and when I did I used the current electricity supplier - N Power. When I did they set me up with a direct debit of £20 per month, which I tried explaining to them, was an unrealistic amount. They stated that it doesn’t matter because its fine for me to go in to debit. Which I kinda knew was a bad idea but agreed anyway as I had a load of other finances to sort (new house and all). But now they are asking for a monthly DD of £181, which I cannot afford. What can I do about this?

I had a flood in the house, which meant that I had dehumidifiers and industrial fans running for a while, so the amount used isn’t reflective of normal usage.

I have heard that as long as some payments are made the electric company cannot cut you off, is there any truth in this? Also I see Martin has given the green light to change company’s, can this be done whilst in debit?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Obi167

Can anyone help?

Magentasue

Couple of thoughts occur - as you knew you were using more than the £20 would cover, have you been saving a monthly amount that you can now offer as a lump sum? I am thinking you haven't, but if you have, you should offer that and reduce the DD accordingly.

Secondly, no, I don't think you can switch with a debt - but your present supplier might allow a switch to a different tariff.

Thirdly, you don't say how much you owe and how long it will take to clear. Have you tried to negotiate with NPower?

brysiewysie

If you do switch when in debt you'll get chased for full payment. Staying put means at least you can spread the debt. If your usage has changed I'd expect Npower to allow you to set a lower DD based on that fact.

As Mag says call them and negotiate

Obi167

Thanks for your comments.

I currently owe about £700 on the account, and unfortunately no I haven't been doing the sensible thing and saving money to pay a lump sum.

I have already tried negotiating with N power, they said the amount is unchangeable. The average excuse of the price is set by the computers - Pah.

I do understand that this is my fault, and should have tried to get a more realistic monthly payment, but now that ship has sailed, and i just wanted to see if anyone had some good advice.

Magentasue

Have you tried CAB? They might negotiate on your behalf - drawing up a budget that you can submit so that it is clear how much you can afford. I'm assuming you've done all the first stage things such as dumping non-essentials such as Sky and trimming luxuries. Once you show that your income is x and your essentials (rent/mortgage/other utilities/food) are y, it will show what you can afford to pay NPower to clear the debt.

I suspect they may suggest a card meter so that you are paying off the debt as you pay for your current use but it will stop the debt increasing over the winter.

The debt free wannabe board will probably be able to help you find ways of reducing your outgoings. £700 is a comparatively small debt so at least you're looking at making temporary cuts - a lot of people on that board owe thousands.

Lastly, unless you normal usage is as low as you can go, it would help you to cut the units you use until the debt is paid off. You might not be able to do this if you are already frugal with energy but I know that if push came to shove, we could make cutbacks.

I realise all this seems punitive but, if it was me, I'd rather get it cleared as soon as I could. Good luck with sorting it out whatever you do!