NPower "Spreading Warmth tariff" no help!

Cougargb

I enquired about their "Spreading Warmth tariff", they apparently give an extra £250 rebate if you earn less than 12K.

However the catch is that you have to be on their Standard Tariff to get the extra rebate!

I am amzed that anyone would still be on a Standard tariff when clearly their "Online Tariff" is considerably cheaper. And before you say not everyone has access to the Internet, you can change to an "Online Tariff" by phone (I did!) and even the helpful customer service guy at NPower didn't know that!

One surprising service he offered was to check which tariff was the cheapest for me! To my surprise he said "British Gas" by £157!

The bottom line is that it is almost impossible to compare different companies. even the "Comparison Sites" come up with different savings using the same figures!

Companies should be honest and offer a true saving to the "vulnerable" whatever tariff they are on!

shaf00uk

I agree - if you pay by monthly direct debit on a different tariff you are likely to be already on a better deal.

Statement from their website:

There are a number of Spreading Warmth Tariffs each determined by npower from time to time and associated with a normal npower tariff.
The benefits of each Spreading Warmth Tariff will be the same: an annual discount of £125 (excl VAT) for each fuel as long as you remain an npower customer. Your terms of supply remain unchanged, and any discounts for direct debit or dual fuel continue to apply.
The application of the tariffs is entirely at the discretion of npower, and their availability is limited. They are available for domestic customers only. Any Spreading warmth tariff may be altered or withdrawn at any time.
Eligibility for the Spreading Warmth tariff requires the following:

• You must remain a domestic customer of npower for electricity and / or gas; and
• Your total gross household income is under £13,500; and
• One of the following applies to you:

• Someone living in the household is aged over 60
• Someone living in the household is disabled
• Someone living in the household suffers from a chronic illness
• There is at least one child under 16 living in the household; and

• You are a new customer, or currently on one of the qualifying tariffs chosen by npower from time to time. Qualifying tariffs include our standard tariffs and some fixed price tariffs, but others may be added.
• If you are on a non-qualifying tariff but you otherwise qualify, you can if you wish change to a Spreading Warmth tariff but you would lose any benefits specific to your tariff. You would be advised about this if relevant to you.
• You will have to confirm your eligibility either verbally or in writing, and we may at any time in the future, ask for written proof.
• If you make an intentionally fraudulent claim, we may take appropriate action.

The discounts are available for all payment methods including prepayment.
We may at any time, and at our discretion, alter the eligibility requirements or decide to waive them, though we would tell you if you no longer qualified because we altered the requirements.
Once your account is set up on a Spreading Warmth tariff, the discount will be applied on 1st January 2009 for the first year, but may be applied in instalments from then onwards. We will notify you how further discounts will be applied.
You will only receive the discount amounts if you are registered as an npower customer on the dates they are applied.
The discount will be credited to your energy account. However if you have a prepayment meter we may choose to send it to you rather than credit it to your account.
You will be notified of any change to these arrangements.
It is important that you continue to pay your bills as normal at all times and that you do not deduct any expected discounts when making payments.

http://www.npower.com/web/At_home/Popup/spreading_warmth_tariff_terms/index.htm

sallysludge

In 2010 Npower changed the way it makes it cheaper on the spreading warmth tariff, now I pay much cheaper on every kwt of electricity ( and units of gas ) so much so, I save a minimum of 20% and still recieve £100 a year duel fuel credit.

Its not a con, its really good I am currently paying LESS THAN I WAS 5 YEARS AGO. I pay £38 a month for duel fuel, thats less than £5 for gass, £5 for electric a week, I am no longer cold or doing without this or that and don't worry about my bills in the slightest. To be honest, the quality of my entire life has been lifted greatly, thank you N-Power !

If you are not with N-Power, all companies have to provide social tariffs under an agreement from government, check out and see if you qualify. If you are with a company that you dont meet the criteria, change, its painless and can make all the difference to your entire life.