Interpreting Npower T&Cs

DavidRossitter

Hi

I have just received a price rise increase which having done the maths will increase my electricity bill by a whopping 113%!!

So having done some comparisons there are some cheaper options out there - so I will reject this increase as per their T&Cs

I received the letter late last week and it says I have up to 10 working days to reject this and then 15 working days for them to receive a notification of change from a new supplier.

Is the 15days on top of the 10...ie do I have 25 working days????

And how quick will any new supplier be in informing Npower of the switch over?

Thanks David

Cardew

Not that I would in any way suggest anyone should stay with NPower, but I can't see how an electricity supply can increase by 113% - can you post some figures please(for Tier 1 and Tier 2 - sometimes called primary/secondary units)

The answer to your question cannot be given as it varies tremendously - some transfers go through very quickly, others have reported it takes months.

JayMT

Hi Cardew

I hope David doesn't mind me adding an answer to this. I don't know what tariff he's on, but here are the figures for SOL12 electric.

All inc VAT, and the primaries are charged for the first 728kWh per year.

Old prices:
Primary units - 31.185p
Secondary units - 5.1135p

New prices
Primary units - 15.44p
Secondary units - 12.36p

Now depending on your annual usage this could indeed result in a huge increase, for example

4000 – 32% higher
5000 – 46% higher
6000 – 56% higher
7000 – 64% higher
8000 – 71% higher


The effect of this price increase is that the average price per unit is now 12.36p, regardless of the annual units used. Previously the average unit price varied from 10.74p/unit for 3000 annual units, down to 6.89p/unit for 9500 annual units.


There are many other threads started here and elsewhere in the last couple of weeks from npower customers who are only just finding out about the true extent of the price increases, and at least one mentioned a figure similar to David's above.

What people are discovering is that npower's headline increase figure of 14% simply doesn't give people any idea of the true increase they may be facing.


Other threads where npower increases discussed:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...html?t=1139925
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...html?t=1135121
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...html?t=1130337
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...html?t=1136447
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/comm...ose-23559.aspx

Cardew

Hi,
Yes I had skimmed some of those threads and am aware of the huge rises particularly for very high users; however it was the 113% I was querying.

1carminestocky

There are far better deals out there - vote with your wallet!

KimYeovil

The increase is (theoretically) up to 142%, Cardew. 113% rise kicks in at about 26,000 kWh.

25000 24272 £1,468 £3,112 212.0%
26000 25272 £1,519 £3,236 213.0%
27000 26272 £1,570 £3,360 213.9%

New bills can be up to almost two and a half times the previous tariff. (12.35/5.1135 = 2.417) (Of course, you would need to be running a hadron collider to reach 141.7%.)

1carminestocky

Maybe npower will justify this by suggesting it's their version of the Govts much-maligned green taxes? Althogh I think they have more pressing matters to attend to this morning in the wake of the Mail on Sunday expose...

DavidRossitter

I dont have the tariff to hand as am at work but we are using circa 40000 units a year - we have a house plus an annex off the same supply. We are oil heated and the main cooker is oil too so am starting to query why are usage is so high. We have had low power bulbs in for several years so have already taken reasonable precautions to keep the bill down.

So ill post the tariffs but essentially the tier 2 rate which dominates my charges has more than doubled hence the 113% rate.

Any thoughts/suggestions on this? Also how I should react to npower and how long I have to do this.... ie are the 10 and 15 day periods consecutive or run in parallel.

David

KimYeovil

It's as you say in your first post, consecutive. And the transfer does not have to be completed by then - they just have to be notified by the new supplier.

But if you do not have electric cooking or electrical heating then you've lost me. What's using the electricity? A server farm? Maybe you are running a hadron collider? Or you're one of these 365 days a year Christmas fans with a garish oversized external display? Being overly zealous with SAD precaution measures? A heated swimming pool? Daughters?

1carminestocky

David clearly lives in a VERY large dwelling...with an anexe the size of Althorp and many kids. Or something is very wrong with his leccy meter, lol. I would be interested in hearing what your leccy usage is, KY, shown as a %tage of David's (hope I'm not wrong but isn't your usage as ridiculously low as David's is high? Apologies if I have the wrong person)..

KimYeovil

It's less than 1000 kWh per year. Which makes switching and comparing very tricky. (1000 272 £241 £146 60.6%) (Minus another £52 for an annual lock-in.) (And I may even be one of the few to gain from their sculpting* if I were with them!)

*Oops. It's only gas that's sculpted, not electricity. (Of course, the electricity tariff has been restructured but that's a different sculpting from the one we're usually blethering about.)