NPower doubling our bill

mrjibbles

Hi all

I saw the other day that NPower have started charging people over a 6 month period instead of 12 (or some kind of change)

Our bill said £800 debit and will be charging us £250 a month from now on. I found out when ringing them it was 6 months but said they cant change it without a meter reading.

Admitedly we hadnt given one for a while but even now we have, its still the same. Will it even out when we give one on our next bill? Ive never worried about the gas bill but now its gone up, time to buckle up my ideas and learn how to cost it..

Our monthly direct debit used to be £90 for a 3 bedhouse, even with it set to 12 months its going to be £130 so a big jump. How can we owe them money? or is it a case of using more than £90 worth for the last few months? we have lived here for 3 years and its always been £90 even on our old supplier.

Does anyone have any explaination in laymans terms because i never understand their waffling.

We are thinking of switching due to the cost they have put up and their daft 6 month rule but cant as we apparently owe them money.

I cancelled the direct debit until they sort our bill out for 12 months. Cant afford £250 a month to be taken at the moment. The customer service guy said it was a "mistake" many people are having with the bill being over 6 months. So i said, i heard it was a new policy and he didnt correct me so i take it he was lying.

Cheers very much

Rob and Lorna

KimYeovil

You were paying £90 per month THREE years ago and you are still paying £90 per month today. You are in debit to the tune of £800. Your supplier wants you to increase your payments. I trust your post is rhetorical!

mrjibbles

No its not rhetorical

Does anyone else have any feedback on how much a 3 bed house costs to give us an idea how much ours should be

We havnt had any indication our usage was higher than we thought

Many Thanks

Rob

KimYeovil

Sorry, did mean to be cheeky, lots of people will be reading your post and scratching their heads with incredulity.

My gas was less than half the price it is today three years ago. If you are still paying the same today as you were then and you have not reduced your useage then little wonder there is a discrepancy. You should be paying £180 per month. Plus there is the £800 arrears. £800 divided by 12 is £66. £180 plus £66. There's your £250 per month.

ChipPan_2

mrjibbles wrote: »

No its not rhetorical

Does anyone else have any feedback on how much a 3 bed house costs to give us an idea how much ours should be

We havnt had any indication our usage was higher than we thought

Many Thanks

Rob

You really need to speak to customer services again, who have your bill (and bill history records) to explain it step-by-step. It could be the person you spoke to wasn't very good at doing this. Try "SayNoto0870" to get their Freephone number, i used it the other day.

Magentasue

I think it's a genuine post - there are plenty of people who come on here complaining because their DD has been increased to a figure above what they can afford. There are just as many who don't check their meters, submit readings, understand how much they use or bother to work out how much they need to pay.

Many people believe everything they're told by the supplier until they're told something they don't like.

kevinm_2

i too have had the 6 month bill estimation! yet i know people on the same tarriff and they have had a 12 month estimation.

after the last years usage i owe them £20 ( not a lot but i would expect it to be added to the DD). yet they have decided to up my bill by 80%. i would have expected a 40% increase due to the latest price hikes but 80%!!!!!!

Magentasue

kevinm wrote: »

i too have had the 6 month bill estimation! yet i know people on the same tarriff and they have had a 12 month estimation.

after the last years usage i owe them £20 ( not a lot but i would expect it to be added to the DD). yet they have decided to up my bill by 80%. i would have expected a 40% increase due to the latest price hikes but 80%!!!!!!

As has been said before, you should be in credit now so that by spring you'll have a zero balance or thereabouts. Of course this works in the suppliers' favour - they have your credit balance to play with for a few months, but you can't blame them for not wanting it the other way - you in debt over the winter and repaying it over the summer.

mrjibbles

Cheers for your replies everyone

We have been a couple of layed back people and not looked at the meter to see how much we are using. The debit was always £90 and they took £90 so presumed we were using as much as we were paying for

This is a genuine thread, mrjibbles is just a name i have used on the net for years and Lorna is my girlfriend. Newbie? where did that come from. We have only just started using the forum because up until now we didnt have an issue with any bills. Not a very nice greeting there id say.

I see now we 99% certain have been using more than we have been billed for, so said to Lorna we will check the meter reading now , work it out ourselves when the bill comes to maks sure everything is correct

Cheers again and thankyou to everyone who gave their feedback, very much appreciated

Rob

JennyCourage

Hi Lorna & Bob,
My unreserved apologies. I genuinely felt sorry for your dilemma & wanted to help, but it did appear to be a 'wind up', and my post was sincere. Even Kim Yeovil found it incredible. (Apols for ??!!-bad form on my part). I offer a warm greeting. Hope the foll. helps:

I am with NPower, pay £25 p.m. D.D (£300 p.a), 1 bed flat, 4 Rads, cooker, very cold, in basement.

I Get £100 rebate for dual fuel, had £50 this bill & £54 last bill refunds. (£204).

Figures under 'gas used' column on bill, match meter numbers used, = approx £2.13 per number (unit).

Read meter every night for 7 days, Add total used, divide by 7 (average daily use) X by 31 days for monthly usage, X by £2.13 per unit. Gives u yr usage.

Negotiate with NPower your arrears.

I have always set my own D.D. Refused any increase, & rcvd any refunds via a meter reading & phone call.

Cut down on rads & thermostats/wear warm clothes. (fleecy jog pants/sweatshirts gd for me) See suppliers for tips. You are in control.

Best of luck.

maytaurus

Interesting thread
I wanted to set up a new dd today for dual fuel
3 bed semi
They said if we wanted to pay by dd we would have to set it up for £166 per month:eek:
I like JennyCourage
' have always set my own D.D. Refused any increase,'
This time they say if we wont set it for the ammount they quoted we will have to pay the bill when it arrives
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
So I signed into My Npower and did it on there