NPower doubling our bill

JennyCourage

I did not understand the reply to your question, from Magentasue #8, so hope this helps:

Just say NO!

Remove the idea that they are all powerful. If a person approached you and asked you for your money for nothing, you would say NO! Keep that image in mind.

Pay off the £20 immediately, removing the excuse to increase your d.d.

Telephone, refuse the increase, based on their overestimate, and either offer an increase based on your usage, or no increase & use less gas. (See my posts on handling bullies on telephone). You can work out your usage by dividing 'Total gas charges this period' by 'Gas used' on your bill - gives approx cost of 1 unit, based on meter readings.

Hope this helps, let me know.

Kind regards

JennyCourage

Mr KimYeovil says mrjibbles owes £250 per mth for 12 mths (i.e. £3000) and that's, "Generously allowing them to repay over 12 months".

NPower say mrjibbles owes £800.

Question: Who do you think is right?

---

Mr KimYeovil says mrjibbles uses £184 of gas per mth.

NPower say mrjibbles has used £112 of gas per mth. based on 3 yrs usage.

Question: Who do you think is right?

---

Mr KimYeovil says "I have precisely little money" "Live on a tenner or less for 1/2 months".

Yet can afford £800 to pay a large debt over 1/2 mths.

Question: Yes! you've guessed it...................................

SwanJon

JennyCourage wrote: »

NPower offer rebate £100 p.y. for dual fuel (i.e. elec & gas, paying by monthly DD). I Dont know discount for DD

This seems to contradict itself. What do npower offer for dual fuel if you don't pay by DD?
You agree to pay by DD, one benefit of which is a discount, however you want to set your own payment and pay any balance each quarter - a halfway house between quarterly and monthly DD - but I bet you'd complain if they offered you half the discount

As to Mr Jibble's consumption, you seem to have forgotten the price changes over the last 3 years, so £122/month last year would be closer to , oh, £180/month now. Then add on the £22 a month to pay back the debt over 23 years, and you are over £200/month., or pushing £250 over 1 year.
This would give an annual consumption (at today's prices) of £180*12 = £2160, so £3000 to pay back the debt and still use gas seems about right.

Kim said that (s)he would rather survive on a tenner, not (s)he had a tenner normally. Paying off the bill in 1/2 months would leave a tenner.

I know that money issues can get people's heckles up, but if you come on here guns blazing, you will get a response. Play nicely.

JennyCourage

SwanJon,

Facts:

mrjibbles states:

1) 'The other day' & 'last few months' not (your quote) ..........."last year" i.e. December 2007.

2) NPower have set d.d. for £130 for 12 months, or £250 for 6 months.

3) Npower have increased d.d from £90 to £130 (12 mths)

4) (You & Kim have increased it to £180!)

5) Even mrjibbles did/does not know his consumption, how can you both?

6) Mrjibbles debt is still only £800 and not £3000.

7) (Obviously the price rises were incremental over 3 yrs etc.)

Thought you'd champion justice for customer. i.e. Supplier & customer agree d.d. based on actual consumption. If I use less, they refund me. If I use more (rarely, but mostly small amounts), I repay immediately, and keep my existing d.d. payment. Sounds fair to me. Been doing it for many, many years. Never had a problem.

Obviously I increase d.d. in line with price rise, but not on overinflated estimate.

According to you & Kim, we are all in debt for 12 months unused gas!

I do play nicely and will blaze my guns anytime.
:EasterBun
p.s. Kim referred to me as a 'she'. Touche`

JennyCourage

Thought you would like to know. Awaiting refund (this week) of £50.96 (Not £24 as anticipated) yes, after submitted reading, for bill 1/9/08 to 6/11/08. Last bill, received £54.02 refund.

:j

JennyCourage

mrjibbles wrote: »

Blimey, i can feel the heat from here lol

Appreciate everyones feedback, as my Scottish girlfriend says.. what a numpty. Its suprising how it does change you, last night when i got in i saw with my eyes closed on the sofa. then dawned on me, i had the tv on mute and two kitchen lights on lol ... turned them all off

"Cheers Jenny for the support, made me chuckle" "it has taught me a lot and learnt from you all".

Rob

"Numpty" is right. I too have learned a lot, from you. Humility springs to mind. I like mrjibbles.:j

To help save money:

Ditch the electric kettle (say, 3p/5p a go X 10 times a day costs £9/£15 a month) & get a whistling kettle for gas hob. Fill for only 1/2 cups.

Turn everything off on standby e.g. microwave, TV, video, top box, stereo, etc., (uses approx 30% of electric).

Change radio alarm clock to manual, battery op. clock.

(If u want to have fun - check each appliance separately with meter- I did).

Try not using dish-washer, what's a few pots, and you can daydream whilst washing up.

Kind regards

JennyCourage

Magentasue

I've reread this thread, skimming over the squabbling and can't see that the OP is asking how to make cutbacks on the electricity they use. In fact, I though they were asking about their gas account. More, it seems, a case of poor budgeting and not understanding the system.

If, mrjibbles, you do need to cut back on the number of kwh of electricity you use, changing your clocks and kettle is unlikely to make much difference. Turning things off standby will make a bit more difference.

Even full, my electric kettle costs less than a couple of pence. My whistling kettle costs about the same. Dishwasher, almost twenty pence a load, so yes, you could make savings there depending on how efficient your boiler is, how hot you have your water and whether you rinse in clean water. If you wash up several times a day instead of saving it all up, the savings are eroded.

To make real savings, look at the high use or 24/7 appliances. Running a big fridge or freezer unnecessarily, hot washes on the washing machine, tumble drying, standard light bulbs in rooms where the lights are on for hours a day etc. etc.

You need to do some daily meter readings for a week or two to find out whether you can make worthwhile savings. We average 13 units a day but there are plenty of smaller households that use less than half this. As for gas - it's more obvious how savings can be made.

JennyCourage

Do you Read?


Authors/writers often have more than one level. Refer "TV on mute" & "Two kitchen lights on".

Offering helpful/practical advice is the ethos of the forum.


Your 1st. para. - "can't see.......asking....electricity". Then why are you offering advice on electricity?

How does one run a big fridge or freezer unnecessarily? (salmonella? defrosted food, perhaps?)

mrjibbles is already budgeting, reading the meter & understands the system.

All savings are real. "Look after the pennies..............." comes to mind.

I'm sure mrjibbles will appreciate your advice.....perhaps washing up only once a day!

Conclusions will be drawn

:rotfl:

JennyCourage

See "Energy Direct Debit Overcharging Discussion:Reclaim successes.
(Martin Lewis)

Specifically MSE Wendy, MSE Archna, ncrossland. Martin Lewis's template.

Plus

Energy Direct Debit - Get Money Back & Your Payments Lowered
(Martin Lewis).

23 Successes. Motives for your post are questionable.

I rest my case.

Magentasue

Oh jenny, calm down, dear.

I qualified your advice on saving electricity because, if that's what needs to be done, better to make worthwhile savings.

If you read over old threads, you'll see that people often have huge fridges and freezers that they don't really use. There are often references to second fridges and freezers that are not needed. Getting rid of these save far more money than buying a new clock.

As for washing up, I wasn't advocating washing up once a day, just pointing out the savings made by not using the dishwasher are less, the more times you wash up in the day.