How to switch when I ow money to NPower?

cleomolly

I realise I'm not getting the bast price for my gas and electirc as I haven't changed tariff since i moved into the property 5 years ago! but I can't switch because I owe money to them for gas which i simply can't afford to pay in one lump sum, is there anyway i can still switch or can NPower do anything for me (after speaking to 2 unhelpful people, i was told they can't put me on one of their other tarrif's untill the debt is paid)Thanks for advice guys : )

epsilondraconis

From what I've read on previous posts it appears to be hobson's choice in that you need to pay off the debt, if it is over a specific value, before you can switch suppliers. How much do you owe?

I can't see why they can't switch you to one of their cheaper tariffs though. Did they say that it is in your T&Cs?

Magentasue

They won't want you leaving with a debt owing because it will make it more difficult for them to recover - if you default now, they can install prepay meters to get their money back. However, they should be prepared to discuss alternative nPower tariffs with you.

Premier_2

As Magentasue says, you should be able to transfer to a different nPower tariff even if you do owe them money.

However , if you want to switch to another comapny, you'll need to pay off the debt.

If the savings produced by switching are significant, perhaps those savings will more than pay the interest on a loan to enable you to switch.

cleomolly

I owe about £500 on my gas bill, this was brought down from £1600 when i asked them to investigate it because i only live in a small 2 bedroomed house with 5 radiators!!!!! they did go through all my bills and leavy some of the charges for useage but this was over a 3 year period and i hadn't the knowledge nor the patience to try and understand the bills myself and go through them so i accepted their charge of £500, i owe nothing on electric though so would it be worth me at least changing my elcetric supplier and then the gas once paid off?????Thank you guys : )

Magentasue

rebecca, I would suggest going through your bills and making sure you are being charged fairly. You should be able to get copies of old bills online or free copies from npower. CAB or similar would go through them with you if you really need help working them out.

As for the electricity, you need to check your tariff against others - work out your annual use in kwh and use a comparison site. You need to take into account that you will lose your dual fuel discount. I'm not sure if npower could object to you switching - presumably not if it is only your gas account that is in arrears.