Npower Excessive Bills And Blocking Account Transfer

rareflower

I had an npower door sales man convince me moving to them would be cheaper I now find it was one of the biggest mistakes ever!:mad:

At first I didn't get their bills, instead I would receive threatening letters. I got sent an estimated bill recently, challenged the bill, in the meanwhile got more threatening letters. Read my own meter, sent this to them and the bill jumped higher. But then got sent 3 more new bills with ever increasing amounts within a matter of days of each other.
I have asked my previous suppliers to take the account back and informed npower I will pay a fixed amount of what I can afford. They have today written me saying I can install a pre-payment meter and also they would block my move to leave them till the bill is cleared.
I have filled out a form with Energy Ombudsman, but not sure they can help as the more I investigate it appears that npower may be allowed to block me leaving them?
How is this legal? Is the objective as a consumer is to choose whom I want to give my business to and to server ties with those I do not. If I can pay off credit cards and other debts without being continually beholden to them, how can npower be allowed to hold me ransom even though I have started making payments towards the bill at the rate I have informed this will not send me into a financial tail spin? Seriously...this is LEGAL?? What can one do about this? Anything???

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

If a Utility company were not able to block a customer switching, then some people would have no hesitation in running up huge bills and move onto another company, and another, and another leaving a trail of unpaid bills behind them. You might not, but plenty of others would.

If they didn't have this ruling, as companies can share information on debters, no other company would take you on as a customer; it is just another form of credit check.

The alternative in all these cases is to get a pre-pay meter, or borrow from another source to pay off your debt.

Sorry!!

P.S. I would add that with credit cards, if they run a credit check and get an unsatisfactory result, they won't give you a card.

anniecave

they can stop you from leaving yes
they can insist on a prepayment meter if you don't pay as well

are the existing bills wrong? Have you now got copies of all the live bills on your account? Are they correct? Have you compared the readings on the bills with the readings on your meter?

When you are an ongoing customer you need to be paying your bills ongoing, it's as simple as that.

Do you know how many units per day you use? And therefore if you include the standing charge (or increased price on the first units per day), how much it is costing you in electricity per day/week/month/year?
Knowledge is power.

How much does the tariff compare with your previous supplier? If you have been with npower a while, then bear in mind prices may have increased generally since then anyway.

Magentasue

rareflower wrote: »

I have filled out a form with Energy Ombudsman, but not sure they can help as the more I investigate it appears that npower may be allowed to block me leaving them?
How is this legal? Is the objective as a consumer is to choose whom I want to give my business to and to server ties with those I do not. If I can pay off credit cards and other debts without being continually beholden to them, how can npower be allowed to hold me ransom even though I have started making payments towards the bill

Energy suppliers are not credit card companies. They are not in the business of lending you money - the idea is that you use energy and pay for it. If you can't do that, they ask you to pay as you go and reduce the debt over a reasonable period. If you are unable to do this, they offer prepay meters. If you clear the balance you can switch.

millymollymandy2K7

rareflower wrote: »

IIf I can pay off credit cards and other debts without being continually beholden to them, how can npower be allowed to hold me ransom even though I have started making payments towards the bill

Credit card companies generally charge interest on late payments/debt older than 1 month, you have an interest free "loan" on your energy bills

WhistleBlower

rareflower wrote: »

At first I didn't get their bills, instead I would receive threatening letters.

Why didn't you call and ask for copies of the bills? NPower don't control the royal mail, if the bill went missing how are we supposed to know?

rareflower wrote: »

I got sent an estimated bill recently, challenged the bill, in the meanwhile got more threatening letters. Read my own meter, sent this to them and the bill jumped higher.

Under estimated. Sorry, it happens sometimes, no guess will ever be 100% correct.

rareflower wrote: »

But then got sent 3 more new bills with ever increasing amounts within a matter of days of each other.

What's the dates on them? Sounds like those are copy-bills.

rareflower wrote: »

[snip] the more I investigate it appears that npower may be allowed to block me leaving them?
How is this legal? Is the objective as a consumer is to choose whom I want to give my business to and to server ties with those I do not. If I can pay off credit cards and other debts without being continually beholden to them, how can npower be allowed to hold me ransom even though I have started making payments towards the bill at the rate I have informed this will not send me into a financial tail spin? Seriously...this is LEGAL?? What can one do about this? Anything???

Why should they let you leave when you have their money? It's a utility company, not a credit card.

Options are as follows:

A) make a complaint about the agent if you feel he mis-sold you the contract. Call customer services and say you want to make an agent complaint.

then:

Pay in full
c) set up an arrngment (and stick to it, i'm not going to bother with the nonsense that has to be gone through if it fails, it's a headache for the customer and the poor employees)
d) Get a ppm and pay it off gradually. Depending no the level of your debt it may work out cheaper per month than paying on a direct debit or payment card, plus you can monitor your usage.

rareflower wrote: »

Even though I have started making payments towards the bill at the rate I have informed

Are you just paying off your own bat or are you on a payment plan? If the former you need to contact NPower and get it set officialy since there ebing no official plan in place will cause debt collection to continue.

Once the balance is paid you can go.