Amusing situation with nPower

Thing_2

Hi, I'm new here and thought I'd share this amusing situation with you all. Who knows, maybe you're on the 'sign online' tariff with nPower and will gain from this too!

Anyway, recently, I used MSE to find the best place to do a comparison of energy suppliers in the East Midlands since nPower recently increased my gas and electricity charges. I found what I needed and then noticed that, besides nPower still being the cheapest in my area, they had a tariff (sign online) that was significantly cheaper than the one I'm on - which is confusingly also called 'sign online'.

So I contacted them to find out what that's all about. It seems they had a relatively poor take up on their original sign online tariff so introduced this new one which is about 6p per unit cheaper. A significant saving. However it's for new customers only. But, needless to say, I want that sort of saving! I worked it out, on our average usage here, to be nearly £20 per month.

Amusing thing is the only way I can get on that tariff is to quit with nPower, then go back after 28 days. So if I pull both nPower accounts (we have dual fuel with them) then go back I'll get the £60 per year dual fuel discount plus I'll go on to a seriously cheaper tariff! I know I'll lose the existing dual fuel discount by leaving them now, but that's only £60 (only, hehe) and between now and when we are due to receive that discount I'm going to save, on the 'new' sign online tariff, nearly £180!

Spoke to one of the nPower senior customer service managers just now and they admit that this is a daft situation but can do nothing about it and are happy (sort of) to let me leave their service, then return, to gain these savings. At least they hope I'll return ... what if (I said to them) my new supplier decides to do more to keep me? A chance they (nPower) will have to take, I was told!

Frankly bizarre, huh?

matto

npower would think more about this if more people did what you are doing.

I'm surprised more don't. Switching suppliers is normally pretty painless and if they did their claculations they'd soon realise it wasn't worth staying with npower just for the £60. Maybe Martin should do an article on it.

a&akay

Totally agree. I switched to Atlantic in Mar 06 because Npower put up their prices. Atlantic put their prices up on 1 May 06 so switched back to Npower's online tarriff as new sign up with no problem. Only drawback if you switch in Winter is having to pay the higher usage months to the old supplier rather than an averaged amount.

fannyadams

are you serious?
we are with N power atm and we just lost our £60 dual fule discount coz we couldn't prove that we'd phoned Grittish Bass to cancel to transfer.
Whay can't N Power just give you the tarriff you want? what do you have to go away and comeback in 28 days? They sure don't want to keep their exisitng customers that badly then?

Thing_2

That was exactly what I suggested to them! I said "are you willing to let me leave you as a customer in the hopes that I'll return?"

The answer was "yes". Though in all fairness the manager I spoke to thought it was a crazy situation - needing to leave for a period simply to be able to come back and get their cheapest tariff.

Of course I did also suggest I may not come back as it's always possible that the new supplier I move to will make it worth my while to stay. Again nPower effectively said that was a chance they were willing to take!

As a small business man myself if I treated my customers like that I'd be out of business pretty quickly. Granted nPower are a huge firm, but good grief.

Thing_2

Well, just to add to this I'm in the process of moving to London Energy as NPower completely refused to put me on the much lower, new, sign online tariff preferring to lose me as a customer.

And now I notice that NPower have actually removed that really cheap tariff and are back to only offering the one I am on now! London Electric beat that, but didn't beat the now defunct extra cheap sign online job. So I'll not be going back to NPower!

And the moral of the story? Just becuase you've got cheap power prices today, don't assume you can't beat them tomorrow. Tedious though it is check, regularly, and save!

Ken68

Laugh a minute aint it Thing.
Just moved to EBICO, painless, and a cool £100 better orf .
Ebico said they couldn't amalgamate my E7 figures with the main day rate (as had Powergen) and the cost of changing the meter was to be £40...SO...have rejigged lifestyle and bought a couple of timers and will save £20 a year extra.
As Martin says, cutting costs without cutting back.

dippy-dora_2

Npower - i wouldnt touch them again with a barge pole.
Their salesman got me to sign up with them as they said if i signed up there would be no standing charge - but there was.
Anyway I got compensation and they said they had sacked the salesman... few months later same salesperson turns up at door again with same line!!!

hansi

When do they actually give you the £60 discount? Do they send you the money or do they just reduce the bill by £60

Thing_2

nPower give you the dual fuel discount after 12 months complete time with them, which is why I'll miss it as I've only been with them for 6 months. However the saving I'll make by moving to London Energy is greater than the £60 loss, plus LE give nearly £60 as a dual fuel discount and there's hits your bills quarterly - so that's better isn't it!

Bye bye nPower. I'll not be back.

hansi

But is it shown as a credit or do you get a cheque?