Npower - how can they be this incompetent?

tiggerjr82

Hi all

I'm new to posting although have read the forums on many subjects here.

I wanted to let you all know about my Npower plight and see if anyone might be able to help me resolve this.

I moved into my small terraced house in November 2007, it took Npower 4 months before they had set up the gas and electricity supply to the house and started charging me for it (not without many phonecalls from me to do so!).

I paid the DD monthly for both for about 6 months and then suddenly my bills went up from £40 a month to £127. I phoned to see why (expecting them to have gone up somewhat but not so much). They couldnt provide an answer, they simply didnt know and said they would investigate it.

They kept the DD at £40 per month while investigating as when they looked at the usage they agreed it seemed a large jump for a single person in a small terraced house. Anyway, months and months of me phoning them and writing them and each time they say it was being investigated.

Then they closed the case without saying why and again, months and months of me chasing to get it investigated. They said they had the wrong meter on the account for me and werent sure if they were charging me correctly. So after a year they eventually sent someone out to get the correct meter serial and decided they had charged me correctly afterall. Ofc, after a year of this and many red letters and angry phone calls, I was not satisfied that they had answered the question. They then sent me a word table in a letter with dates and some readings which they claim proves I now owe them close to £1k!!

Anyway, trying to cut it short, i dont believe I owe that much. I dont believe they have proven what I owe and I dont know how they can because everything else so far from them has been incorrect. I have offered half and they rejected it. They have offered £140 off the bill which for 14 months of me having this hassle I think is laughable. I now am getting court letters even though executive complaints tell me the account is on hold.

I have asked for a full break down of all calls, emails and letters on my account and i intend to charge them for my time...

Does anyone have any suggestions on this?? Help much appreciated

macman

Have you not got your own meter readings from when you moved in? In which case you can work out exactly what you have used and what you owe them. Otherwise it's just based on your opinion against theirs

tiggerjr82

to be honest, 2 years down the line, no i dont have them which is one of the reasons I want all of the bills sent to me. However they stated that they had the wrong serial number for the meter and were charging me incorrectly, then 5 months later they retracted that and said although it was the wrong serial, the pricing was the same, should I believe that though?

Pincher

Start recording your meter readings.
Write down your meter reference numbers.

Or

Assuming people will do whatever you tell them to, if you nag them long enough, you're just doing it wrong. So take some nagging lessons.:rotfl:

A._Badger

Don't waste your time pandering to NPower's legendary incompetence. They are easily the worst company I have ever done business with.

When I had a similar problemm I took it to the regulator and, eventually, that seemed to apply the pressure needed to sort it out.

Why NPower has been allowed to remain in business is beyond me.

anniecave

I had a similar problem with Npower, with a few extra added complications, but at the end of the day, even though they'd messed me around loads, and couldn't explain and wouldn't apologise for anything, I knew I did actually owe them for the electricity I used, so I paid them.

You need a specific reason to dispute a bill.

Is this for gas or electric? If it's only for one, what has happened to the other, have you paid for the other one via Npower or via another supplier?

Do the meter readings used on the bill now correspond to today's meter reading? Have they given you any previous readings they have?

Have they confirmed the serial number on the meter on their records and is it your meter?

Do you know how many units per day you are using now and is this consistent with previously, during the disputed bill period?

anniecave

oh and Npower are allowed to remain in business because they supply at least several million households and a large amount of business customers. They also generate a large amount of electricity for the grid. So if they disappeared tomorrow I think a lot of people would notice!

The electricity and gas industries have their own problems, and billing disputes are just one. if every customer took their own meter readings and just checked them against their bills every so often it would solve SO many problems!

A._Badger

anniecave wrote: »

oh and Npower are allowed to remain in business because they supply at least several million households and a large amount of business customers. They also generate a large amount of electricity for the grid. So if they disappeared tomorrow I think a lot of people would notice!

The electricity and gas industries have their own problems, and billing disputes are just one. if every customer took their own meter readings and just checked them against their bills every so often it would solve SO many problems!

Not for the first time, I find myself puzzled by the willingness of some posters to leap to the defence of the indefensible.

NPower is a shambles. Even the person I spoke with in the regulator's office said as much when, in an unguarded moment, she revealed they received (then - I can't say about now) more complaints about NPower than any other supplier.

If NPower were wound-up, the rest of the industry would take up the slack and consumers would benefit hugely. The company is kept in business by a toothless regulatory authority and complacent, timid, customers.

And, for the record, I did take my own readings. It doesn't get you very far with NPower.

dogshome

Hi tiggerjr82 - From your post it seems that you have been paying £40 a month for both Gas & Elect - £480 a year.
There ar a huge number of factors that will affect your bills - How good or bad your insulation? - Your lifestyles affect on consumption?

However, apart from the £960 you have paid by D/D's over two years, n'power are now demanding a further £1000, which puts your annual cost up to £980, which depending on Insulation & Lifestyle factors, is in the ball park of average costs.

I'm afraid that to challange n'powers wonderful tables, ( and by the way I have yet to see predictive graphs or tables from any supplier that are accurate), you will have to do your home work..
As you have not kept the bills, write to n'power asking for copies - they have to supply them - then go thro' the bills checking each calculation and estimated reading, and if the final bills are also on estimated readings, check them against what your meters are reading now.

One other thing - From the size of your bills it is unlikely that you are a victim of the classic c*ck-up of being charged on the basis of an Imperial gas meter, when you have a Metric meter, but check what is says on the front of the meter anyway
Good Luck

Premier_2

macman wrote: »

Have you not got your own meter readings from when you moved in? In which case you can work out exactly what you have used and what you owe them. Otherwise it's just based on your opinion against theirs

How did I know the answer was going to be no before I even reads the OP's response?

OP - you should be able to get that reading in a simple phone call to your supplier. Then follow macman's advice.
If your calculation differs from that of nPower, then you might have a cause for complaint. Otherwise you 'thinking' the amount charged is wrong won't get anywhere when the supplier would have based their bill on a calculation from meter readings