Bloomin NPower!!!

Frith

Right...

Phoned NPower back today and it just gets worse...

Apparently, they "closed" my account in error in June 2009 and started billing me as though I lived next door. In September, everything stopped when I changed to British Gas.

Now they are trying to say they owe me £240 for those 3 months. This is impossible. I barely paid that much, they can't owe me all of it!

They are also saying I owe them £1200 for the year or 2 leading up to June 2009. This also is impossible. I ALWAYS checked my meter readings when a bill arrived and ALWAYS phoned through with the correct reading (you type the numbers in on your phone). Also the meter man has come out quite a few times (don't know when exactly) so really I can't owe that much!

They said they took the £1200 out of the bank AFTER sending me a bill for it - but they didn't send one!!!! I have had bills for here (saying they owe me £240) and a few for next door but NOTHING has ever been sent saying I owe money on this house.

They say I have 6 months to pay the £1200 back, completely ridiculous, I'm right on the breadline living on income support. I can't afford £200 in extra charges.

:-(

L

ade2000p

Hi

It is assuring to know there are many of us who have experienced and are still experiencing Npower's appalling customer service or better still praiseworthy customer scamming. We have been on our case with them since 2007! They have now decided to hand our details to a debt collector and when we called Npower(for the umpteenth time!), they claim they do not know why the information was passed on to the collectors as the complaints team should have been handling the case. I have involved an independent organisation, my MP and will now go to the CAB and consumer direct as a final resort. You spend hours and hours of your life on the phone to no avail. We too had incorrect billing and empty promises to adjust the bill and had we not been scrutinising our bills and stopped our direct debit, we would have paid over £4,000 extra in error and all we get is a shallow apology. They are getting away with daylight robbery and no one can do anything about it! If anyone finds a way to deal with this and put these matters to rest finally, please share the info as I am now at the end of my tethers!

Thanks

p.s. my sister and neighbours also had the same experience, but were lucky that we advised them and they switched early

Frith

I've finally received the £1200 bill today. It shows the £1200 to have built up from 2007 until Autumn 2009.

BUT... it also shows I was paying £20 a month in direct debit! In reality I was paying between about £55 and £75 - it went up and down after I phoned in my true meter readings!

L

kjsmith7

ACEY wrote: »

I've finally received the £1200 bill today. It shows the £1200 to have built up from 2007 until Autumn 2009.

BUT... it also shows I was paying £20 a month in direct debit! In reality I was paying between about £55 and £75 - it went up and down after I phoned in my true meter readings!

L

I'd get your bank statements out, highlight the relevant charges and scan or post them in, you can censor the other transactions if you like as they're nothing to do with your gas and electricity. That way, you have undeniable proof of the amounts you were spending?

Frith

I've been back through the statements on the computer and have paid between 700 and 800 a year for electricity.

I just don't understand NPower's bill. It shows charges (day and night) that don't seem to correspond to anything. There's a weird chart which isn't say, Jan -March 2007 then March - June or whatever - it seems to be absolutely random dates and prices!

It shows where readings were estimated but they weren't because I GAVE them the readings!

It also shows at the end, 4 totals which were about £500 each. It says I paid one but 3 more, late 2008 and into 2009 weren't paid?????? Yet I have always paid by direct debit, I have never paid a bill all in one go and surely, if they thought I hadn't paid three bills totalling £1200, they would have let me know before now???!

Argh!

kjsmith7

ACEY wrote: »

I've been back through the statements on the computer and have paid between 700 and 800 a year for electricity.

I just don't understand NPower's bill. It shows charges (day and night) that don't seem to correspond to anything. There's a weird chart which isn't say, Jan -March 2007 then March - June or whatever - it seems to be absolutely random dates and prices!

It shows where readings were estimated but they weren't because I GAVE them the readings!

It also shows at the end, 4 totals which were about £500 each. It says I paid one but 3 more, late 2008 and into 2009 weren't paid?????? Yet I have always paid by direct debit, I have never paid a bill all in one go and surely, if they thought I hadn't paid three bills totalling £1200, they would have let me know before now???!

Argh!

Are the payments that are showing up the same dates (remember they may show a couple of days early if they print the date they request the payment) as on your bank statement? I would make a note of the ones that aren't showing up and contact...

Frith

This is getting worse and worse.

I have had a bill breakdown from NPower and it shows my money that I paid each month by direct debit. It shows that from Autumn 2007-2009 I wasn't paying nearly enough.

I checked my meter reading EVERY time I received a bill and typed the numbers in over the phone. But the bill says everything was estimated and NPower are saying that is why I fell behind. According to their bill, I have been using £150 of electricity each month. I live in TINY 2 up 2 down cottage with a wood burning stove for heating. I just can't see how it can be right.

You can even see on the bill breakdown how my direct debit payment was adjusted depending on whether NPower thought I was overpaying or not!!

I also don't see how they can have just sent me a cheque for £240 for my "overpayments" then ask for £1200 for my "underpayments".

I have written to the Energy Ombudsman but not received a reply.

L

its-not-me

ACEY wrote: »

I have written to the Energy Ombudsman but not received a reply.

I'd give the Ombudsman a phone call to re-inforce your letter. I found things moved much faster after phoning them and getting a reference. Also the email address for nPower complaints is [EMAIL="Executive.Complaints@npower.com"]Executive.Complaints@npower.com[/EMAIL] once they got hold of the issue things started moving faster, although I did get a bill like yours where they 'forgot' :eek: all my DD payments

Frith

They still want me to reach a compromise. They STILL haven't passed the complaint on to their next level so I can't involve the Ombudsman :-(

They now want me to pay off the mysterious £1300 at £40 per month. I am on income support with bills and debts up to my eyes. I don't have an extra £40.

I PHONED IN with the correct meter readings. Now they are saying there is only a small window of opportunity after you get the bill when you can phone in. Well, I'm sure I didn't keep the bill for months THEN phone in!

And they want to give me £75 compensation for over a year of not telling my new supplier what was going on, sending final demands for NEXT DOOR, c0cking up generally and my 6 letters and dozens of phone calls.

I've told them I do not accept £40 to them and £75 compensation and for them to pass my complaint higher, as I've been asking for months!

Grrrrrr!

its-not-me

You need to call the Ombudsman again and find out how to force NPower to escalate it. I assume you are currently talking to the Executive Complaints team at the moment?