Magistrates warrant - nPower

Milliebert

Before I start, I am totally in the wrong here, and have already beaten myself up about it. I'm really looking for constructive help!

I have both Gas and Electricity with nPower. I haven't paid them. I now owe over £1K on each. Last week I received a letter from them saying they were applying to the Magistrate for a warrant of entry to fit a pre-payment meter. Is there anything I can do to sotp this?

I would be able next Monday to pay around £300 off the outstanding debt, and then to set up a DD for each month thereafter. The problem with them fitting meters is this - my house is 220 years old and very tiny and awkward. To change the gas meter means ripping out half the kitchen cupboards, and to change the electric meter I think may not be possible due to the old wiring. This means massive expense added to the bills, and the house is rented - which is not going to go down well with my landlord, even though we've built quite a good relationship with him (we now bypass the letting agent for most things and communicate well).

I know I need to pay, I'm not looking for ways to get out of it. Just to stop this warrant.

Is there anything I can do? I wanted to go for an admin order due to a CCj I have but I think even that won't stop the warrant.

molerat

The major hurdle is that it is nPower. Phone them up and make the offer, see what they say. If you can give a firm timetable of when you can pay off the debt they may be willing to accomodate you. If you have made repayment plans before and failed to meet them you may be out of luck.

seafarers_wife

it depends how far it has gone, if they have gone as far as applying to court for warrents, then you are best calling up and voluntarily asking for prepayment meters to be fitted as they will add the court costs to the outstanding debt. i doubt that they will set up a payment plan even if you can pay a lump sum as if its gone to warrant stage then you would most probably need to pay a hefty whack (i.e at least half) off the debt before they would consider not enforcing a pre payment meter on you.

the prepayment gas meter might go on the outside of the house rather than in the kitchen and i would assume the electrics wouldnt really be an issue, but thats something that the engineer would decide on the day.

spiro

seafarers_wife wrote: »

it depends how far it has gone, if they have gone as far as applying to court for warrents, then you are best calling up and voluntarily asking for prepayment meters to be fitted as they will add the court costs to the outstanding debt. i doubt that they will set up a payment plan even if you can pay a lump sum as if its gone to warrant stage then you would most probably need to pay a hefty whack (i.e at least half) off the debt before they would consider not enforcing a pre payment meter on you.

the prepayment gas meter might go on the outside of the house rather than in the kitchen and i would assume the electrics wouldnt really be an issue, but thats something that the engineer would decide on the day.

It is unlikely that they will fit the gas ppm outside as this will involve more work. It is the LLs fault if he has fitted out a kitchen such that the meter can not be accessed/exchanged without needing to take cupboards off the wall. They will remove but have no obligation to make good because it is not their fault.

In terms of elec, when the engineer instqalls the new meter he will do some basic checks, earthing etc. If these fail he may fit the meter but leave you off supply i.e. he will not connect metrer to fuse board. This connection can then not be made until the issues identified have been resolved.

You dont say how long it took you to build up the £2k debt, this information might help others advise the rate at which nPower expect payment and the amount given that you will also be paying for what you are using.

A_fiend_for_life

Agree with above it could be useful to state how the debt accrued and over what time period.

Are the bills based on actual meter readings? It is unlikely to make a large difference but if the bills are over estimated the outstanding debt would be lower.

It is not clear what the background is here, debt, bumpy cashflow or reduced income, but I would certainly look at the DFW section and see how people reduce outgoings.

Milliebert

Thank you for you replies.

Two years worth of combined gas/elec debt - reduced income and "sweeping it under the carpet and hope it goes away". We don't live an extravagant lifestyle, we just struggle.

I'm on hold to them now. It seems that even arranging the meter fitting myself for their first earliest date of 6th June won't stop them going to court for the warrant on the 3rd. However, it does say "if our application is successful we'll be calling at your property on or after 10/06/2010 to fit a prepayment meter". Does that mean if I attend court and explain that I have a date booked, then their warrant may not be granted, especially as it is their timetable we are working too not mine?

Premier_2

If you have agreed the fitting of a PPM at the earliest possible date to suit them, then they may still be granted the warrant of entry just in case you don't allow entry on the already agreed date.

However, I would suggest you attend the court if they go ahead with the application and explain that whilst you don't necessarliy object to the granting of the warrant, that a date has already been agreed with the supplier to fit a PPM. Therefore, in the circumstances, ask the court, if they agree to grant the application, if they can order that all the costs involved regarding the warrant should be bourne by the supplier, rather than added to your account as their application seems somewhat vexatious in the circumstances (assuming you have not previously frustrated their attempts to fit a PPM)

Without knowing all the history, my guess would be that the supplier will claim you have not co-operated previously in their attempts to fit a PPM as an application for a warrant is usually only done when all other attempts have failed.

undaunted

Try contacting Consumer Focus. They do not have to go for a warrant if you have agreed to let them fit a pre payment meter & hence there is no reason you should be expected to pay for their application.

If they still proceed you can & should go to Court & argue your case, whether over costs or not wanting a pre payment meter. If a reasonable alternative is available they will not necessarily be given a warrant of entry just because they apply for one.

If you feel that Npower are being unreasonable I would suggest that you contact your MP and copy Ofgem. Ofgem have criticised Npower in the past for their poor comparison with best practice / other companies, but so far seem incapable of bringing them into line.

If you are struggling in general it may also be worth contacting the Consumer Credit Conserlling Service.

If you are on unemployment / other benefits & that is why your income reduced Fuel Direct may be an alternative (£3.25 is deducted from benefits & paid to them) A prepayment meter should be taking a similar level if those are your circumstances

Good luck.

chris1973

Why has it got to the stage of obtaining a warrant, have you been continuously blocking them from making an appointment to fit it?.

A friend of mine ran up similar debts with EON, yes they contacted him to request that they either re-paid the debt in the full or they would fit prepayment meters. It was all quite amicable, he just told them a day and time when it would be convenient and they arrived, removed the old meter and refitted the new one - no pain - no fuss and little mess. The same for his Gas supplier a few months later, no mention of warrants or further action. Although they probably would have done, had he refused / ignored their requests.

Actually since he had the prepayment meters fitted he believes that its actually helped him to budget his energy usage, and in the long run the whole experience may actually have saved him money in the longer term by changing his lifestyle. He got rid of the big current hungry 40" PLASMA TV and replaced it with a 19" LCD, only allows his kids to play Xbox for 1 or 2 hours a day instead of every night and all weekend, replaced all of his bulbs with energy saving and removed all of the 500W floodlights from around his property. He said it was frightening in the first couple of weeks, to see how much energy in the household was being wasted because he simply didn't notice and took it for granted, but when he was seeing each credit run down in front of his eyes and had to trudge out to the shops to get more, his whole attitude changed.

I'm not saying that this is / would be the case in respect of the OP, however it does show that in some cases having prepayment meters isn't always a negative experience.