N Power rip off Standing Charges increase Dec 2010 ?

The_Councillor

Hi There,

Has anybody else noticed that N Power appear to have increased their standing charges from Dec 2010 from 6.00pence per day to 23.2 pence per day ??!!

Is this a rip off or have i missed something ? I am on the sign online 17 dual fuel package and am dreading seeing what bills i am going to be hit with following this winter....

davidgmmafan

This has been posted many times, mostly a month or so ago in fairness. Some people are reporting increases of 20-30% depending on the tariff and area. My guess is they were losing money on these tariffs and a lot of people thought they were fixed. Not an unreasonable assumption as they had an end date and a cancellation fee.

Sadly they are a variable tariff. I'm confused by your increase being so great, is the unit rate not reducing? I'm only asking because I'm on SOL17 and my overall increase is very small. I understand if I was on SOL 18 or 19 my increase would've been much higher.

The_Councillor

Hi, thanks for your response. I have emailed N Power and will try t speak to them on the phone today so will let you know on this near 300% percent increase...i hope i have it wrong !

smo59

I'm on Sign-online 16 and I discovered with my latest bill (this morning)
that the gas standing charge has gone from ~£47 pa to ~216pa and the elec standing charge has gone from £25 to £48 pa.

I had an email from npower 10th Dec telling me that the rates were changing but not what they were changing to.

Think I'll be on the phone over the weekend to sort that one out.


Of course I'll ask this to npower as well, but does anyone know if ...

if I change to Sign-Online (19,20,21 - whatever that latest is) but move house within the 12 months, would I still be charged the exit fees for ditching the contract? I would be happy enough to pick up with npower at the other end.

Thanks,

SteveO.

MillicentBystander

smo59 wrote: »

I'm on Sign-online 16 and I discovered with my latest bill (this morning)
that the gas standing charge has gone from ~£47 pa to ~216pa and the elec standing charge has gone from £25 to £48 pa.

I had an email from npower 10th Dec telling me that the rates were changing but not what they were changing to.

Think I'll be on the phone over the weekend to sort that one out.


Of course I'll ask this to npower as well, but does anyone know if ...

if I change to Sign-Online (19,20,21 - whatever that latest is) but move house within the 12 months, would I still be charged the exit fees for ditching the contract? I would be happy enough to pick up with npower at the other end.

Thanks,

SteveO.

It's not just the exit fee but the £105 annual discount paid annually in arrears that makes npower a bad move. I suggest the day you can escape their clutches you run as fast as you can! This thread should give you the answer to your question:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2992362

The_Councillor

Well that was an interesting call to N Power !

Firsty i was told the average price increase was approx 6% across the board. I did explain that does not help my when my elec standing charge had been increased by approx 300% !!

Anyway in the grand scheme of things, the standing charge increase leads to an extra £50 pa which i can uncomfortably swallow.

However i then when into detail with my current billing and after giving my actual readings for both gas and elect - i was gobsmacked to find out the following.

My average total bill for both gas and Elect from April 10 to Sept 10 was £80 per month for both. However my total bill from Oct 10 to present day (Jan 11) for both was sitting at £800 - which equals £200 per month ! This for a bog standard 3 bed semi.

Granted the excessive winter period and increased usage has undoutedly played a part in this whacking bill, but when i checked with N power about alternative contracts, i was told that SO17 was the best VFM contract for me whilst USWITCH has indictated minor savings if i switch to another supplier but i guess i lose the SO17 discounts which will cancel any savings anyways.

So what to conclude ?? that i should open a utility company i guess...
I really feel for folks out there who are going to be hit with some extraordinary utility bills in the next few weeks after the crazily cold december we had.

Best of luck to all....