We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
Bully Tactics By Npower!
WoodruffsDad
Posts: 325 Forumite
in Energy
I am Office Manager for a small wine agency. We recently changed, at Npower's behest, from the domestic tariff to a business rate for our electricity supply. We have no gas.
We have received a bill dated 27th. January 2011 for £1,279.19 whereas our normal quarterly account is for £200 to £300.
On examination of the invoice we discovered that for the period 07/12/10 to 26/01/11 Npower had increased the price of day units from 15.14p to 23.11p and the price of night units from 4.84p to 19.31p. On top of this scandalous price increase they had also increased the standing charge from 22.2637p per day to 52.9011p per day and the non direct debit surcharge from £3.60 to £17.02. The climate change levy remained static at 0.47p per unit.
These outrageous increases meant that for the period noted above (less than two months!) Npower charged us £1,050.93 for electrical power to two small office rooms!
I telephoned Npower on 2nd. February and spoke to a gentleman there. He “explained” that the reason for the HUGE increase in our rates was that, following our move from domestic to business rates, we became out of contract. Because we did not take out a new contract by a specific date (presumably 7th. December 2010) we were billed for the period from then onwards at a non-contract (higher) rate.
He also mentioned that we were sent a letter outlining these penalties and that we would have been notified of the higher out-of-contract prices in writing.
1) We had no idea that we were “out of contract”. We assumed that because we had signed up for business rates we were in contract.
2) We have not received the letter mentioned above by the Npower rep. and we were totally unaware of the penalising huge rate increases.
We also wish to take issue with what sounded very much like a form of blackmail. Towards the end of my conversation with the Npower agent he said that even if we switched supplier now, these new, excessive rates would continue for some considerable time.
We are prepared to pay our bill in full but only as long as the entire period covered by it (i.e. 18th. October 2010 to 26th. January 2011) is charged at the lower rates. We will not pay the excessive rates shown for 07/12/10 – 26/01/11) because we have NOT received any notification, written or otherwise, of these new costs.
I have sent a letter (c.c. to OFGEM) on the above lines to Npower by email and snail mail. Is there anything else I should do?
P.S. We are also in the process of switching our electricity supplier to Ecotricity.
We have received a bill dated 27th. January 2011 for £1,279.19 whereas our normal quarterly account is for £200 to £300.
On examination of the invoice we discovered that for the period 07/12/10 to 26/01/11 Npower had increased the price of day units from 15.14p to 23.11p and the price of night units from 4.84p to 19.31p. On top of this scandalous price increase they had also increased the standing charge from 22.2637p per day to 52.9011p per day and the non direct debit surcharge from £3.60 to £17.02. The climate change levy remained static at 0.47p per unit.
These outrageous increases meant that for the period noted above (less than two months!) Npower charged us £1,050.93 for electrical power to two small office rooms!
I telephoned Npower on 2nd. February and spoke to a gentleman there. He “explained” that the reason for the HUGE increase in our rates was that, following our move from domestic to business rates, we became out of contract. Because we did not take out a new contract by a specific date (presumably 7th. December 2010) we were billed for the period from then onwards at a non-contract (higher) rate.
He also mentioned that we were sent a letter outlining these penalties and that we would have been notified of the higher out-of-contract prices in writing.
1) We had no idea that we were “out of contract”. We assumed that because we had signed up for business rates we were in contract.
2) We have not received the letter mentioned above by the Npower rep. and we were totally unaware of the penalising huge rate increases.
We also wish to take issue with what sounded very much like a form of blackmail. Towards the end of my conversation with the Npower agent he said that even if we switched supplier now, these new, excessive rates would continue for some considerable time.
We are prepared to pay our bill in full but only as long as the entire period covered by it (i.e. 18th. October 2010 to 26th. January 2011) is charged at the lower rates. We will not pay the excessive rates shown for 07/12/10 – 26/01/11) because we have NOT received any notification, written or otherwise, of these new costs.
I have sent a letter (c.c. to OFGEM) on the above lines to Npower by email and snail mail. Is there anything else I should do?
P.S. We are also in the process of switching our electricity supplier to Ecotricity.
0
Comments
-
Business is all about contracts.
You need to keep on top of all your contracts ... or employ someone to do it if you can't.
Unfortunately there is a lot less protection for businesses than consumers. The supplier appears to have done nothing wrong. What are you writing to Ofgem about? They probably won't consider whatever it is.
Ofgem does not have a direct role in resolving general complaints or enquiries. Their role is limited to dealing with matters relating to their general functions, the environmental schemes they administer on behalf of the Government, wider investigations into consumer protection or enforcement issues, or matters that they can legally determine (such as network connections disputes).
You may want to check your terms too about switching supplier ... but as you are deemed out of contract there may not be any limitation (but definitely check)"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
"The supplier appears to have done nothing wrong."
Oh really?
How about claiming to have sent us letters detailing the increased rates? Not received.
How about the bully boy tactics by threatening us with high rates for the foreseeable future?
Do you work for Npower?0 -
WoodruffsDad wrote: »"The supplier appears to have done nothing wrong."
Oh really?
How about claiming to have sent us letters detailing the increased rates? Not received.
I suggest you contact your local Royal Mail office and also the police. There does seem a huge amount of mail going missing (lost or stolen) if we are to believe all the reports by MSE users ... where such allegations concidently fit their agenda :cool:
What are you on about?WoodruffsDad wrote: »How about the bully boy tactics by threatening us with high rates for the foreseeable future?
You are being charged the suppliers 'out of contract' default rate.
Negotiate yourself a contract with the supplier if you want different rates.
That old chestnut, eh??? :cool:WoodruffsDad wrote: »Do you work for Npower?
(The answer is no - if I did I would state it in the reply as it affects the company)"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Hi Woodruff, you might like to read this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/38972664#Comment_38972664 It might give you some idea's.Be good to the young on their way up you might need them on your way down.0
-
i became a npower customer in november... no problems so far thankfully... i run lots of childcare from my home so hope they dont class me as a business0
-
"I suggest you contact your local Royal Mail office and also the police. There does seem a huge amount of mail going missing (lost or stolen) if we are to believe all the reports by MSE users ... where such allegations concidently fit their agenda."
Premier, why do you infer that I am a liar? I can assure you that I am not and I resent your inference most strongly.
I did NOT receive any notification that I was not in contract, I did NOT receive a letter telling me that rates would be increasing and I did NOT receive written details of the new rates.
If I had received these letters why would I stick my head in the sand and ignore them knowing that I would eventually receive a huge bill?
Surely these letters should have been sent by Recorded Delivery (Signed For) then Npower would have had proof of delivery?
Why are you so protective of these monolithic corporations, Premier? Are you hoping for a place in the Cameron/Clegg cabinet?0 -
"I suggest you contact your local Royal Mail office and also the police. There does seem a huge amount of mail going missing (lost or stolen) if we are to believe all the reports by MSE users ... where such allegations concidently fit their agenda."
Premier, why do you infer that I am a liar? I can assure you that I am not and I resent your inference most strongly.
I did NOT receive any notification that I was not in contract, I did NOT receive a letter telling me that rates would be increasing and I did NOT receive written details of the new rates.
If I had received these letters why would I stick my head in the sand and ignore them knowing that I would eventually receive a huge bill?
Surely these letters should have been sent by Recorded Delivery (Signed For) then Npower would have had proof of delivery?
Why are you so protective of these monolithic corporations, Premier? Are you hoping for a place in the Cameron/Clegg cabinet?
You sound a bit like a spoilt child and all because someone disagreed with you!!
If this is how you were acting on the phone to npower no wonder they done nothing to help you!⚠ 2014 - COUNTDOWN TO INDEPENDENCE ⚠0 -
Hi woodruffsdad
Our contract renewals are subject to strict guidelines and we write to all customers, giving them plenty of time to consider their options before a renewal becomes binding. As your account has transferred from our domestic to business division, it's a bit difficult to comment without knowing all of the facts.
If you'd like me to look into this further for you, just send your details to forumresponse@npower.com and I'll look into it straight away.
Best Wishes
Sally
“Official Company Representative"
I am the official company representative of nPower. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE.
If we ask you to contact us, please do so using helpandsupport@npower.com - MSE Forum has temporarily allowed the display of our contact details in our signature due to a technical issue with our profile0 -
woodruffsdad wrote: »"I suggest you contact your local Royal Mail office and also the police. There does seem a huge amount of mail going missing (lost or stolen) if we are to believe all the reports by MSE users ... where such allegations concidently fit their agenda."
Premier, why do you infer that I am a liar? I can assure you that I am not and I resent your inference most strongly.
I did NOT receive any notification that I was not in contract, I did NOT receive a letter telling me that rates would be increasing and I did NOT receive written details of the new rates.
If I had received these letters why would I stick my head in the sand and ignore them knowing that I would eventually receive a huge bill?
Surely these letters should have been sent by Recorded Delivery (Signed For) then Npower would have had proof of delivery?
Why are you so protective of these monolithic corporations, Premier? Are you hoping for a place in the Cameron/Clegg cabinet?
I was not inferring you were lying.
I advised you to report the loss/theft of your post to Royal mail and the police.
Or is it ok for you to allege others (nPower in this case) are lying, but take exception when you believe, albeit mistakenly, others are doing the same to you?"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
You say you changed the supply "at Npowers behest". Are you suggesting that you didn't need to be on a business tariff?
Alternatively are you suggesting that you did but that the process of change was improperly conducted by Npower or based upon Npowers advice?
If the answer is yes to any of these I would suggest you consider seeking legal advice.
Premier, do you really believe the (bolded) comment does not imply some form of lie / similar? (it read to me just as Woodruffsdad has taken it I'm afraid)I suggest you contact your local Royal Mail office and also the police. There does seem a huge amount of mail going missing (lost or stolen) if we are to believe all the reports by MSE users ... where such allegations concidently fit their agenda :cool:0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 350K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.1K Spending & Discounts
- 243K Work, Benefits & Business
- 619.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.4K Life & Family
- 255.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards