Bully Tactics By Npower!

dogshome

This entire saga has the smell of rotten fish - Now why am I not surprised that the basket containing the fish has n'powers name on it ?

It was n'power who advised a small business that they should move from a domestic tariff supply to a Business Supply.
Business supplies are done by Contract, which is an area that was so abused by all the major suppliers, that in Jan 2010 Ofgem brought in some ground rules to govern these contracts amongst which was that suppliers had to write to customers reminding them of thier rights at anniversary Price Change dates.

But the position here is that n'power having advised the customer to move onto a Business Supply, then never offered them a contract or told the customer they should have one.
With one quick move n'power have side-stepped Ofgem's rules on Business Supply Contracts and put themselves in a position where they do what they like, which includes chargeing punitive prices.
This customers is being charged is "Out of Contract" terms because there never was a contract.

I just hope that WoodruffsDad is angry enough to write to the Office of Fair Trading, and whilst Ofgem don't usually get involved with these matters, they just might take an interest at n'power waving 2 fingers at thier rule book

WoodruffsDad

Here's an update.

After I complained to Npower (c.c. to Ofgem) they asked me to do a meter read which I did.

This morning a revised bill arrived for £600 more than the original bill making our total bill for 2 office rooms £1,800 for the quarter.

In my Inbox was also an email from Npower telling me that I could scrap that bill if I took out a contract and that I would be re-billed at standard contract rate.

This is blackmail of the first order despite what some Npower apologists have written on this forum.

We're going to have to bite the bullet and accept a contract but we'll be gone from Npower at a rapid rate of knots as soon as the new contract expires!

P.S. I have sent full details of the whole sorry affair to the Energy Ombudsman.

Gerrard_8_lfc

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

Here's an update.

This morning a revised bill arrived for £600 more than the original bill making our total bill for 2 office rooms £1,800 for the quarter. .

You should always submit up to date meter reads at the time of any bill as failling to do so can result in highly over/underestimated bills.

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

In my Inbox was also an email from Npower telling me that I could scrap that bill if I took out a contract and that I would be re-billed at standard contract rate. .

I actually think that is very fair they are offering to reduce the bill for you by entering into a contract which should have been one of your top priorities. They could make you pay at the expensive out of contract rate. You should do what you can to get the cheapest deal possible at all times.

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

P.S. I have sent full details of the whole sorry affair to the Energy Ombudsman.

A waste of time Tbh.

dogshome

Hi WoodruffsDad - Re-Billed by n'power at the Standard Rate ?
In the world of business supply contracts there are no 'Standard' rates - There are certainly Rates which the supplier would like to get, but in the end the suppliers are supposed to compete with one another on price, and if they want the business they will trim prices to get it.

I would suggest that you ring around the Big6 with the pretext that you are coming to the end of your present contract,(You'll need to give them a figure of your annual consumption - best guess?) see what you are offered and use it together with the prices on your old Domestic tariff to beat n'power over the head with threats of the Office of Fair Trade & Ofgem.

If you do not recieve a hard copy of this n'power contract within 10 days - PHONE THEM - WRITE TO THEM - EMAIL THEM all at the same time.
When you do get it, read it and take very carefull note of what you must do at it's anniversary dates to dump it before the prices go up

woodruffsdad_2

Gerrard_8_lfc wrote: »

You should always submit up to date meter reads at the time of any bill as failling to do so can result in highly over/underestimated bills.


I actually think that is very fair they are offering to reduce the bill for you by entering into a contract which should have been one of your top priorities. They could make you pay at the expensive out of contract rate. You should do what you can to get the cheapest deal possible at all times.



A waste of time Tbh.

You are talking tripe!

It's a blatant method of getting us to sign up for a new contract with Npower so that they can hang on to our custom for a bit longer. It's commercial blackmail.

Answer me this. Our normal bill for this quarter is between £300 and £400. Where did £1,800 come from? Why is "out of contract" electricity so much more expensive than contract? It all comes from the same power stations. It's a rip off!

Why are there so many apologists for Npower on this forum?

If you think my post is a "waste of time" then please don't bother to respond.

PNPSUKNET

If you are a business you should be on business tariff/ contract, you would be liable for higher vat an climate levy.

woodruffsdad_2

It's evident from a lot of posts on this thread that people aren't bothering to properly read or understand the points I am trying to make.

DVardysShadow

Premier wrote: »

I was not inferring you were lying.

I advised you to report the loss/theft of your post to Royal mail and the police.

Probably appropriate to report the missing mail. But only after it has been established that it was sent and is genuinely missing. Otherwise OP would be done for wasting police time.

spiro

sweetnorthenlass wrote: »

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 business

The rules depend on the percentage of fuel used for domestic and business purposes. If you use 51% domestic and 49% business you can stay on a domestic tariff, however if you use 49% domestic and 51% business you should be on a business tariff with all that that entails.

woodruffsdad_2

spiro wrote: »

The rules depend on the percentage of fuel used for domestic and business purposes. If you use 51% domestic and 49% business you can stay on a domestic tariff, however if you use 49% domestic and 51% business you should be on a business tariff with all that that entails.

That was not the problem. We were alerted by Npower in August that we should be on a business tariff and we immediately agreed. We assumed that signing up for a business tariff immediately instigated a new contract (wouldn't you?) but evidently it didn't.

Despite what they say and what some forum users believe, we received NO COMMUNICATIONS WHATSOEVER telling us that we were out of contract or that out of contract rates were astronomically high until we received a bill for £1200 (later amended to £1800) and queried it.

At the time of the huge bill we were in the process of switching from Npower to Ecotricity but now it looks as though we're "stuffed" and will have to remain with Npower until the new yet-to-be-agreed contract runs out.

I just think that Npower's behaviour in this matter is disgraceful!