Bully Tactics By Npower!

DirectDebacle

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

I do not "whine". I have a genuine grievance.

Please don't bother to reply to my post again!

I am trying to understand what this grievance is.

As far as I understand (I am no expert) you have entered into a contact with npower, either verbally or in writing.

The terms you negotiated with npower are that you be moved from a domestic tariff to a business tariff and that npower continue to supply your electricty under those terms for an unspecified period. No negotiations or agreement on price appear to have taken place.

npower are apparently meeting their side of the contract.

It appears that your grievance is that you assumed that npower would put you on their best tariff and for this reason reason you made no enquiries of npower what the prices and terms and conditions of the new supply would be. You are now annoyed that npower have put you on what they consider to be the best tariff, but it is best for them, not you.

npower have offerred a resolution which you do not accept.

You feel you have been unfairly treated and are being 'blackmailed'.

If you consider that you have been misled or that in anyway the contract you agreed with npower is unfair or unlawful then the best course is to see a lawyer and take considered advice.

This matter will not go away and needs to be dealt with promptly. Each day you use electricity it is potentially costing your business profit.

I am no friend of npower and their business ethics are probably not of the standard you give or expect. That does not mean they are acting unlawfully.

backfoot

So on the bills of the 4th and 26th October,what exact tariff/contract name did they bill you on and what were the unit rates.

On the January bill what was the equivalent data?

What rates are Npower now offering to settle the backbilling at?

What rates are they offering for a one year contract going forward?

What rates going forward are other suppliers offering?

I think that's all the key data you need to make a decision.

p.s.despite my help and advice previously,you don't seem to welcome my input. That's fair enough, but it is pretty consistent with that of others, particularly knowledgeable posters like Premier, undaunted and now Direct Debacle. It may help to listen.

Sterling

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

We were alerted by Npower in August that we should be on a business tariff and we immediately agreed.

That of course was where you shot yourself in the foot. No self-respecting businessman should agree to any contractual change without first knowing the cost, and the terms. You should have explored this before agreeing to anything.

However, here is a quote from post 3 that goes to the heart of your complaint, and may perhaps get you off the hook.

dogshome wrote: »

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.

You might therefore argue that

(1) Npower was negligent in failing to advise you of your contract options when they contacted you to switch to a business tariff, the argument here being that Npower owed you a duty of care to do this.

(2) By failing to so advise you at the time, Npower’s silence also constitutes a misrepresentation in law. They no doubt have a recording of that conversation by the way; in which case what was, or was not said is easily verifiable.

Of course, it must be remembered that business customers don’t enjoy the same consumer protection as domestic customers. Nevertheless, in your shoes I would push these arguments forward, preferably after taking legal advice. If either one is valid I believe the damages you would be entitled to would include the difference between what you would have paid if you had been properly informed and what you actually paid.

As for the letter that never arrived, as a former customer of Npower myself I doubt that any such letter was ever sent. While this may be your word against Npower’s, I think you could argue that your version of events is partially supported by the simple fact that had you received it you would have taken action immediately.

To be honest, you should know all the above already, or have found it out by taking legal advice, as businessmen do on such occasions. And asking backfoot not to respond to your posts seems a very strange response from someone seeking help.

WoodruffsDad

I asked backfoot not to respond to my posts because I object strongly to being accused of "whining"!

Wouldn't you?

real1314

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

We went to business rate in August but we received no bills until 2 received in October, 4th. & 26th.

Then nothing until the disputed bill in January.

So, when you went to "Business Rate", what were the relevant tarriffs involved?

backfoot

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

I asked backfoot not to respond to my posts because I object strongly to being accused of "whining"!

Wouldn't you?

I apologise for the use of the 'w' word. It's not that terrible but is probably the worst word I have ever used on this Forum, even when talking about Npower or EDF.:) My own wrists are sore from slapping.

I did research and offered and continue to offer advice intent on first understanding the problem. As the thread has gone along we have learnt more, like the extra bills, the offer from Npower. Tell us the actual rates for each billing period. If it were me, I would be analysing the costs and prices for each of the billing periods on a spreadsheet.

You can then better understand the alternatives open to you for negotiation. I would be modelling your best case scenario, a worst case, Npower's current offer and look to dispose of the matter somewhere between their current position and your best position.

My research, supported by comments of others that, Ofgem,Ombudsman etc. will be largely a waste of time, means that negotiation is your best way forward. They have much bigger fish to fry so I believe they will compromise given the apparent uncertainty of their own position.

Biting the bullet,of a one year contract may be a price worth paying, however galling.

DirectDebacle

backfoot I am sure it was no more than some sort of subliminal typo. OP works in a wine agency.:)

I think you are going wrong with your advice because it isn't what the OP wants to hear.

If you told him npowers behaviour was outrageously unscrupulous (it often is) and that he had every right to insist the domestic tariff was charged from the time it was discovered they were a business to the time they switch to Eccentricity, that might induce him to press your 'thanks' button.

Now that is much nicer than being told that you have acted incompetently and cost the company dearly.

Sterling

DirectDebit wrote: »

Now that is much nicer than being told that you have acted incompetently and cost the company dearly.

Show me a businessman (or businesswoman for that matter) that claims never to have dropped a clanger at some time in their career and I’ll show you a liar.

Consequently, making an occasional mistake does not mean someone is incompetent, least of all WoodruffsDad, who has merely dropped a clanger and would like to minimise the cost if possible.

DirectDebacle

Sterling wrote: »

That of course was where you shot yourself in the foot. No self-respecting businessman should agree to any contractual change without first knowing the cost, and the terms. You should have explored this before agreeing to anything...........

.....To be honest, you should know all the above already, or have found it out by taking legal advice, as businessmen do on such occasions. And asking backfoot not to respond to your posts seems a very strange response from someone seeking help.

It appears you have no respect for his business skills.

Harsh words for someone you consider has merely 'dropped a clanger'.

backfoot

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

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

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

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.

woodruffsdad wrote: »

Answer me this. Our normal bill for this quarter is between £300 and £400. Where did £1,800 come from?

The rates obviously went up due to the out of contract situation.

There has to be other significant elements or detail missing to explain to the change increase from £300 (average of the varying figures), to £1800.

The contributing factors are:

VAT increase from 5% to 20%.

Catch up of units previously estimated. When was the previous actual meter reading taken before they asked for the one above?

Seasonality. The later bills cover this very cold winter period.

Consumption Mix. How much is night unit consumption? Did it rise dramatically? Did you have the heating on for a lot longer because of cold weather? The night unit rate is very penal.

The remainder is the broadly the change in the rates.

I think it would help to analyse each of the above. That way you can gain a perspective on how much in pound notes the Contract Rate dispute is worth.