I'm confused with my N power Bill

toniq

Hi,


Rec'd a gas bill for £380, rung up to pay on monday and asked whilst i was on the phone if it was estimated or reading, they said estimated, I asked for the figure they had estimated, it was 5169, checked meter it 5104, told lady a difference, they said they would adjust bill and send a new one.


Today new bill came and strangely it was £387, I rung and queried why it had gone up and not down, lady lost me with talk of next month high rate charge etc.

I explained it wasn't clear enough and i needed this explained in laymans terms.

She put me on hold and line went dead.

Can anyone help me understand why the bill has gone up?

Surely even with the next months figures took into acct, since the reading was took 5 days ago it is only at 5109, no where near the 5169 they originally billed me £380 for.

Many thanks for any help.

kelloggs36

What is your tariff? YOu can work it out if you know this - assuming you have an imperial meter (which by the figures, it looks like it is). Was your LAST bill an estimate? From your last bill, work out how many units you have used - do the calculation to convert it to metric units (guy I spoke to on the phone said to X by 32 would give you a very close approximation) and then work out how many months it covered. As they sculpt their gas, it will always be more expensive in the winter. For example, my last bill ran from Sept 4th until March 28th. They charge a certain number of units at the higher rate depending on what month it is, so in Nov, Dec and Jan it is over 800 high rate units. I will try to dig out the actual figures for you. So you would need to add up all the high rate units and then work out the lower rate units, add them up, add on the VAT and you should get a figure for your bill. Now without seeing it, you may have been applied a discount if you have dual fuel or some other reason - does that show on the bill?

toniq

Hi,

I have no clue to our tarrif, When we moved here 10 years back it was npower so we kept it, We have paperless billing and on the site i can't see much except what is due.

Last reading was 4349, I asked for that whilst on phone.

I don't understand why it is so complicated, I presumed it would be from last figure to this figure at such an amount per unit. And nothing extra itms xx

Cardew

As explained above Npower have seasonal weighting(sculpting).

This means you pay for more high priced tier 1 units in winter.

Had they used the same dates as your original bill - your charges would have reduced. However if they use new dates then you will be paying for more high priced Tier 1 units which will cost more than the reduction you will get for less Tier 2 units.

Example you might have to pay for 200 more Tier 1 units at, say 8p = £16; but 400 less Tier 2 units at 3p = £12. So you have paid for 200 less units but paid £4 more.

davidgmmafan

It is confusing when a lower reading produces a higher bill. If the above isn't making muchsense (itisdifficult to grasp) it may be useful to think of the higher rate sculpting as a hidden standing charge. Except, as explained above, they charge more of the higher rate units in Winter months.

macman

If you've been with nPower for 10 years and don't even know what tariff, then it's almost certainly time you switched, as you are probably on standard (the most expensive) tariff.
I find it hard to believe that the online billing gives neither your opening and closng readings, your kWh consumption, or the name of your tariff?

toniq

I've checked the online billing several times, and it certainly doesn't, our bills have always been okay so we had no reason to change.

macman

But if you are on standard then you are paying anything up to 20% more than you need to, it's the single most expensive option for any utility co.

meggsy

See here for the primary rates -

https://customerservices.npower.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/95/session/L3NpZC9ISW5QRS1uaw%3D%3D/kw/primary%20block%20units/r_id/166/sno/1

The tariff btw is showing on our online bill under Elec summary and Gas summary, (click on view my last bill)

hth

KimYeovil

Note that this happens with all suppliers on two tier tariffs - it is not just nPower's seasonal weighting that causes it. Also remember that your revised bill will be over a longer period of time - a week or four so that means there are even more tier 1 units to pay for than on the original bill.

And don't forget that nPower have very high standing charges with their gas accounts - up to £180.

Faber_2

as far as I am aware for the company I work for when we re-bill customers we apply the reading they give us over the phone to the date of the estimated reading on the bill. There is time within the 'billing cycle' to do this, then a new bill goes out. I don't understand why others can't do this also!!