Problems with estimated billing.

hatingutilities

Yesterday i got a huge bill from npower. basically for the last 18 months they have been estimating my bills, ending up in an actual reading a few weeks ago putting me owing nearly 2000 units. now at first you think fair enough I've used it i need to pay it, but then you think a bit more and wonder why are these estimated bills? i mean there has been people here reading them and i remember over the last 18 months there probably has been 3 or 4 readings taken that i remember. so today i jumped on the phone and questioned why they are using estimated readings when there has been people here reading them. they tell me they haven't sent anyone. In its self seems odd that they wouldn't read your meter for 12 months. maybe its the meter reading companies at fault here not passing on payments. either way its not my problem, you see someone at your door regular enough to remember them why would you ever think to look at your bills and check, you just assume no they are reading them the bills are right and think nothing of it. all the guy at npower was bothered about was trying to turn it around on me and say i should be checking meter readings making it my fault. he was quite reasonable about spreading them payments out, i would have preferred to spread them over more than 18 months but that's the best i could get out of them.
But this has left me thinking are they doing this on purpose? i mean look at my bill in the last 12 months they have let me us 1842 units and I'm being charged at 13p per unit. but i didn't use all them units when it was 13p. for a start that has only just recently gone up from 12.5p and I'm pretty sure that in the last 12months there has been more than one price change. but taking only that one .5p increase i am paying an extra 9.21 because that underestimate is being charged at 13p (could be more when I find out if there was any other price increases.)

To me there seems to be something wrong here and the only thing that springs to mind is give people a meter reading the start of summer just when the nice weather starts and your use is low then estimate the bills for the next 12 months making sure you get winter in there when you use the most electric. wait till the price goes up and add any money owing on when the unit cost is higher. This all seems like a massive con in order to get more money from you when the prices change, or a way of getting people owing them money, spreading that out over a period meaning just as they are about to increase the price you are stuck with them unable to look for a cheaper supplier.

I strongly advise anytime you get a meter reader at your door and you get your supply npower, you get straight on the phone or internet and give them that reading yourself. their meter reading is outsourced and i don't think all readings are getting to them.

Its in their interest in under estimating your bills. I'm pretty sure if they are not actively trying to estimate reading they are at least unknowingly doing it and taking the profits when them readings come in.

gazjoneswales

hatingutilities wrote: »

Yesterday i got a huge bill from npower. basically for the last 18 months they have been estimating my bills, ending up in an actual reading a few weeks ago putting me owing nearly 2000 units. now at first you think fair enough I've used it i need to pay it, but then you think a bit more and wonder why are these estimated bills? i mean there has been people here reading them and i remember over the last 18 months there probably has been 3 or 4 readings taken that i remember. so today i jumped on the phone and questioned why they are using estimated readings when there has been people here reading them. they tell me they haven't sent anyone. In its self seems odd that they wouldn't read your meter for 12 months. maybe its the meter reading companies at fault here not passing on payments. either way its not my problem, you see someone at your door regular enough to remember them why would you ever think to look at your bills and check, you just assume no they are reading them the bills are right and think nothing of it. all the guy at npower was bothered about was trying to turn it around on me and say i should be checking meter readings making it my fault. he was quite reasonable about spreading them payments out, i would have preferred to spread them over more than 18 months but that's the best i could get out of them.
But this has left me thinking are they doing this on purpose? i mean look at my bill in the last 12 months they have let me us 1842 units and I'm being charged at 13p per unit. but i didn't use all them units when it was 13p. for a start that has only just recently gone up from 12.5p and I'm pretty sure that in the last 12months there has been more than one price change. but taking only that one .5p increase i am paying an extra 9.21 because that underestimate is being charged at 13p (could be more when I find out if there was any other price increases.)

To me there seems to be something wrong here and the only thing that springs to mind is give people a meter reading the start of summer just when the nice weather starts and your use is low then estimate the bills for the next 12 months making sure you get winter in there when you use the most electric. wait till the price goes up and add any money owing on when the unit cost is higher. This all seems like a massive con in order to get more money from you when the prices change, or a way of getting people owing them money, spreading that out over a period meaning just as they are about to increase the price you are stuck with them unable to look for a cheaper supplier.

I strongly advise anytime you get a meter reader at your door and you get your supply npower, you get straight on the phone or internet and give them that reading yourself. their meter reading is outsourced and i don't think all readings are getting to them.

Its in their interest in under estimating your bills. I'm pretty sure if they are not actively trying to estimate reading they are at least unknowingly doing it and taking the profits when them readings come in.

Before i start, let me just say that this is advice i would give in any situation like this and not personal.

Companies have an obligation to read meters every 2 years so if this is only from the last 18 months they have kept their obligation.

You have been receiving these bills for the last 18 months and not once have you noticed it saying, 'Your estimated ******* bill'?

The advice whenever you recieve an estimated bill is to correct the meter reading to ensure your bill is as accurate as possible.

With regards the price they have billed you at could you please post the break down of the bill including the dates, meter reading used and the unit prices they are charging you so it can be checked.

Also you say they are unknowingly underestimating and then taking the profit, but this point is ridiculous. To start with you have used it so you would have to pay it, whether its 12 months ago or now, they are entitled to the money. On top of that you have received an interest free loan building up for the last 18 months and they have now given you 18 months to repay it, so the company have been losing out on the interest that they should be earning now if you had checked your bills.

Sorry to be so cynical, but you really need to take some blame for this mess. Npower have done everything they have to and then have been completely fair in allowing you to pay it back over 18 months.

The only dubious part of this is the price per unit they are charing you which i would suggest you either post the breakdown of the bill on here so it can be checked or query this with npower

hatingutilities

You have been receiving these bills for the last 18 months and not once have you noticed it saying, 'Your estimated ******* bill'?

I dont get bills i use internet billing, but when I know there is people coming to read the meters why would I need to think about checking if i have an estimated bill. honestly I never check cos i see people here reading the meters all the time so has never dawned on me to bother checking or even thinking if they are estimating, i mean why would they estimate if there is a guy here reading the meters. The problem here isnt that i have had an estimated bill, the problem is there is no way on earth i could have had one cos there has been someone here reading my meters.

i will post the bills tomorrow really had enough of this for one day. : )

Premier_2

hatingutilities wrote: »

You have been receiving these bills for the last 18 months and not once have you noticed it saying, 'Your estimated ******* bill'?

I dont get bills i use internet billing, but when I know there is people coming to read the meters why would I need to think about checking if i have an estimated bill. honestly I never check cos i see people here reading the meters all the time so has never dawned on me to bother checking or even thinking if they are estimating, i mean why would they estimate if there is a guy here reading the meters. The problem here isnt that i have had an estimated bill, the problem is there is no way on earth i could have had one cos there has been someone here reading my meters.

i will post the bills tomorrow really had enough of this for one day. : )

1. So you do get bills, albeit electronically.

2. So why did you use the thread title you did? :huh:
And there is a way on earth to get an estimated bill even when the meter has been read, trust me

flashg67

I'm with Npower and run my account online too. Npower send me emails regularly asking for meter readings, so presume the OP has had these too? And you can send them a meter reading anytime to update your account.

Unless you have meter readings, I think you are going to struggle to get Npower to allocate the correct prices to your usage over the period?

OP, I think you've been a little too trusting and learned a harsh lesson - would recommend you make a note to send meter readings regularly to avoid nasty surprises in the future!

Hellblazer

Lets just clear a couple of things first.

Is the bill with the large balance billing you to the correct actual read? If it is then more than likely the bill is correct.

As previously stated they only have a legal obligation to read the meter once ever 2 years. It is your responsibility to read your meter and make sure the meter readings on your bill are correct.

I understand what your saying in the sense that you thought the meter was being read so you had no reason to check the readings. To quote what you said about your energy comapny, but only the other way round, it isnt the companies problem you don't check your bill.

Im not having a go at you, just outlining facts.

And to quote premier, believe me, there is a way on earth a meter reading can get lost. I see this every day personally. If a DC(meter reader) takes a reading it comes through to the company in the form of a data flow containing the meter reading, and there are countless times when the dataflow doesnt get to where it should do or comes back as a no read.

Basically mate, just check the reading on the large bill and see if it tallies up with the reading on your meter, if it does it is more than likely correct if you have had a long string of estimated bills.

hatingutilities

Okay let me try and state this once more.. every 3 months there is a knock at the door little old guy knocks on the door and asks if he can read the gas and electric meter. i let him in he goes away and the money is taken from my bank. over the last 2 years 6 months i have had roughly the same amount of money taken from my account. when i was originaly told how much i need to pay back in 09 the amounts havent changed to any sort of amount where i need to worry, if someone tells you they are taking about 120 a month, and over nearly 2 years thats what goes out why would i ever question it?

My last bills 138 145 108 138 . Honestly look at them bills the last 2 years after being told from npower that my usage should be about 120 at what point knowing that they regularly read my meter should i have said i better check they arnt estimating these. they seem to be on the ball with the exception of the 108 (summer bill)

This is beside the point i said after a 43 min argument with them they agreed to let me pay this off each month over 18 months...

My problem is that i have a shortfall of 1842 units that I have to pay at 13p per unit. but when i used this electric the most i should have been charged was 12.5p per unit. there is a crossover where there could be as about 300 units where it was only 8.3p per unit.

I only posted the whole thing about estimates so others knew how i ended up with the nearly 2k units owed. you know as a warning to other people out there that could have problems themself in the future.. Probably what i should have done is warned my family and friends and not thought about anyone else. im perfectly able to work out how much they owe me, and im perfectly able to fight with them on the phone, just thought it might be nice to warn other people of the problems with estimated readings.

maybe i got this website wrong, i thought it was a place to come and warn people about dodgy practices and should you need help ask for it.. if you actualy read my OP you will find at no point i have asked anyone to help me. i have simply posted my story so other people out there that may be in ths same boat as me are able to address it before it gets as bad as it did for me..

Your choice if you have bills with npower or anyone for that matter it is more than worth it for your own piece of mind to give meter readings even if you regularly see a meter reader.

gazjoneswales

hatingutilities wrote: »

Okay let me try and state this once more.. every 3 months there is a knock at the door little old guy knocks on the door and asks if he can read the gas and electric meter. i let him in he goes away and the money is taken from my bank. over the last 2 years 6 months i have had roughly the same amount of money taken from my account. when i was originaly told how much i need to pay back in 09 the amounts havent changed to any sort of amount where i need to worry, if someone tells you they are taking about 120 a month, and over nearly 2 years thats what goes out why would i ever question it?

My last bills 138 145 108 138 . Honestly look at them bills the last 2 years after being told from npower that my usage should be about 120 at what point knowing that they regularly read my meter should i have said i better check they arnt estimating these. they seem to be on the ball with the exception of the 108 (summer bill)

This is beside the point i said after a 43 min argument with them they agreed to let me pay this off each month over 18 months...

My problem is that i have a shortfall of 1842 units that I have to pay at 13p per unit. but when i used this electric the most i should have been charged was 12.5p per unit. there is a crossover where there could be as about 300 units where it was only 8.3p per unit.

I only posted the whole thing about estimates so others knew how i ended up with the nearly 2k units owed. you know as a warning to other people out there that could have problems themself in the future.. Probably what i should have done is warned my family and friends and not thought about anyone else. im perfectly able to work out how much they owe me, and im perfectly able to fight with them on the phone, just thought it might be nice to warn other people of the problems with estimated readings.

maybe i got this website wrong, i thought it was a place to come and warn people about dodgy practices and should you need help ask for it.. if you actualy read my OP you will find at no point i have asked anyone to help me. i have simply posted my story so other people out there that may be in ths same boat as me are able to address it before it gets as bad as it did for me..

Your choice if you have bills with npower or anyone for that matter it is more than worth it for your own piece of mind to give meter readings even if you regularly see a meter reader.

Ok, well lets ignore the fact that the bills were estimated and not corrected by yourself.

Have you asked npower why they have charged all the extra units at the higher rates? What they should have done is cancel all previous bills to the last actual reading, and then bill you continuously upto now. The computer system will then automatically split the bill into realistic estimates for when prices changed. It should also take into account seasonal fluctuations etc.

I know when i used to work at BG this would automatically happen.

Note to everyone who want to avoid being in the same situation : check your bills, they are sent for a reason

Hellblazer

hatingutilities wrote: »

maybe i got this website wrong, i thought it was a place to come and warn people about dodgy practices and should you need help ask for it.. if you actualy read my OP you will find at no point i have asked anyone to help me. i have simply posted my story so other people out there that may be in ths same boat as me are able to address it before it gets as bad as it did for me..

Your choice if you have bills with npower or anyone for that matter it is more than worth it for your own piece of mind to give meter readings even if you regularly see a meter reader.

There were some major inaccuracies in your first post that needed addressing. I understand your mad about it, and you may have gotton hold of the wrong end of the stick, but alot of what you posted needed to be set out straight.

And as I said, I understand your mad, but lets flip this the other way around, it turns out they owe you alot of money. You'd be mighty annoyed if they attempted to with hold the money etc.

Anyway, the points have been address and I advise you to do what this kind sir asks.

gazjoneswales wrote: »

Ok, well lets ignore the fact that the bills were estimated and not corrected by yourself.

Have you asked npower why they have charged all the extra units at the higher rates? What they should have done is cancel all previous bills to the last actual reading, and then bill you continuously upto now. The computer system will then automatically split the bill into realistic estimates for when prices changed. It should also take into account seasonal fluctuations etc.

I know when i used to work at BG this would automatically happen.

Note to everyone who want to avoid being in the same situation : check your bills, they are sent for a reason

And just to clarify this:

Have you asked npower why they have charged all the extra units at the higher rates? What they should have done is cancel all previous bills to the last actual reading, and then bill you continuously upto now. The computer system will then automatically split the bill into realistic estimates for when prices changed. It should also take into account seasonal fluctuations etc.

I know when i used to work at BG this would automatically happen.

This is correct for most energy companies, unless stated otherwise.

hatingutilities

honesty i cant be bothered anymore, i can sort the bill out myself its going to take time, but its a hugely over complicated bill that has changed format 3 times over 5 statments.

I only really came here to post my story and hope that other people check their bills and stop anyone else from having this problem, and im about to leave wishing i never bothered.

gazjoneswales

You also accused a company of deliberatly sending you false bills to make a profit.