n power debt

hopeless_case_2

I am in debt with npowerto the tune of £1600 i have failed my dd's in the past due to them wanting £200 a month which i could not afford. now they want £1200 asap or i have to have a prepayment meter. Now i think this might be a good idea so that i can get out of the debt but will all the money i pre pay go to paying off the debt or to buying my power? not sure what to do. Originally the debt came about by my DD not being enough and before anyone says yes i should have kept a check on it. Anyhow what is the advice on moving forward with this?

chris1973

Now i think this might be a good idea so that i can get out of the debt but will all the money i pre pay go to paying off the debt or to buying my power?

Usually a debt payment is taken off every week. I believe it can be set to any figure, but I think £3 is a minimum figure. In this example it would mean a £10 top up would give you £7 in credit and £3 towards any debt payment.

Also bear in mind that prepayment meters often deduct a weekly standing charge from the credit balance every week in order to fund the prepayment top up network. I pay just over £1.00 a week in standing charge with nPOWER, which also comes off the meter credit.

So on this basis, topping up with £10 every week would effectively give you, £3 debt repayment, £1.02 standing charge and £5.98 in actual Energy credit on the meter to use.

Anyhow what is the advice on moving forward with this?

First of all look at your current energy usage and where any reductions can be made before your Pre-Pay arrives. Sometimes you'd be surprised at what is running and how you can cut back.

Prepayment obviously doesn't give you the luxury of putting any overspend into debt, so you either top up, or live without Electricity. So make sure you budget for the monthly / weekly top ups as well as any standing charge or debt repayments from it.

undaunted

You don't necessarily "have to have" a pre payment meter despite what Npower may try & tell you (but you do you have to have an acceptable payment arrangement in place & stick to it)

Is there a reason you can't afford to pay for your electricity that might enable you to access further help? (eg are you disabled / ill, elderly, unemployed etc?).

The £3 a week mentioned above is probably referring to Fuel Direct levels (where money is stopped from benefit & paid directly to the supplier - a possible alternative to a pre payment meter if applicable to you) but if you are in employment etc may not necessarily apply to you (there is obviously a world of difference between £3 & £200) Consumer Focus, your local C.A.B. or similar may be able to assist you depending what your circumstances are. (eg You may be able to negotiate to repay your debt over the same period it accrued in even if you are working)

Good luck

spiro

If you dont want a ppm then they will want the debt repaid over the same period that is was accrued (typically).

Is the debt elec, gas or both?

As they want £1200 now have you come to a previous repayment agreement which you have failed to keep? If the answer is yes you can expect to get a ppm if you want it or not.

If you go the ppm route ensure you do it voluntarily otherwise court costs etc will be added to your debt.

Also remember if you have a gas ppm that while you may have to put little in per week in the summer months you will have to put about 5 times that amount in over the winter months.

macman

If you think that switching to a PPM will just wipe your existing debt (which is how I read your post), then (to quote Captain Mainwaring) you're getting into the realms of fantasy. A PPM will just manage the existing debt for you, and control your ongoing consumption.

chanz4

macman wrote: »

If you think that switching to a PPM will just wipe your existing debt (which is how I read your post), then (to quote Captain Mainwaring) you're getting into the realms of fantasy. A PPM will just manage the existing debt for you, and control your ongoing consumption.

Think you read it wrong, she didnt say be wiped out. Npower would be able to change the pre-pay if you have failed a plan or credit check. It would normaly be in their terms, or they could refuse to supply you.

macman

It reads 'getting out of the debt; I think the OP probably meant 'getting out of debt'.

hopeless_case_2

macman wrote: »

It reads 'getting out of the debt; I think the OP probably meant 'getting out of debt'.

yes i did mean getting out of the debt they are forcing me to a pre payment meter and say its my only option due to failed dd's They were trying to make me pay £200 per month!! my useage has gone up loads this year so they say yet there has been no change in the house?

chris1973

my useage has gone up loads this year so they say yet there has been no change in the house?

I imagine all of those halogen lamps that you are running which you mentioned on the other thread are helping to keep your bills high. Which begs the question, what else are you also running which you may also not realise the cost of?, and where else are you missing the potential saving in energy on your future bills.

yes i did mean getting out of the debt they are forcing me to a pre payment meter

Which I think personally is the best way forward. Clearly you are not covering the cost of the energy you are actually using, and given the debt amount, its been that way for some time. At no point have you questioned the accuracy of the amount owed or the succession of readings which slowly built it up and produced it, so we can only assume you have actually used it, and they will, at some time ,want paying for it, which isn't unreasonable.

The danger is, that if you continue on a credit meter, and also continue to spend beyond your budget on your realtime energy use, then you are just going to get more and more into debt with them, and that figure of £1600 will continue to grow.

At least with a prepay meter, you see exactly what you are spending. You also get some relief in knowing that you are not constantly still running up the debt and that you are actively paying off what you already owe, however small that agreed payment may be.There is also no greater incentive to look at where your energy use is going, and to make actual changes when you see the frightening speed at which the credit is counting down.

With a credit meter, people rarely take regular readings to see what they are actually using, or check that their usage meets their DD payments etc, with a pre-payment meter you don't have a choice, as you have to read the credit left on it on a regular basis .

You also need to be pro-actively looking at every appliance which you are using and work out how often they are used and for how long and where any savings can be made. Clearly, from the other post, you haven't switched to low energy lighting throughout the house yet, and given the darker nights approaching and lighting making up a big part of non-heating related energy use, then you need to start thinking about looking at it.

macman

hopeless_case wrote: »

yes i did mean getting out of the debt they are forcing me to a pre payment meter and say its my only option due to failed dd's They were trying to make me pay £200 per month!! my useage has gone up loads this year so they say yet there has been no change in the house?

They are correct, it's your only option. You need to cut your consumption, but you also need to clear the debt. If you've already failed to meet the planned DD repayments then a voluntary PPM is the best solution, unless you can pay off a lump sum.