npower raised price of electric units, left with shocking bill.

oasismark

Thanks for all your help and advice on reducing how much electricity i use, and altho i will address that issue immediately, my point is being lost.

Im happy i used 18% more electricity than the same period last year, and would be happy to pay 18% more that last years bill.

Whats got me angry is that the tariff was changed without notification.

Its a practice that should not be allowed, as an example, i guess Sky cannot increase their tv tariffs without prior notification.

jalexa

oasismark wrote: »

I did not even know my tariff could change without me knowing.

I presume you mean without being informed.

Most suppliers most of the time will inform in one way or another. In that sense your broad brush rant is probably missing the point. However if you remain aggrieved with your particular case I would suggest a 2 (or 3 pronged) approach. First of all review your online bills (for retrospective notice). Review your email history for bill notification around the time of the increase. Check the Sign Online 17 terms and conditions for the form of the notification [the current Sign Online 25 mentions notice but not written notice]. Ask an adviser to explain the date and form of notice given. Note the answer carefully but do not argue.

If you have £10 to spare consider making a Subject Access Request requiring copies of all information held, including all communications, correspondence and copy bills. This will cost you £10, NPower an administrative fortune. The response may support NPower but equally they may shoot themselves in the foot on the substantiation of notice and/or what the Adviser said.

macman

oasismark wrote: »

Thanks for all your help and advice on reducing how much electricity i use, and altho i will address that issue immediately, my point is being lost.

Im happy i used 18% more electricity than the same period last year, and would be happy to pay 18% more that last years bill.

Whats got me angry is that the tariff was changed without notification.

Its a practice that should not be allowed, as an example, i guess Sky cannot increase their tv tariffs without prior notification.

Even though prices have risen up to 20% in the meantime?

It changed because it was a fixed term tariff that that came to an end, when you signed up you will have noticed (or should have noticed) what the end date was.
Sky TV tariffs etc are not fixed term contracts, they are minimum term contracts-a completely different thing.

You appear to have now switched onto a cheaper npower tariff without actually doing a comp site check (5 minutes) to see if you could get a better deal by switching elsewhere. Your supplier is under no obligation to offer you their cheapest tariff-it's up to you to do your own research.

leezuk1

oasismark wrote: »

Thanks for all your help and advice on reducing how much electricity i use, and altho i will address that issue immediately, my point is being lost.

Im happy i used 18% more electricity than the same period last year, and would be happy to pay 18% more that last years bill.

Whats got me angry is that the tariff was changed without notification.

Its a practice that should not be allowed, as an example, i guess Sky cannot increase their tv tariffs without prior notification.

With you all the way with this one! As I said earlier this is exactly what happened to me - switched me to a higher tariff - no letter to say this was being done (I don't think it was even just the standard rate) - go to the complaints team - at least try and get them to compromise and get the difference between the tariff they put you on and the cheapest tariff available at that time - which is what they did for me in the end saving me about £500.

oasismark

macman wrote: »

You appear to have now switched onto a cheaper npower tariff without actually doing a comp site check (5 minutes) to see if you could get a better deal by switching elsewhere. Your supplier is under no obligation to offer you their cheapest tariff-it's up to you to do your own research.

I would love to move to a different supplier but i now have a £500 bill to pay, and if i switched id have to pay that off in 1 lump sum, which i cannot afford too.

Ive done a comparison and npower still come out cheapest
I gave my meter readings on 10th Feb, do i have 14 days cooling off period , in case i do want to leave?

leezuk1 wrote: »

With you all the way with this one! As I said earlier this is exactly what happened to me - switched me to a higher tariff - no letter to say this was being done (I don't think it was even just the standard rate) - go to the complaints team - at least try and get them to compromise and get the difference between the tariff they put you on and the cheapest tariff available at that time - which is what they did for me in the end saving me about £500.

Ill give them another call but its like bashing head against a wall.

They know the tactics they play, and they know i have to pay it.

leezuk1

Npower - well what can I say - after todays phone call I would not touch them with a bargepole again - not even worth going into the conversation I had with them but they have no idea about customer service or customer retention - they are as slippery as an eel - contradicting themselves at every turn and yet you their customer are still in the wrong. I will be terminating my contract with them immediately after 3 years on nothing but hassle and 5 years as a customer. They broke several regulatory guidelines in todays conversation no wonder they were fined millions last year over customer service - will they ever learn! (Rant over!).

chanz4

Just had a look at their terms for sign online 25, http://www.npower.com/Home/Electricity-and-gas/Terms-and-conditions/index.htm#sol

Offer period
These terms apply from the date when we agree we will supply you under our Sign Online 25 offer until 8th April 2013 or an earlier date on which you/we change your tariff/supplier and your Sign Online 25 Agreement ends. We call this the Sign Online 25 Period.

When this Agreement ends
If you continue to take supply from us at the end of your Sign Online 25 Period, we will place you on our standard online standing charge product (“Go-Save S”), which may be more expensive than Sign Online 25, unless we have another offer that we feel may be suitable for you and have agreed alternative terms with you. We will notify you of your new prices before the end of your Online Price Control Period.

We know business do this and have terms, so why dont people read them? We can blame suppliers etc but we all have a responsabilty as adults. Inregards to correspondance and SAR as they would be via automated systems and outsourced it would only show a reference to it in their campaigne manager which wouldnt show on a sar.

You could ask as a gesture of goodwill if they would bill you on another tariff, but the energy ombudsman cant force it.

jalexa

chanz4 wrote: »

We will notify you of your new prices before the end of your Online Price Control Period.[/B]

We know business do this and have terms, so why dont people read them? We can blame suppliers etc but we all have a responsabilty as adults. Inregards to correspondance and SAR as they would be via automated systems and outsourced it would only show a reference to it in their campaigne manager which wouldnt show on a sar.

You could ask as a gesture of goodwill if they would bill you on another tariff, but the energy ombudsman cant force it.

Quite a lot of issues there. So to put my consumer-centric hat on here to counter your pro-industry insight here are my concerns.

There is no doubt the T&Cs say what you have quoted and include "we will notify you of your new prices before the end of your Online Price Control Period". The OP may or may not have been aware of the T&Cs (as many are not bothered to) but the allegation was not being made aware of the price change.

Who can say whether or not NPower notified the change. Certainly not you with your stated argument, and neither has the OP followed-up with comment about bill notification. I think you are saying its not possible for NPower to prove notification. In that case the OP has a perfectly valid allegation to take to complaint (and the Energy Ombudsman) who, if the case is upheld, has the power to instruct a remedy.

chanz4

All the would do is provide a blank copy, it wouldnt contain the ops details.

leezuk1

My final 'nail in the coffin' was that as you can see in an earlier post that they offer me £40 as a good will gesture - but then phoned up and withdrew the offer as they said in an earlier call they had notified me of the increase (still didn't get a letter) - funnily enough I do not recall the exact conversation but had noted that I needed to phone them before Oct - which I did - thinking that must be when my tariff came to an end - but instead of the person I dealt with saying no your tariff is not coming to an end but your tariff is going up they just left it - and I was told yesterday that its my fault because I didn't ask the right question! He also said that I must have phoned at that time in response to the letter about increases but when I said listen to that conversation then and see if thats what I said (as I know 100% that I didn't) but funnily enough he then started retracting what he said.... and so our conversation went on in the same way.

In addition I had asked my problem to go to the next level to the complaints dept - and he hadn't done that as the same person called me back again - which is not following their correct procedures.

I also asked for copies of the conversations which he said I'd have to write in separately and then be charged £10 for.

I could go on but I'm still so angry about it all... and he had the cheek to say the last person I spoke to calculted yet something else wrong that they told me... and yet they still withdrew their goodwill gesture... how about if i miscalculate my payments to them, would I be in the right then?!