npower real increase is nearer 20%

p_and_j

Just got my npower signonline 24 price increase letter telling me that the "annual bill" electricity increase is 20.2% and gas is 17.9% (not the Npower. 8.8% gas, 9.1% electricity rise as per the MSE website and elsewhere).
Needless to say I don;t think that I will be staying much longer with npower.

HappyMJ

p_and_j wrote: »

Just got my npower signonline 24 price increase letter telling me that the "annual bill" electricity increase is 20.2% and gas is 17.9% (not the Npower. 8.8% gas, 9.1% electricity rise as per the MSE website and elsewhere).
Needless to say I don;t think that I will be staying much longer with npower.

So I'm not the only one who has calculated that an increase from 2.963p to 3.793p (east midlands) is a 28% increase but somehow they say it's a 10.1% increase on the letter.

edit: and as I have just finished on Price Protector it's (gas) has actually gone from 2.644p to 3.793p a 44% price increase (primary units from 7.532p to 7.515p a 0.2% decrease) and electric (day rate E7) from 15.908p to 18.501p a 16% increase. Primary units have gone from 25.893p to 30.65p an 18% increase and night rate has gone from 4.715p to 5.775p a 23% increase. I'm a low user on both so it isn't anywhere near 10%. My actual increase is in excess of 20%.

p_and_j

Off to Scottish Power (fixed until April 2014) saving over £100 per year straight away and no doubt much more next winter with no early exit charges if prices fall (well they might ??).
£40 cashback thrown in from SimplySwitch to pay the npower exit charges.
:beer:
Would have changed supplier on principle even with no saving.

Cardew

The subject of a much greater increase than the announced percentage figure has been raised on a thread about Scottish Power. I have asked this question:

Would it be possible to find out from your 'masters' just how the average price
increase is calculated.

For instance if it is, say, a 7% average increase, is that on your total revenue, including as mused by tichtich above, the fixed/capped price tariffs that do not increase.

e.g. If, say, your total revenue from gas/electricity sales is £100million (including fixed/capped) will the increase in your revenue be £7million?

This would mean that if, say, £50 million was from fixed/capped sales, the average increase on the non-fixed tariffs would be have to be 14% to raise an extra £7million.

It would be good if the helpful Npower rep could explain how percentage rises are calculated.

yorksdave

I am pretty sure the increases always quoted are averages, I suspect the older tariffs are the ones that are racked up these stupid amounts.

I recently switched from Npower, to edf Blue (back when ML was going on about it a couple of months ago), which was not only cheaper but fixed till April 2014. I was on on-line tariff version 4 and they were now on version 16. Npower rang me and could not even match the Direct Debit payment, let alone (I assume) the unit prices. I also got my £30 cash back from Money Supermarket.

jnoble100

p_and_j wrote: »

Just got my npower signonline 24 price increase letter telling me that the "annual bill" electricity increase is 20.2% and gas is 17.9% (not the Npower. 8.8% gas, 9.1% electricity rise as per the MSE website and elsewhere).
Needless to say I don;t think that I will be staying much longer with npower.

Snap. Mine are 20.3% and 18.0% - just 0.1% higher than yours. And they can't tell me why they're so much higher than their average. Can't as in don't actually know. It is actually rocket science. I'm in area 19 apparently. What that means I don't know!

Time to switch and tell then where to go with the sold called £20 exit charges.

Happy days!

tinkerbellkirst

Im currently on their Go fix 8 until April 2013 but on checking scottish power they are cheaper than my current payment anyway, and i dont want to run the risk of loosing a good fix rate if i wait until the deal ends. So i have switched, through top cash back getting hopefully £42 for a dual fuel switch to help cover the £25 early exits fees from N Power.

Always been loyal to N Power but they are taking the pee this time with their rises, so im off!

MK55

You don't have to pay canx fees if you're on a variable tariff after a price increase. You need to inform your provider your switching, and they should waive all variable tariff canx fees.
:j
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compl/pricechange/Pages/Noticeofpricechanges.aspx

charlies_mum

Received my letter from Npower stating that my electricity is going up 14.8% per annum and my gas 15.8%. My account is currently almost £300 debit (only found out by checking online and a new meter reading is showing), and they have increased my monthly direct debit by £90 without notification (yet)

Tried to phone them to discuss, and the currrent waiting time is over an hour !

Needless to say I will be switching. Will I need to pay the £300 balance before I can start to switch ?

Edit : Just done a price comparison on Energy Helpline, and Npower are coming up as the second highest saving. According to them, I could save £169 by switching to Npower's Energy Online Jan 2014 tarrif, so waiting for a callback from Npower so I can ask if I can change to that.

MillicentBystander

One of the problems of committing yourself to 12 months with npower in order to get the switching site price. I still don't believe they should be allowed to show the price including the annual discount paid in arrears. I do wonder what %tage of the 'ordinary' punters signing up to them actually realise that's how it works. 1%? 2%? I remember one extremely savvy poster on here not knowing anything about it...

Direct Debit discount of £52.50 per year for gas and £42 for electricity. Dual fuel discount of £10.50 per year. Total discount of £105 per year.
All prices shown are inclusive of VAT at 5%.

Additional Information
Tariff information Customers on this tariff are guaranteed a 3% lower bill than npower’s Standard (off-line) variable prices until 31st January 2014. The guarantee applies to customers with average gas consumption of 16,500 kWh and average electricity consumption of 3,300 kWh, and includes the monthly dual fuel direct debit discount. There is a £60 cancellation fee for this tariff (£30 for electricity & £30 for gas) if customers switch away before the end date. Customers signing up to this tariff will receive paperless billing. The savings quoted include any discounts associated with this tariff. To qualify, you must take your supply from npower and pay by the same payment method for a full 12 month period – this period does not have to be a Jan-Dec calendar year. The discounts will be paid to you annually and will be credited to your account at the end of each full year that you remain with npower. The estimated savings figure on the results table assumes tariff rates and discounts remain the same for a year. After the guaranteed period of 31st January 2014, customers on this tariff will automatically be moved to npower's Go Save tariff which may be more expensive than Energy Online January 2014.

MikeR71

I am currently looking to switch away from scottish power. I have done a comparison and the cheapest deal based on my consumption seems to be npower's fixed price January 2014.
However, I tried to ring them a few times from Friday and the waiting times are far too long. Also, listeining to people here about their service, I am thinking maybe it's best not to touch npower with a barge pole.