got 2 bills from different suppliers but paid NPOWER using paypoint

emmaBZ

hi my sister moved into her rented house about 3 months ago...at which time they were told they were with npower for gas & elec...she pays using pay point for her gas to npower....anyway she has now recieved two seperate bills for gas from different suppliers !! saying she owes total. of aprox £300 even though she been paying npower for her gas !? shes tried speaking to these companies but isnt getting very far ..
am i right in thinking you can only be supplied by one supplier at a time ? ( i dont have gas so just need clarification ! )
she said she will pay the £300 cuz she doesnt want to !!!!!! up her credit rating...!
im after advice on the best way to deal with this as i asked her to bring everything over tommorrow including the meter reading they took whhen they 1st moved in so i can try to sort it out for her ( as im more fiesty on the phone than she is !!) any advice welcome...( please !:rolleyes: )

olly300

Having had issues myself with gas companies before I advise you to contact them only in writing whether this is by email or letter. This is due to the fact that customer service departments for lots of utility companies are outsourced so the staff say anything on the phone to get rid of you and then don't follow through with the actions they said they would.

Before your sister comes over to your house get her to find the id number on
the meter and write the down. If she is not sure what number to write down just get her to write down every number she sees on the gas meter. (There should only be two i.e. the number of units used and the MPR.)

On Monday one of you should phone up Transco Meter Helpline on 0870 608 1524, give the address of the property to them and the MPRN number. This is the id number your sister wrote down from her gas meter.

After you know who your supplier is then find their customer service addresses on the internet and write to them explaining what has happened in bullet points.

1. Tell each company that isn't your supplier that you are not paying them as they are not your supplier and if they contact you again you will inform the regulator. So if they threaten you with debt collectors inform energywatch immediately.

2. If your sister has wrongly paid npower inform them in writing that they are not your supplier and ask them for a refund within 21 days of the money paid. State at the end that if you don't receive this refund you will get the regulator involved.

3. If your sister has not paid the correct supplier write to them informing them you have just found out that they are the supplier, explain who you have been paying, say if you are in financial difficulties and if you are offer them a small sum as payment now. State clearly you are getting a refund from the other company and will pay them when this refund comes through. The most important thing to do with this company is keep them informed if you have problems with getting a refund from npower. Make sure you give them every bit of information in writing. If they really hassle i.e .threaten you with debt collectors you then contact energywatch.

The regulator's complaint form is here:
http://www.energywatch.org.uk/help_and_advice/how_we_can_help/make_a_complaint/index.asp