Npower withholding my refund of £928 since Oct 2012

ruthio12

I moved house on 28th September 2012 and cancelled my npower account. I was informed I was in credit £928.70!!!!

I am still waiting for this refund despite numerous complaints to them. They even sent me an incorrect letter in November asking me to the £928.70 immediately which almost gave me a heart attack.

I was told in November they were unsure if they had been billing me correctly (i.e charging me night time rates for daily use) and the advisor informed me this was my fault!!

However it is now mid january and nothing has been resolved and I still dont have my refund.

Npower have been rude and disinterested when I have tried to contact and don't know what to do now.

Joyful

If you have raised a complaint after 8 weeks you can go to the Ombudsman although with that amount of credit there probably is a mistake.

DUTR

ruthio12 wrote: »

I moved house on 28th September 2012 and cancelled my npower account. I was informed I was in credit £928.70!!!!

I am still waiting for this refund despite numerous complaints to them. They even sent me an incorrect letter in November asking me to the £928.70 immediately which almost gave me a heart attack.

I was told in November they were unsure if they had been billing me correctly (i.e charging me night time rates for daily use) and the advisor informed me this was my fault!!

However it is now mid january and nothing has been resolved and I still dont have my refund.

Npower have been rude and disinterested when I have tried to contact and don't know what to do now.

Wow, some bizarre stories against the energy companies on the go today :eek:
Some are so ridiculous I must forgive myself for suspecting they are fabricated.
However for the benefit of the doubt, you yourself would know if the billing is aginst the wrong meter, also, for domestic use £900+ is a lot of credit to build up. What happened to your final bills? As peeved off as npower got me, they were swift and ontime with my refund when I transfered to another provider.

fed_up_and_stressed

Very puzzled you cant just "cancel" your account you are still getting electricity i presume ...in which case do you mean you have changed your supplier in which case your new supplier would need to agree change of supply reads.

If you have just cancelled your direct debit then you will still be with npower just paying on receipt of bill please clarify what you have done so this can help me give you better advice. (Worked in the industry for many years)

dogshome

Made numerous Complaints ? !
If you did this by phone it was probably a waste of time

The word " Complaint" has a special meaning in the Energy Industry, as it triggers an investigation procedure that the supplier must carry out to meet the terms of their licence - If they fail to resolve the problem in 56 days, you go to the Ombudsman

However, just useing the word Complaint in a phone call often isn't enough.
You must either write to, or send an Email to n'power, heading it Complaint in bold

ruthio12

Hi my story is genuine.

By cancelling my account I meant I informed them I would be leaving the house on the 28th September and would not be transferring npower to the new house.

I did not know I was being charged incorrectly because I paid a set amount by direct debit each month

I have contacted an ombudsman but frankly nearly 4 months is too long to wait for them to decide how much they actually owe me when they are quick enough to demand any monies owed to them.

fed_up_and_stressed

ruthio12 wrote: »

Hi my story is genuine.

By cancelling my account I meant I informed them I would be leaving the house on the 28th September and would not be transferring npower to the new house.

I did not know I was being charged incorrectly because I paid a set amount by direct debit each month

I have contacted an ombudsman but frankly nearly 4 months is too long to wait for them to decide how much they actually owe me when they are quick enough to demand any monies owed to them.

Rght so you closed the account not cancelled it due to change of tenancy.

To say "you didn't know you were being charged incorrectly cause you are on direct debit" is puzzling. With Npower they still send 6 monthly statements to DD customers and when you get a bill (from any supplier) customers need to check they are being billed to accurate reads not estimates and that way you can see if any credit /debt showing on the statement .

--- this should be done regardless of whether you pay by quaterly bill or direct debit so you know you are only paying what what has actually been used---

Did you give them customer readings or arrange for the Meter Operator to take Actual closing reads when you moved out and have you previously had actual meter reads taken by them when you were in the property (so you can work out if the £900 + credit is genuine ?
If it has relied on estimates then I can see why they would want to investigate they were charging you the correct amounts and accurately billing you before releasing the credit.

ruthio12

Hi thanks for your reply.

I gave a reading during the telephone conversation for electric but couldn't find where to do the gas reading so they said they would send someone out (who never came),

I fully appreciate them needing to investigate but does it really take 4 months to do this?

The reason I may seem a bit oblivious to things is because I've recently taken over my moms finances as she isn't coping with them (hence why this mess came about) and so this is all new to me.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig

Hi ruthio12,

I've been away so I've not seen your thread.

It looks to me that you are another Customer who has been caught up in the mess that npower have caused (as they introduce their 'new system').
The fact that this started in September 2012 is relevant.

As documented in
Warning: npower accept new customers without sending them a Contract
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4273611
There are lots of people having problems switching to npower.

We now have evidence of knock on effects of the 'new system' affecting existing Customers too.
If you are short of time just read the most recent posts (Page 8, Post #141 ff).

ruthio12 wrote:

... I fully appreciate them needing to investigate but does it really take 4 months to do this? ...

The delay is, I think, due the mess at npower (not an excuse but an explanation).
I appreciate that this does not get you your money.


As to what to do now.
First, make sure you have a Complaint Number - as others have advised it is best to Complain in writing.
If you have a Complaint Number ask for you Complaint to be escalated.

Second, the Final Reading. It is best if you take this. Do you and npower agree what the readings are? I assume that they have them and that they have now calculated a final bill, which is why you have now discovered that the DD was too high and that you have built up such a large amount of Credit.

I'm sorry I can't be more help. There are many of us caught up in this mess.
I will add a link, in the main thread, to this thread because Ofgem are aware of the issue at npower.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig