nPower Meter Problem

lemon26

Good evening! I'd like to try and get some advice about what to do next with nPower as we've had problems since last April regarding our meter.

We moved into our current house in December 2011 and the purchase came through in March 2012 so we changed from prepayment electricity to direct debit electricity (or so we thought)! Initially we were on prepayment 'total heat total control' (THTC) as there is no gas on the Islands and we don't have oil.We requested Economy 7 to be fitted but they fitted direct debit THTC meters. Eventually they came and changed it to an Eco 7 direct debit meter but that's when the real fun started. I asked in May to be put onto a fixed price tariff and ther came back and said no, you're on prepayment - we weren't!

Since then I have written numerous letter, have had their complaints department 'solve' the problem and have involved the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman ordered nPower to resolve things by 7 December 2012, which nPower agreed to. Anyway, I have just received another prepayment 'information only' bill and nPower have said that I am still a prepayment customer.

I'm tempted to keep quiet as I understand they can only bill me for 1 year's worth of electricity as I have done everything in my power to sort the issue. I'm just scared of having a huge bill I can't afford - I've been saving £100 per month to pay it off when it comes but i don't know if that'll be enough as I (and nPower) don't know what tariff they have me on!

Can I do anything else as, so far, they've ignored me and the Ombudsman!

chanz4

The eos can say deadlines, but third partys are involved in meter updates. The suppliers have to rely on flows, and if they dont come can take a while which the eos cant do anything.

lemon26

Hi Chanz, thank you for your reply. nPower talked a lot about flows and how it was the distributor's responsibility to tell tem what meter they haver fitted on nPower's behalf - so far we've had Scottish Hydro (the distributor) out six times on behalf of nPower to make a record of what meter they've fitted for nPower. Incredulously, on each of the six times the information has failed to reach nPower and they won't accept the photograph (with serial number) I've sent them as proof.

I'm stuck as I can't move supplier and my current supplier won't provide me with a bill. So frustrating and am not loolking forwards to the huge bill when they finally get their finger out...

amcg100

Does the information only bill that you have received have roughly the correct readings on it ?

chanz4

Its a bad system, but its a D150 / D149 that they have to have from the mops, without this they cant update and even systems like ecoes wont update. The person at fault was the installer

lemon26

Hi Amcg, no, the information only (prepayment) bill does not reflect the meter reading, in spite of me providing them with a meter reading a fortnight ago at their request. The 'information only' bill is for £532 whereas I figure I owe between £800-1000 depending what tariff they are using to charge me - I don't know and it would appear that they don;t know either.

I know people try to dodge paying bills, surely they'd be happy to give a bill to someone who knows they owe money and simply want to pay it..... This is so frustrating and I can't do anything as I don't know how much I owe (neither do they) so don't want to spend too much in case they come in with a monster bill! I had offered to pay £100 per month until they came up with a final figure but, as they say I'm a prepayment customer, they won't let me even though I don;t have a prepayment meter!

amcg100

This is a really weird one although with nPower involved it's not surprising. Must be very frustrating.
Is the bill you have received for £532 showing a debit or credit balance..?
Does the bill have a supply number on it ?
Are the readings on the bill estimated, customer or actual ?

chanz4

amcg100 wrote: »

This is a really weird one although with nPower involved it's not surprising. Must be very frustrating.
Is the bill you have received for £532 showing a debit or credit balance..?
Does the bill have a supply number on it ?
Are the readings on the bill estimated, customer or actual ?

can happen to any supplier, a lot of the mops dont send flows and this is the typical stupid issue that can be raised.

lemon26

The bill we have recived is an actual reading (meter read three weeks ago) albeit for prepayment - they don't do readings for prepayment!!!

I am planning on keeping schtum until they get their finger out and then only paying a year as, lets face it, they've been given 8 months to sort out how they are going to bill me. I have even offered to pay £100 per month to no avail.

Does this not illustrate the contempt with which the energy suppliers hold their customers? I think my next stop may be Watchdog as I simply want to pay what I owe...

amcg100

They still need to read the meter for prepayment. Prepayment is just like any other account. The only difference is that it forces you to pay into your account before you get any fuel.

I have to admit I am a bit lost. You say that the meter was read three weeks ago, but the bill does not carry these readings. If it is an 'Actual reading then this means that the meter has been physically read by a meter reader, and clearly it is not your meter that has been read.

Did you give up the meter key with the meter? It could be in another property and if it is a smart meter, it will be sending data back every time it is charged.

Disgraceful from nPower - they had the lowest customer service rating of all companies in a recent which survey.

MK55

The supplier can initiate the request for a D149/150, once a meter exchange has taken place and hasn't been updated after 28 days. It doesn't have to come form the distributor, solely.
Complain to the EO.