Problem with Npower, please help

Jen_Jen1985

Just wondering if anyone can offer me any advice.

In August 2011 I started paying my electric bill by monthly direct debit, previously I had been paying quarterly when the bill came in the post. Npower said based on my previous usage my DD amount would be £65. I paid this for a few months and then received notification that they had reviewed my usage and my DD would be lowered to £42 which I was happy with.

A couple months ago they notified me that their rates were going up in the new year so I tried to change my supplier but was told I couldn't due to the type of meter I had.
I did a rough calculation based on figures they gave me and worked out I would prob go back up to £65 a month again and thought I could live with that. Today I have received a letter from them saying I owe them £222 and my new monthly payment is going to be £110 a month :eek:

There is no way I can afford that, does anyone think I have grounds to appeal the £222? as it was them who chose to lower my DD and if it had stayed at £65 it wouldn't have built up

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Wywth

Jen_Jen1985 wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone can offer me any advice.

In August 2011 I started paying my electric bill by monthly direct debit, previously I had been paying quarterly when the bill came in the post. Npower said based on my previous usage my DD amount would be £65. I paid this for a few months and then received notification that they had reviewed my usage and my DD would be lowered to £42 which I was happy with.

A couple months ago they notified me that their rates were going up in the new year so I tried to change my supplier but was told I couldn't due to the type of meter I had.
I did a rough calculation based on figures they gave me and worked out I would prob go back up to £65 a month again and thought I could live with that. Today I have received a letter from them saying I owe them £222 and my new monthly payment is going to be £110 a month :eek:

There is no way I can afford that, does anyone think I have grounds to appeal the £222? as it was them who chose to lower my DD and if it had stayed at £65 it wouldn't have built up

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

What sort of meter do you have that prevents you moving supplier?

Your supplier should be providing you with a regular statement as your the position of your account with them.

You are entitled to a full breakdown of any alleged debt ... which those statements would provide you. You will have to pay for any consumption the meter records. As you pay monthly by DD, it would be usual for the supplier to reclaim any accrued debt by adjusting your monthly payments accordingly to recover the debt over several months.

If you provide the supplier with regular meter readings (e.g. every month) that will help them ensure you are accurately billed and that your DD is set at an appropriate rate

nPower

Hi Jen_Jen1985,

If you'd like me to have a look into this for you, please send me your details to [EMAIL="forumresponse@npower.com"]forumresponse@npower.com[/EMAIL] and I can see if there's anything we can do. It may be that we can spread the outstanding balance over a longer period of time to reduce the direct debit amount.

Kind regards,

Adam
[EMAIL="forumresponse@npower.com"][/EMAIL]