Query nPower charges

susanmaustin

nPower wanted my monthly payments to increase so I negotiated £88 per month. This took 3 phone calls over 3 months with 3 different customer service agents to arrange. All of them agreed to £88 per month but because of the time scale, one monthly payment cost £103. The last customer services call lady put me on a cheaper tariff so I could continue paying £88 per month. This is tied in for 12 months and 18 months and has early penalty charges if I choose to leave. They now want to charge me £101 a month.

Can they do this after they have agreed a contract with me to pay £88 a month?
If they can, am I allowed to leave nPower without incurring penalty charges? As they have broken the contract?

Fire_Fox

Are you in debt based on a recent meter reading? If so you need to pay the debt in full or NPower can block any transfer.

Direct debit is supposed to be based on your usage and keep you from getting into significant debt, it is a convenient way of spreading the cost over a full year. Of course a DD can be increased, you don't have the legal right to be in debt without penalty. The only contract you normally form is a fixed price per unit not a fixed price per month, IMO you have totally misunderstood what you and NPower agreed to.

It's pointless to negotiate because NPower have no control over how much energy you use, ultimately you will have to pay. The solution to paying less is not negotiating or switching, it is for your household to be frugal.

tibawo

I too have had a similar problem with them.

I was in arrears so rang them to say this and agreed I would pay £50 above my monthly average. This is all I can afford.

I changed to them on a fixed price tariff as they were supposedly cheaper so I should not be affected by price hikes. They now say I should be paying £157 a month without an arrears. This is over double of my previous suppliers.

They are slow to respond even by email. Can't wait to speak to a customer rep who can listen.

keith1950

Hi, put aside what you are paying and provide information about how much you are using, as above, you have agreed to a fixed tariff but if you use extra you will have to pay extra.

You can't expect them to charge £88/month if you are using £101/month or more.

Yes you can leave them if you pay the exit fees and whatever you owe them.

However if the debt is excessive they may block any transfer.

macman

You are not in contract 'for £88 per month'. You are in contract for a certain unit price and tariff. If you use more than estimated then your DD will increase.
There is no tariff change that would save you 17%!

tibawo

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, put aside what you are paying and provide information about how much you are using, as above, you have agreed to a fixed tariff but if you use extra you will have to pay extra.

You can't expect them to charge £88/month if you are using £101/month or more.

Yes you can leave them if you pay the exit fees and whatever you owe them.

However if the debt is excessive they may block any transfer.

But this is the thing when I ring them they see they have miscalculated and reduce it. So why have they put it Up in the first place.

I also use less now ... Well according to them so logic would say since I've not acquired any more gadgets my bill should not be going up if it is on a fixed term tariff.

susanmaustin

Thank you everyone. I am actually [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]£13.28 in credit after my last bill. Using their own figures, £88 per month should cover the usage over a year.
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Fire_Fox

Have unit prices or standing charges gone up on the tariff you are on, or are they about to, or are you on a fixed rate per unit? When was the last time a meter reading was taken?

If the credit was based on an actual meter reading you will likely be in debt by the end of the winter so it's not surprising they want to increase the DD. Read the meter every month or quarter, this should keep your DD as accurate as possible.

undaunted

susanmaustin wrote: »

Thank you everyone. I am actually [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]£13.28 in credit after my last bill. Using their own figures, £88 per month should cover the usage over a year. [/FONT]

Over the year or over the winter period? IE are they wanting to charge £101 to cover winter usage and expecting it to be less than £88 in the summer?

I'm not a fan of Npower but I still wouldn't think them unreasonable to want payments calculated for consumption over the quarter (or so) rather than the year