NPower prepayment meters

Savannah31

I owed NPower £800, they said I'd gone way over what I was paying and I was already paying £160 per month for both gas and electricity.

They insisted I had pre payment meters put in, I really didn't want to but they said if I didn't they'd force entry into my house with a locksmith. I suffer agoraphobia so it really frightened me.


I've had the electric one put in so far and I'm hating it. I've 3 children and my husband living here. I'm being so strict, TV off if need be, hardly using my tumble dryer so drying clothes isn't easy, and im spending about £4 a day! That's being strict. Only I'm home during the day and I don't use much electric.


I'm worrying, it's adding to my anxiety, worried we won't be able to afford this much electricity, it will cost more than £4 during the weekend and half terms I'm sure.


Am I tied to them now until I clear the debt? They are taking £4 off a month, it'll take years. I really don't want these meters:(

Wywth

Yeah, you are lumbered with them for the foreseeable future.

£4.00 will buy you about 30kWh of electricity depending on your exact tariff.

Savannah31

I feel we are trapped now and I can't do anything about it. They have set our weekly repayment at £10 not £4, I have just checked and am stuck on hold to them now for an hour.

This is a nightmare, I am worried sick about it.

footyguy

Perhaps they thought 16+ years was far too long to give you an interest free loan for, and that 6-7 years was more than long enough to pay back the money you owe them. :cool:

chanz4

If you want a lower recovery send your supplier a SOA done by the CAB

Fire_Fox

Firstly get yourself recognised as a 'vulnerable customer' by NPower, read up on their criteria and write to them mentioning your children, low income, mental health issues. Stop dealing with customer service operatives or debt collections by telephone.

Secondly start understanding your usage better: energy guzzlers are heating, hot water, power showers, laundry at higher temperatures, tumble dryers. Whilst it's good to consider lighting and gadgets this is unlikely to make any significant difference to your bills or debts. If you have five people showering daily you could make great savings here.

Consider air drying laundry outdoors (yes even in winter, even if you have to finish off in the tumble dryer) or get an electric dehumidifier. Laundry at lower temperatures, kids share shallow baths or strip wash in the sink some days, turn the shower on to wet and rinse but off whilst you are soaping up, use a leave in instead of a wash off conditioner, dry shampoo instead of washing hair daily, wear more clothing and turn the heating down a little, put an electric underblanket on adult or older children's beds (cost pennies to run), fleecy blankets or a spare duvet on the sofa, if you run out of hot water for washing dishes boil a kettle instead of heating a whole tank.