Npower doubled my direct debit

AliceBanned

bad customer relations.:D

I have lived here for 7 years and I know prices have risen but no other company has made me pay anything as ludicrous. For a one bed flat?!!

Nada666

Sorry, you are not providing any information to counter the reasonableness of the suggested instalment. Again, you do not deny that £790 is an accurate estimate. You are not overpaying.

If you do not want to pay your annual bill over twelve equal payments then do not subscribe to direct debit schemes. There is nothing unreasonable with wanting customers to be in credit. If you disagree, switch to a different payment method.

There are plenty of threads posting unfathomable and unjustifiable direct debit computer calculations here. Unfortunately yours is not one of them - yours suggests a fair and accurate payment.

McKneff

AliceBanned wrote: »

Thanks McKneff. Their prediction is that I will spend £789.38 on elec and gas over the next 12 months. Inc VAT. So it's ridiculous that they will charge me this until next statement on 23 September. it just means I will be overpaying.

Despite the higher charges I may change next time to a quarterly bill.:(

Yes but you also have to add the arrears to that figure and then divide by 12, I haven't got a calculator to hand or I would do it.

Nada666

AliceBanned wrote: »

I have lived here for 7 years and I know prices have risen but no other company has made me pay anything as ludicrous. For a one bed flat?!!

What are you talking about? £66 is a very modest sum for a one bedroom flat. Again, do you deny you would use £790 over a year?

If you have lived there from seven years then provide the data - tell us your average usage over the seven years and tell us how little you think those many kWhs should cost.

McKneff

Youre making the mistake of looking at the monthly payment instead of the annual amount

All those other companies will be just round about the same now as what yu are paying.

paulineb_2

Npower put my direct debit up to £70. I owe them a sum of money due to my bills being massively underestimated for a while so they put up my DD to £70 over the winter months. Im on a low income and it was just too much. I got it put down to £58. If I wasnt paying the repayment to them they have estimated that I use about £10 a month in electricity and £40 a month in gas. My mum doesnt use much gas, she has radiators like me but hers is more cost efficient, she owns her home, Im in a council flat, they sent her bill saying she would use about £2000 a year on gas, no way will she use that amount.

The reason Im staying with npower for now is because I get a £100 dual fuel discount credit after a year plus £40 a year discount for being dual fuel. They are also introducing a new rate for gas and electricity after may because of the new standing charges.

Ive found them to be reasonable enough when talking to them, oh, except when they went into my bank account and took the entire amount I owed them, which was about £180 in one sum without writing and telling me, I had to get the bank to reverse it and ask them if I could pay it up as I couldnt afford to pay it in one lump sum. I dont agree really with them putting your payments up over the winter although I can understand why they do it but given that people do burn less in the summer, bills should even themselves out over the year.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig

paulineb wrote:

... ... Ive found them to be reasonable enough when talking to them, oh, except when they went into my bank account and took the entire amount I owed them, which was about £180 in one sum without writing and telling me, I had to get the bank to reverse it and ask them if I could pay it up as I couldnt afford to pay it in one lump sum. I dont agree really with them putting your payments up over the winter although I can understand why they do it but given that people do burn less in the summer, bills should even themselves out over the year.

Hi paulineb,

Can I ask: "When did this happen? Was this in the last few months?"
The reason I am asking is npower have been introducing a 'new system'.
An early 'symptom' that it was not fit for purpose was that the 'new system' could not send Customer their Contracts. Since then we have, unfortunately, seen other issues with the billing side - which is even more concerning.

See the long thread:

Warning: npower accept new customers without sending them a Contract
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4273611

TheSilentOne, who used to work for npower, said in Post #168

"... It seems that this 'new system' is making yet another mistake. For an unknown number of customers accounts the Direct debit is not only taking out the monthly amount as normal but also taking out the full balance on the account. ..."

It seems, from what you have posted, that you may have experienced this.
As Ofgem are monitoring the thread - your evidence, of when npower unexpectedly took £180 from you, will help all of us.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig

Fire_Fox

AliceBanned wrote: »

On my calculation it should be £65 pm which is a bit better but I guess they are taking the arrears. Just think they should be a bit less extreme; an end of winter statement is bound to be in arrears.

Many suppliers have a policy of avoiding you being in arrears at the end of the winter, they want you to be in credit at the start and be roughly zero by the end. They are not aiming to offer you credit they are offering you an easy payment system with DDs. If you want credit you pay extra for quarterly bills.

If you move house or switch suppliers you will need to pay the arrears off in full. Best thing to do in future is read the meters monthly and supply the readings: this can generate a bill so you don't need to calculate it. Then either ask for the DD to be adjusted or cut back on your usage if you do not wish to pay more.

You are paying that for a one bedroom flat because it has been an long, cold winter and you have not adjusted your habits to keep bills down, that is not the supplier's fault. From what you are saying it appears you are in arrears by almost one quarter of your annual use which is huge, you are three months behind.

AliceBanned

Nada666 wrote: »

Sorry, you are not providing any information to counter the reasonableness of the suggested instalment. Again, you do not deny that £790 is an accurate estimate. You are not overpaying.

If you do not want to pay your annual bill over twelve equal payments then do not subscribe to direct debit schemes. There is nothing unreasonable with wanting customers to be in credit. If you disagree, switch to a different payment method.

There are plenty of threads posting unfathomable and unjustifiable direct debit computer calculations here. Unfortunately yours is not one of them - yours suggests a fair and accurate payment.

Of course it is unreasonable for me to be in credit!! The direct debit does not allow them to demand too much. My other point is that if they do and won't have a more human approach, i simply switch to companies I have dealt with before, so it's downright stupid of them, when I've always paid on time.

Mine does NOT suggest a fair and accurate payment - for 3 months perhaps, but not until September. Why should I struggle to pay double the amount I'm used to, just to let Npower have the money in advance? That's not the point of direct debit. I'm happy to clear the balance and avoid going into debt but suggesting I stay in credit is unfair, especially when it doubles my bill overnight.

That is my argument to counter the reasonableness of the instalment. You don't have to like it. I happen to know they have know right to keep my money in advance. And other companies have understood this is a courtesy as much as anything, and not such a heavy handed approach.

AliceBanned

Nada666 wrote: »

What are you talking about? £66 is a very modest sum for a one bedroom flat. Again, do you deny you would use £790 over a year?

If you have lived there from seven years then provide the data - tell us your average usage over the seven years and tell us how little you think those many kWhs should cost.

It's a modest flat, extremely well insulated. I only have the heating on in the evenings.

I've never kept records of the KWhs. The energy companies tend to be wilfully ambiguous over costs; with different standing charges, etc it is almost impossible to calculate how much the bills will be, so I've not monitored my use but agree it would be a start. Just never had a shock bill like that. May be due to the longer winter. Or something wrong with my boiler perhaps. I did notice some of the radiators getting too hot and I had to turn them down, which is ridiculous. I's a rented flat so not sure what I can do.