npower billing system up the swanny

Inigo_Montoya

was expecting my 6 monthly bill tomorrow so as i had not received a meter reads email reminder I tried to enter them online

Got a screen saying they cannot accept reads until April 17th as they are moving to a new billing system

have a feeling there will be a lot of customers with billing issues for the next few months at least (in addition to the usual number of course)

moving to another supplier at the moment could be a bit of a nightmare if they are unable to generate bills

briskly_2

Seems to me that Npower have had a flood of people switching from them due to the huge new standing charge and either can't cope or want to try to slow things down. Isn't it bordering on the illegal?

NeoVR2k6

Ive just been stung by this trying to close the account as ive moved house - the advisor had to take the details manually and said it could be the end of April before i get confirmation.

Nada666

briskly wrote: »

Seems to me that Npower have had a flood of people switching from them due to the huge new standing charge and either can't cope or want to try to slow things down. Isn't it bordering on the illegal?

A delay is in the customer's favour - the longer they take, the longer you receive the old price (provided notification has been given.)

dickydonkin

Inigo_Montoya wrote: »

have a feeling there will be a lot of customers with billing issues for the next few months at least (in addition to the usual number of course)

Tell me about it! :mad:

I had to inherit British Gas when we moved recently however, (foolishly) I decided to take NPower with us.

After sending in our meter readings (twice) when the transfer was to take place, we later received bills from the outgoing British Gas and an up to date record from Npower of what energy we had used in the first few weeks.

The 'actual' meter readings on the bill were a total fabrication which (unsurprisingly) were significantly higher than the 'real' readings.

In effect - because they sent false readings to British Gas and used the very same false readings on their own bill, we were paying twice for the energy we had not even used - although I accept that the readings would rectify themselves with npower later in the year.

After trying to contact their CS via telephone and selected the complaints option, there was apparently an 18 minute wait so I hung on regardless. Waited about 10 minutes and was cut off!

I tried to submit a complaint on their website - logged into my acount, 'sent' the form but received a message that 'npower.com is 'not working' and the message was not sent - this happened twice with two different browsers (in case the fault was at my end).

I am just beginning to wonder if they are attempting to supress the number of complaints they are obviously receiving by cutting people off their phones or blocking online complaints - and basically just pi**ing everyone off so they give up - or is this me just being cynical?........or avoiding another whopping fine from Ofgem for the amount of complaints they received a couple of years ago.

A truly inept and incompetent organisation and I will be moving elsewhere - although fire and frying pan spring to mind!

People - if you move home or change supplier - please please keep a record of your meter readings.

zerog

dickydonkin wrote: »

Tell me about it! :mad:

I had to inherit British Gas when we moved recently however, (foolishly) I decided to take NPower with us.

After sending in our meter readings (twice) when the transfer was to take place, we later received bills from the outgoing British Gas and an up to date record from Npower of what energy we had used in the first few weeks.

The 'actual' meter readings on the bill were a total fabrication which (unsurprisingly) were significantly higher than the 'real' readings.

In effect - because they sent false readings to British Gas and used the very same false readings on their own bill, we were paying twice for the energy we had not even used - although I accept that the readings would rectify themselves with npower later in the year.

After trying to contact their CS via telephone and selected the complaints option, there was apparently an 18 minute wait so I hung on regardless. Waited about 10 minutes and was cut off!

I tried to submit a complaint on their website - logged into my acount, 'sent' the form but received a message that 'npower.com is 'not working' and the message was not sent - this happened twice with two different browsers (in case the fault was at my end).

I am just beginning to wonder if they are attempting to supress the number of complaints they are obviously receiving by cutting people off their phones or blocking online complaints - and basically just pi**ing everyone off so they give up - or is this me just being cynical?

A truly inept and incompetent organisation and I will be moving elsewhere - although fire and frying pan spring to mind!

People - if you move home or change supplier - please please keep a record of your meter readings.

Same experience here. Still waiting for my second bill after 9 months.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig

Unfortunately, there are many issues with npower's 'new system' as documented in the long thread:

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

An early symptom of the 'broken system' was their inability to send out Contracts.
The 'new system' has lost Customer's data. There are also issues with DDs and Billing.

See the 80 most recent posts for some examples.

As npower are using a 'broken system' there are, naturally, many Posts (in the thread above and other linked threads) about difficulty in contacting npower. I advise you to be proactive in your dealings, the Customer Service staff are also having to use the 'broken system'.

I recently had to phone them to make sure my DD was set correctly: see Post #181.

Inigo_Montoya wrote:

... Got a screen saying they cannot accept reads until April 17th as they are moving to a new billing system ...

I speculate that, perhaps, npower may have closed 'submitting online readings' so that Customers and npower's Customer Service staff talk to each other and so avoid further issues.

Of course, if the 'system was working well' npower could keep the 'submit online readings' open.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig

joncombe

After trying to contact their CS via telephone and selected the complaints option, there was apparently an 18 minute wait so I hung on regardless. Waited about 10 minutes and was cut off!

I rang earlier this week and was told the wait was "More than 45 minutes" and to ring back during the quietest period of 1pm to 4pm on weekdays - which was exactly the time window I was calling in! However I was given the option to leave my number and be called back, which surprisingly did happen. I was calling their 0800 number though, I wonder if that is related? I suspect having people hold for 45 minutes on a free number costs them more than calling people back.

zerog

joncombe wrote: »

I rang earlier this week and was told the wait was "More than 45 minutes" and to ring back during the quietest period of 1pm to 4pm on weekdays - which was exactly the time window I was calling in! However I was given the option to leave my number and be called back, which surprisingly did happen. I was calling their 0800 number though, I wonder if that is related? I suspect having people hold for 45 minutes on a free number costs them more than calling people back.

If you're feeling vindictive you can always get them to call you back and then call again and "hold" for 45 mins (while you use your time for something more productive)

nPower

Inigo_Montoya wrote: »

was expecting my 6 monthly bill tomorrow so as i had not received a meter reads email reminder I tried to enter them online

Got a screen saying they cannot accept reads until April 17th as they are moving to a new billing system

have a feeling there will be a lot of customers with billing issues for the next few months at least (in addition to the usual number of course)

moving to another supplier at the moment could be a bit of a nightmare if they are unable to generate bills

Hi Inigo Montoya,

I appreciate that this may feel frustrating for you as you're having to wait a little while to be able to give us meter readings.

This weekend we're moving our final group of customers to our new billing platform. Ultimately, this system will greatly enhance customer experience but, we have had to close down systems to ensure the final switch over goes as smoothly as possible.

Please bear with us and thanks for your patience.

Adam

Minihauk

Hmm. I had been with npower for about 18 months without issue. My tariff expired in September, so they moved me to another, which was much worse for me financially. I chose another online tariff and tried to switch to that. Nothing was done, so I tried to transfer again. Nothing. I rang them and they said they had a backlog.
Eventually the change went through, then they decided to up my dd. They took the first month at the new amount, and I called to ask them to put it back down as my new tariff was supposedly cheaper than the old one. They did, but have not taken any payments since! I have just realised I have not paid anything since they took the December DD, which means I am left owing them, and somehow it is my fault!!
I don't hold out much hope that the new system will be any better.
Get a grip npower. Under the terms of my new tariff I will be penalised if I try to change supplier. I think by about £35. I'll check on 1 May but if the dd still hasn't been taken I shall move.