Messy, expensive switching

GillyE

Late last year I used a comparison website to find out if it would be worth changing utility companies for my gas & electricity. I swapped from British Gas to npower (which seemed to take forever) and eventually (after 2 months) was with npower.

Predictably, British Gas contacted me stating they could give me an even better deal and money back if I returned to them and "persuaded" me to return to them.

My last direct debit payment to npower was on 18 February and I received emails stating my account with them was now finalised. This week, however, I received an email from npower stating my bill was available to view on-line but, after trying everything AND requesting username and password reminders (from which I never got reminder emails) I phoned them yesterday saying I had problems logging in. Even after going through security questions galore I was not advised how to log into my npower account, instead I was advised that my final bill with them was over £250.

I queried this as I have religiously paid my direct debits and needed to know how this amount has built up having given accurate meter readings and actually had a meter reader at the house and, having recently been made redundant, explained I could not pay this kind of money. There was no explanation offered for this huge debt and as I still cannot log into my account I cannot see for myself where this total has come from.

Can anyone give me any ideas where to go from here please?

Gillian

macman

Basic info needed. How long were you with npower, what were your opening and closing meter reads with them, and/or how many kWh have you been billed for on what tariff. How much have you paid against that period by DD? is the final bill based on an actual read?
Switching always takes 4-5 weeks, 2 months is unusual.

Nada666

Part of the process of switching is checking yourself what your balance is and whether you will be requesting money back or paying a final balance.

For the future, after switching, you should take a careful note of your opening readings that have been used by the new supplier (these are the dates and readings that they use for the new account - not the readings you supply on the date you apply to switch.) Either use the written notice they give you or, more often, a couple of months after the switch telephone them to confirm dates and readings.

With those opening reads, you can then every six months (or more often) check how much you have used and how much you have paid. You can then estimate the balance.

(Also, with npower's seasonal weighting, you pay an extra £75 odd over winter but pay £75 less over summer. In addition, if you have not stayed 12 months with npower, you will pay an extra £8.75 per month due to not receiving the annual dual fuel/direct debit discount.)

Wywth

GillyE wrote: »

Late last year I used a comparison website to find out if it would be worth changing utility companies for my gas & electricity. I swapped from British Gas to npower (which seemed to take forever) and eventually (after 2 months) was with npower.

Predictably, British Gas contacted me stating they could give me an even better deal and money back if I returned to them and "persuaded" me to return to them.

My last direct debit payment to npower was on 18 February and I received emails stating my account with them was now finalised. This week, however, I received an email from npower stating my bill was available to view on-line but, after trying everything AND requesting username and password reminders (from which I never got reminder emails) I phoned them yesterday saying I had problems logging in. Even after going through security questions galore I was not advised how to log into my npower account, instead I was advised that my final bill with them was over £250.

I queried this as I have religiously paid my direct debits and needed to know how this amount has built up having given accurate meter readings and actually had a meter reader at the house and, having recently been made redundant, explained I could not pay this kind of money. There was no explanation offered for this huge debt and as I still cannot log into my account I cannot see for myself where this total has come from.

Can anyone give me any ideas where to go from here please?

Gillian

If British Gas could genuinely offer you a better deal then nPower, it would have showed up when you used the comparison site

Contact nPower and explain your situation - they should be able to offer a proposal to help you pay the money you owe them.

GillyE

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I am now on a payment plan with npower but am told I cannot log into my account to see my bill as my plan has been stopped?! Apparently there is a £60 fee as well to terminate the plan as I wasn't with them long enough.

I WON'T BE SWAPPING SUPPLIER AGAIN FOR A VERY LONG TIME!!

macman

But you would have known that you would pay an ETC by going straight back to BG within your minimum term if you checked the T&C's? That's hardly npower's fault.
The 'expensive' error is yours, no fault of the switching process or the suppliers.
As for the bill, without your actual kWh figures it's impossible to say if it's correct or not.