Switching npower tariff with £550 debt - or change suppliers?

always29

We've been low gas & electric users historically but just received our 6 monthly bill from np and was :eek: Stupidly I didn't check the last one which was based on estimates which were both too low so we now have a £550 debt after dd's of £58 pm it's now going to £175, mainly due to the electric. Our average usage has gone from 9kw per day 2011/12 to 15kw the last 12 months which we need to sort. Would np let us switch to a better tariff to lower this new dd or pay the debt quicker? Or switch but repay over say 6 months? Our current tariff is go save S.

macman

Yes, you can switch tariffs with debt on the account. What you can't do is switch suppliers if it's over about £200. The outgoing supplier will block it.

always29

thanks macman, using the comparison thingummy's have applied for npowers price fix may 2014 as came up as the best npower deal - hopefully they'll accept us and it'll save a tenner or month. And this time I'll make sure I check they actually use the meter readings that I am convinced I gave them.

Wywth

always29 wrote: »

We've been low gas & electric users historically but just received our 6 monthly bill from np and was :eek: Stupidly I didn't check the last one which was based on estimates which were both too low so we now have a £550 debt after dd's of £58 pm it's now going to £175, mainly due to the electric. Our average usage has gone from 9kw per day 2011/12 to 15kw the last 12 months which we need to sort. Would np let us switch to a better tariff to lower this new dd or pay the debt quicker? Or switch but repay over say 6 months? Our current tariff is go save S.

£58pm or about £600 a year is quite low, but not abnormally so. - We use about the same.

However what is abnormal is for someone who previously used this amount to use £900 worth in half a year without knowing it. :cool:

(Even allowing for the last bill being estimated, you still have at least doubled your annual consumption)

I suggest you start investigating how you have used this large extra amount, or investigate the accuracy of your meter, or investigate the accuracy of your declared previous usage.

always29

Wywth wrote: »

£58pm or about £600 a year is quite low, but not abnormally so. - We use about the same.

However what is abnormal is for someone who previously used this amount to use £900 worth in half a year without knowing it. :cool:

(Even allowing for the last bill being estimated, you still have at least doubled your annual consumption)

I suggest you start investigating how you have used this large extra amount, or investigate the accuracy of your meter, or investigate the accuracy of your declared previous usage.

On further checking this morning, the meter readings on the electric have been estimated since September 2011 but the gas was read by npower in Sept 2012 and again in Jan 2013, stupidly I assumed that when I let them in to read meters they would be reading both and I'd not checked the bills. We had an an ancient immersion heater removed in summer 2010 which dramatically dropped our electric but revamped the ground floor and had quite a few halogen lights and electric underfloor heating installed in summer 2011 which is probably the guzzler. Our gas is about 40% below average by this data http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/FactSheets/Documents1/domestic%20energy%20consump%20fig%20FS.pdf but our electric over, using our readings since we switched in Sept 2010.

MillicentBystander

Halogen lighting and electric underfloor heating. Yikes. :eek:

macman

If the reads you submit don't tally with previous (estimated) billings (maybe the actuals are much higher or much lower), then the system rejects them as presumed erroneous, and substitutes it's own further estimates. And so the cycle continues with an eventual big catch-up bill. Which is why it's so important to submit readings quarterly-and make sure you are actually billed against those readings.

always29

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Halogen lighting and electric underfloor heating. Yikes. :eek:

Am now going to investigate purchasing cheap LED halogen bulbs! Am not sooo bothered about the cost of the underfloor heating as our gas use is so much below average and this works a lot better for the area but I have checked and changed the timers so it's on for about 75% of what it was, hopefully off completely soon should winter ever be over.

Macman - certainly learnt my reading meters and checking bills moral here, I used to be really efficient but in a house with 2 toddlers, paperwork slips sometimes.

Fire_Fox

LEDs are useless unless you pay a small fortune for them and even then most will give decorative not functional light. Consider switching to lower energy halogens, you can get ordinary 35W in GU10 and MR16 if you are using 50W but you will obviously lose some light. Also specific energy saving ranges like Philips Masterline ES and Osram Decostar ES exist, these are supposed to provide the same light for less - I think by wasting less as heat - 35W is equivalent to 50W.

However unless you have a lot of halogen lamps, this really won't save the amount of energy that cutting back on electric heating and having shorter power showers would.

[Deleted User]

I've been switching away from MR16 halogens to MR16 LEDs and have to say the LEDs are superior in every way possible. The cost is not high as if you use quidco you can get a great discount from Ledhut with free delivery

Just one of many ways to reduce consumption.