Npower Online Price Fix February 2015

purplestar133

I am coming to the end of Scottish Power's Online Energy Fix July 2013. All comparison sites I have used today have brought Npower's Online Price Fix February 2015 up as the cheapest tariff for me.

I had looked at the unit prices and standing charges and it seemed a no brainer in comparison with the options SP gave. MSE's cheap energy club didn't give much info, but then I read EnergyHelpline's info about this tariff.

The discounts (£52.50 per year for gas and £42 for electricity. Dual fuel discount of £10.50 per year. Total discount of £105 per year) are only applied at the end of a full year with them.

"npower tariffs can include a large discount paid at the end of each year - anything from £42 to £105 a year. Therefore over the year you will save the money quoted, however, if you leave during the year you will lose the discount and some of your savings."

"The savings quoted include any discounts associated with this tariff. To qualify, you must take your supply from npower and pay by the same payment method for a full 12 month period – this period does not have to be a Jan-Dec calendar year. The discounts will be paid to you annually and will be credited to your account at the end of each full year that you remain with npower."

One of the attractions of this fix is the lack of early termination fees but, if I lose the discount by leaving, isn't this a form of termination fee?

So my questions are, if this discount is not spread across the months my monthly direct debit is likely to be substantially more than I pay now (bearing in mind the comparison sites quote the Npower tariff as £40ish cheaper than my current tariff - but they factor in the discount) - is that right?

Also, if I move to this tariff from the beginning of July, I will have one full 12 month period followed by an 8 month period before the fix ends, so will I receive the discount for that 8 month period?

Is there anyone who has taken up this tariff - or anyone else- who has any thoughts on this?

Npower rep - can you clarify?

dogshome

Well done for drilling down into the detail of n'powers Honey trap, but it's actually worse than that

n'power have a 6 monthly billing cycle on most of their tariffs - You join in July 12 and end your 12 months in June 2013, but you won't see the Cash-Back credit reflected until the following bill 6 months later, by which time you will have contributed for a further 5 months towards the next cash-back

MillicentBystander

purplestar133 wrote: »

I am coming to the end of Scottish Power's Online Energy Fix July 2013. All comparison sites I have used today have brought Npower's Online Price Fix February 2015 up as the cheapest tariff for me.

I had looked at the unit prices and standing charges and it seemed a no brainer in comparison with the options SP gave. MSE's cheap energy club didn't give much info, but then I read EnergyHelpline's info about this tariff.

The discounts (£52.50 per year for gas and £42 for electricity. Dual fuel discount of £10.50 per year. Total discount of £105 per year) are only applied at the end of a full year with them.

"npower tariffs can include a large discount paid at the end of each year - anything from £42 to £105 a year. Therefore over the year you will save the money quoted, however, if you leave during the year you will lose the discount and some of your savings."

"The savings quoted include any discounts associated with this tariff. To qualify, you must take your supply from npower and pay by the same payment method for a full 12 month period – this period does not have to be a Jan-Dec calendar year. The discounts will be paid to you annually and will be credited to your account at the end of each full year that you remain with npower."

One of the attractions of this fix is the lack of early termination fees but, if I lose the discount by leaving, isn't this a form of termination fee?

So my questions are, if this discount is not spread across the months my monthly direct debit is likely to be substantially more than I pay now (bearing in mind the comparison sites quote the Npower tariff as £40ish cheaper than my current tariff - but they factor in the discount) - is that right?

Also, if I move to this tariff from the beginning of July, I will have one full 12 month period followed by an 8 month period before the fix ends, so will I receive the discount for that 8 month period?

Is there anyone who has taken up this tariff - or anyone else- who has any thoughts on this?

Npower rep - can you clarify?

Been banging on about this for quite some time and you are quite right - this is an exit/termination fee by another name. And you'd be surprised how many posters who claim to be good at this sort of thing who actually miss it. It's npower's sneaky way of getting to the top of the switching sites, basically.

victor2

purplestar133 wrote: »

So my questions are, if this discount is not spread across the months my monthly direct debit is likely to be substantially more than I pay now (bearing in mind the comparison sites quote the Npower tariff as £40ish cheaper than my current tariff - but they factor in the discount) - is that right?

Also, if I move to this tariff from the beginning of July, I will have one full 12 month period followed by an 8 month period before the fix ends, so will I receive the discount for that 8 month period?

Their T&Cs suggest that they do take into account the annual discount when they calculate the monthly DD amount. But that does mean that if you leave early, not only do you lose the discount, but the chances are you will owe them money as you've been underpaying.

It's not so clear with the partial year at the end of the tariff. Maybe you only get it if you stay with them (on a new tariff), or maybe they pro-rata it at the end. One for the nPower rep.

I vowed I would never deal with them back in the days of their reps attempting to mug you in shopping centres and knocking on your door. I remember one salesman knocking at my door and telling me their records showed I bought my gas from British Gas, which I didn't at the time. When I told him he was wrong, he asked who I got my gas from, I told him that was my business and suggested he went on his way.
Another tried to tell me they could beat whatever rate I was on. I truthfully told him I was 2 years into a fixed 3 year tariff (happy days ) with a particular supplier. He admitted they couldn't beat that and departed.

I have heard nothing in recent years to indicate that their reputation has improved.

purplestar133

dogshome wrote: »

Well done for drilling down into the detail of n'powers Honey trap, but it's actually worse than that

n'power have a 6 monthly billing cycle on most of their tariffs - You join in July 12 and end your 12 months in June 2013, but you won't see the Cash-Back credit reflected until the following bill 6 months later, by which time you will have contributed for a further 5 months towards the next cash-back

Thanks for that. Let me guess, If I left before the discount from the first year was allocated, even though I'd been with them a full 12 months, I wouldn't get that discount because of the billing cycle?

Very sneaky. I nearly signed up! I have quite a high threshold for complicated deals in order to save money but this tariff seems to have too many ifs and buts and I feel as though I would be tying myself in knots signing up to it.

purplestar133

Thanks so much for all your responses. What would I do without you all?!

NPOWER REP: Could you answer these questions for me from the first post?

purplestar133 wrote: »

So my questions are, if this discount is not spread across the months my monthly direct debit is likely to be substantially more than I pay now (bearing in mind the comparison sites quote the Npower tariff as £40ish cheaper than my current tariff - but they factor in the discount) - is that right?

Also, if I move to this tariff from the beginning of July, I will have one full 12 month period followed by an 8 month period before the fix ends, so will I receive the discount for that 8 month period?

Wywth

purplestar133 wrote: »

...So my questions are, if this discount is not spread across the months my monthly direct debit is likely to be substantially more than I pay now (bearing in mind the comparison sites quote the Npower tariff as £40ish cheaper than my current tariff - but they factor in the discount) - is that right?

Also, if I move to this tariff from the beginning of July, I will have one full 12 month period followed by an 8 month period before the fix ends, so will I receive the discount for that 8 month period?...

Yes, the comparison sites usually include the monthly DD payment discount in their annual cost figure.
You need to add the amount of the discount to the annual cost shown and then divide that resulatnt figure by 12 to get a rough guide to your monthly DD amount you will pay over the first year.

The nPower discount is paid after each 12 month anniversary of you paying monthly by DD (where that discount applies). So if you only stay for 20 months in total, you will only get one rebate equivilent to 1 year DD discount.
You would need to stay for 24 months to get the second year DD discount.

HTH

zerog

npower will give you the discount on the same day they started supplying you each year.

If you want to switch away from them after a whole number of years, you should do this about 4 weeks before this date so that they stop supplying you just after you get your next discount.

The discount will show up on the next bill after that, which can be 5 months away (or years if they can't fix their computers).

The direct debit amount is based on the consumption figures you enter when you switch.

victor2

Wywth wrote: »

The nPower discount is paid after each 12 month anniversary of you paying monthly by DD (where that discount applies). So if you only stay for 20 months in total, you will only get one rebate equivilent to 1 year DD discount.
You would need to stay for 24 months to get the second year DD discount.

If that is the case, then hardly anyone will actually get the annual price quoted by the comparison sites. You'd have to start a tariff an exact number of years before its end date to do that.

It does indeed seem that nPower have found a way to con the comparison sites and everyone who uses them. My opinion of the company stands.

Wywth

victor2 wrote: »

If that is the case,

That is the case

victor2 wrote: »

then hardly anyone will actually get the annual price quoted by the comparison sites.

Every customer who pays 12 monthly DD payments (on an applicable tariff) will get the DD annual discount.

There is no discount for part years.

purplestar133

victor2 wrote: »

If that is the case, then hardly anyone will actually get the annual price quoted by the comparison sites. You'd have to start a tariff an exact number of years before its end date to do that.

It does indeed seem that nPower have found a way to con the comparison sites and everyone who uses them. My opinion of the company stands.

So to work out how much this tariff will cost me I would need to add the estimated cost of the first year with discount to the estimated cost of 8 months without a discount. Then I could divide that by 20 to see roughly how much I would pay each month?

EDIT:Oops, had meant to quote Wywth...but I do agree with you Victor2