Npower Online Price Fix February 2015

victor2

purplestar133 wrote: »

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?

Exactly.
Or in other words you get the annual discount multiplied by the number of years you have been in contract ROUNDED DOWN to the last full year.

Charade

purplestar133 wrote: »

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?

Correct, HOWEVER after the first year you would get discount, and, as there is no exit fee, you can look for another (better) tariff to change to after the 12 months.

And NO I don't work for Npower, I just play them against the others and they always more or less seem to win my business.

As an aside - I am actually slightly concerned as in a post to a previous question I was actually thanked by an Npower representative. Honestly this is the last thing I want, to the point of changing supplier as a matter of principle.

Back to the reply - So if this tariff is right for you now, go for it and re-think in 12 months time. They have to give you the discount in your settlement bill as you've been with them for 12 months.

AndyW

chanz4

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

I found that if you enter a read the day after 1 months, it bills and gives you the discount

purplestar133

Charade wrote: »

Correct, HOWEVER after the first year you would get discount, and, as there is no exit fee, you can look for another (better) tariff to change to after the 12 months.

Back to the reply - So if this tariff is right for you now, go for it and re-think in 12 months time. They have to give you the discount in your settlement bill as you've been with them for 12 months.

AndyW

Yes, I could do that. Or I could switch to the EDF price promise tariff that is fixed until Feb 2015 aswell which - though I haven't read the full details yet but I will - I presume doesn't have any nasty surprises like this Npower one does. Comparison sites say I will save £14 ish against the new tariff Scottish Power are offering on the EDF deal. That saving could easily be swallowed up by a change in usage - who knows how much gas we'll need to use - but I suppose it is a 20 month fix as opposed to a 12 month fix with Npower (if I were to leave Npower after a year).

Prices will undoubtedly be higher in 12 months so I suppose it might make sense to go with EDF for a longer discount, even if it costs roughly the same or less than the deal being offered by Scottish Power.

Thinking out loud here! Find it hard to make decisions!

Charade

Greetings Purplestar133

I know what you mean. This is why I've stayed with Npower for whar seems like forever. For £14 even £40 I feel that it's probably better the devil you know. If Scottish Power's not REALLY upset you (managed to sort out DD's, problems & queries without real geat distress) then I woulds say stay with them.

Just out of curiosity, what "nasty surprises" are you expecting?

However in my expereience, S Power's unit prices are really quite cheap against other suppliers BUT please check their Daily Standing Charge (DSC) which on occasion I've found to be double other suppliers. In fact I've found the DSC for a lot of suppliers makes a tremendous difference to a lot of tariffs from a lot of suppliers.

AndyW

nPower

purplestar133 wrote: »

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?

Hi purplestar133,

Sorry for not coming back to you sooner - here are the answers to your questions:

...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?

When we calculate the monthly DD amount we factor in the discount so your payment is reduced by just over £8 per month

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?

Direct debit discount is accrued over 12 months, if you leave mid-year you are not entitled to the discount for that year and this will be reflected in your final bill.

Hope this helps,

Adam

Charade

nPower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi purplestar133,
When we calculate the monthly DD amount we factor in the discount so your payment is reduced by just over £8 per month

With all respect that Npower and it's representatives deserve, I have been told different to the above on virtually every occasion I've "discussed" direct debit amounts - twice a year at least for too many years.

Whenever I've mentioned the DD discount and it should be factored into my monthly DD amount, the answer has always been (words to the effect of) "we have to cover ourselves against loss" or "we don't include that in our DD calculations because you could leave us before the discount is due and you would owe us money"

It happened only the other day when I changed my tariff to Fix Feb 2015 even though the DD amount is the same. The Customer Service rep said it would be "reviewed" next Bill.

So Adam, regarding the quote above is this something "New" that Gareth Pickles has initiated? or have I been "misled" (polite) all these years.

Another question for Adam at npower - how can Npower calculate my usage and therefore my DD amount when on my latest Bill dated only a few days ago (bear in mind I've been with Npower for many years) states under Your Average Daily Consumption on the Bill "We currently don't have enough data to compare your energy usage - when we have enough data we'll show this comparison"? You've had in excess of 5 years worth of data.

AndyW

[Deleted User]

Looking at my npower bills I have to say that it is very comprehensive and shows a breakdown of exactly how your bill is made up and how the discounts apply.

Have to say I'm completely bemused by this yet another npower bashing thread...

Been with npower for years and have always had the best price and excellent customer service unlike much of the competition. Indeed the new npower customer website is superb

Charade

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Looking at my npower bills I have to say that it is very comprehensive and shows a breakdown of exactly how your bill is made up and how the discounts apply.

Have to say I'm completely bemused by this yet another npower bashing thread...

Been with npower for years and have always had the best price and excellent customer service unlike much of the competition. Indeed the new npower customer website is superb

Not sure if this an "Npower bashing thread" - it seems you've got me wrong for one. If anything I'm standing up for Npower. I know that there are some that fervently detest them, but basically all energy companies appear to be the same if the stories told here are true. I've been with Npower since they "merged" with MEB - don't know when the merger was but the two combined has been a total of 35 years - BUT...

... I don't believe the customer service has been "excellent" at any time other than recently (which I have to admit is a vast improvement). In my opinion at most it has been just above incompetent.

For example, a year or two back I changed tariff within Npower, had the confirmation letter within a few days and they took the first DD payment of the new tariff - all looked well. After a week or so I casually checked my account online - as we all should do if possible - and found that I was on standard tariff electricity not the online tariff we'd discussed and not even Economy7 which is what I "signed" for and as the letter confirmed. Got that sorted quickly I can tell you.

As for the bills, out of my last 14 bills, 7 of them don't have "sufficient data" to tell me my consumption.

I stay with Npower because it's better the Devil you know for me and by and large they have the best prices that suit my needs; I don't stay with them because of loyalty.

AndyW

MillicentBystander

jeepjunkie wrote: »

Looking at my npower bills I have to say that it is very comprehensive and shows a breakdown of exactly how your bill is made up and how the discounts apply.

Have to say I'm completely bemused by this yet another npower bashing thread...

Been with npower for years and have always had the best price and excellent customer service unlike much of the competition. Indeed the new npower customer website is superb

Telling the truth/pointing out sneaky T&Cs = bashing?? Don't think so. Fact is AFAIA npower are the only energy supplier who have this £105 annual discount paid in arrears which is included in the figure you see on teh switching sites so it's obviously going to be controversial when people who know what they are talking about discuss npower.

PS You only have to observe how badly npower have done in the various satisfaction surveys for the past few years to realise not everyone has the same positive experience as you.