Changed supplier in January just got a whopping final bill!

youth_leader

Feel absolutely sick - changed energy supplier in January from Npower to Ifix and all these months later have just had the final bill from Npower - £600. We had a direct debit for £100 a month but had such a bad winter this year. Nice man said best to do changes in the summer, hope no-one else gets caught like us.

Hasbeen

youth_leader wrote: »

Feel absolutely sick - changed energy supplier in January from Npower to Ifix and all these months later have just had the final bill from Npower - £600. We had a direct debit for £100 a month but had such a bad winter this year. Nice man said best to do changes in the summer, hope no-one else gets caught like us.

In future put in actual usage every month to supplier
Do not rely on estimates etc:)

Wywth

youth_leader wrote: »

Feel absolutely sick - changed energy supplier in January from Npower to Ifix and all these months later have just had the final bill from Npower - £600. We had a direct debit for £100 a month but had such a bad winter this year. Nice man said best to do changes in the summer, hope no-one else gets caught like us.

Only those who don't supply regular meter readings and/or provide actual meter readings when estimated ones have been used for billing are likely to be caught out like you

You probably also lost out on up to £105 in DD discount as well, depending on how far from your anniversary date you were.

TTC40

I think NPowers systems are rubbish - I have just resolved an outstanding bill with them despite moving over a year a go.

I had to fight to get the final bill sent - my monthly payments weren't getting credited. I owed them money & was ready to pay but they weren't getting it sorted.

Wywth

TTC40 wrote: »

I think NPowers systems are rubbish - I have just resolved an outstanding bill with them despite moving over a year a go.

I had to fight to get the final bill sent - my monthly payments weren't getting credited. I owed them money & was ready to pay but they weren't getting it sorted.

When we were with nPower, we experienced no issues with their billing system.

They issued a final bill (and balancing cheque) within a month of leaving them.
Admittedly this was incorrect, but a simple phone call got them to issue a revision.

If they had not done so, I would have raised a formal complaint ... and if that was not resolved within 8 weeks I'd have gone to the ombudsman. I doubt even with the ombudsman long waiting lists, it wouldn't have taken anything like a year to resolve.

There is nothing in the OP to suggest any billing error.

youth_leader

Thanks for your replies - since I wrote I've been saved, so lucky I've just got a two week booking on our self catering cottage attached to our house, should cover it.
We've got an old railway station (listed II, single glazed, have had attic space lagged but recent gales show that roof desperately needs doing as tiles have moved) with four bedrooms and we were paying £250 a month - they then suggested the lesser payment of £100 which was paid by direct debit. As you say problem was because we were estimated in the August 2012 and the first reading was taken in January following this recent cold winter - it's been a wake up call. Have to have the heating on in case the pipes freeze - not sure what to do next really, we are oil and electric only here.

Do have to give regular readings to Ifix now so shouldn't ever have the problem again - but this involves me clearing out the cupboard, getting a chair and the torch, and persuading my husband to stand on the chair to read our meter which is too high for me. Why did they used to put them so high up?

Thanks for the help, cheers.

ihateyes

youth_leader wrote: »

Why did they used to put them so high up?

Thanks for the help, cheers.

This baffles me as well..... how does the wee 75yr old lady on a prepay meter climb up to credit meter!?

MillicentBystander

Wywth wrote: »

1) When we were with nPower, we experienced no issues with their billing system.

2) They issued a final bill (and balancing cheque) within a month of leaving them.
Admittedly this was incorrect, but a simple phone call got them to issue a revision.

If they had not done so, I would have raised a formal complaint ... and if that was not resolved within 8 weeks I'd have gone to the ombudsman. I doubt even with the ombudsman long waiting lists, it wouldn't have taken anything like a year to resolve.

There is nothing in the OP to suggest any billing error.

Surely 2) contradicts 1) here?

PS Wywth, finally got round to finding the insurance company (can't now find the relevant thread so thought I'd post it here) that let me insure my late father's empty house - it was HSBC Insurance.

MillicentBystander

youth_leader wrote: »

Thanks for your replies - since I wrote I've been saved, so lucky I've just got a two week booking on our self catering cottage attached to our house, should cover it.
We've got an old railway station (listed II, single glazed, have had attic space lagged but recent gales show that roof desperately needs doing as tiles have moved) with four bedrooms and we were paying £250 a month - they then suggested the lesser payment of £100 which was paid by direct debit. As you say problem was because we were estimated in the August 2012 and the first reading was taken in January following this recent cold winter - it's been a wake up call. Have to have the heating on in case the pipes freeze - not sure what to do next really, we are oil and electric only here.

Do have to give regular readings to Ifix now so shouldn't ever have the problem again - but this involves me clearing out the cupboard, getting a chair and the torch, and persuading my husband to stand on the chair to read our meter which is too high for me. Why did they used to put them so high up?

Thanks for the help, cheers.

Energy supplier's worst nightmare would probably be legislation forcing builders to put both meters in a very prominent position in the living room because it would reduce consumption massively. My guess is they (and/or their shareholders) prefer the 'out of sight out of mind' approach.

insanegloss

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Energy supplier's worst nightmare would probably be legislation forcing builders to put both meters in a very prominent position in the living room because it would reduce consumption massively. My guess is they (and/or their shareholders) prefer the 'out of sight out of mind' approach.

Total rubbish.

Smart meters in home displays (you put them where you want generally) show the consumption in very easy formats including the actual costs. You can't get more front and centre than that!

Suppliers aren't interested in getting people in debt, as its money owed and not in their accounts so being front and centre with usage is key to reducing bad debt.

ic

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Energy supplier's worst nightmare would probably be legislation forcing builders to put both meters in a very prominent position in the living room because it would reduce consumption massively. My guess is they (and/or their shareholders) prefer the 'out of sight out of mind' approach.

You'll probably find the badly positioned meters all live in old houses where they were installed wherever was convenient at the time. New builds always (?) have externally accessible cabinets allowing the meter reader access without having to bother anybody. Don't forget privatisation happened in the early 90s.