NPower Problems

vsl2603

In February 2013 I transfered my gas and electricity supply from British Gas to NPower.

I attempted to set up a direct debit with them but they were unable to do this due to me moving to a new computer system so the direct debit had to be set up manually.

Finally in May I received a letter stating that the direct debit had been set up and I was to pay £42 per month for my gas and electricity and the first payment would be taken in June.

In the middle of June I received a bill for 300.43 and a few days later I had a letter from npower saying my direct debit had been cancelled.

As the bill was estimated these figures were way out so I submitted the correct ones online and waited for an amended bill.

This never arrived then I received a letter today saying they are chasing the payment and that they have a right to enter my home to install pre-payment meters.

I immediately rang customer services as I was extremely concerned and was told they had no meter readings from the middle of June and I gave them the meter readings as they are now, this has pushed my bill up to £421.00.

The lady I spoke to in customer services was helpful but couldn't offer much of a solution, any direct debit amount would take into account the bill as it stood, so instead of basing it on the £300 they were now basing it on £421.

The direct debit amount they quoted was £101 per month, I said this I couldn't afford as I am on benefits and and that is nearly 2 weeks money for me. They mentioned something called direct payments which would mean I paid back the outstanding balance at a minimum amount per week. The quote they came back with was £108.80 per month, more than the direct debit amount.

When I queried why it took so long to set up the direct debit in the first place I was told it was just one of those things.

I have agreed to the £101 per month just to stop the letters but its money I can't afford as I have to top up rent which went up last month as well as paying towards council tax.

So it looks like npower have ensured I will be faced the choice of paying for my energy over buying food.

To be honest I am not at all happy, all npower seemed interested in was recovering the money, yes I recognise I need to pay for what I use but it was partly their fault in the first place for not setting up the direct debit until May, and before anyone asks, I did keep ringing them asking about it but I was told it was nothing to worry about and I wouldn't be hit with a huge bill, well how wrong those people were.

Not sure if anyone can offer any advice at all or am I just stuck with the situation.

Thanks

dogshome

By now I'm sure that you, and most cerainly n'power, have realised that a £42 monthly D/Debit isn't enough to pay for the amount of Elec/Gas you are using a year - A very rough guess puts it at around £990 worth a year - £83 a month

The Direct Debit failed because of "....me moving to a new computer system"
should this not be N'power moving to a new computer system ?
They actually have done and it's a real mess

To sort this out you need to WRITE a letter headed Complaint
1) Your annual cash-back from n'power, (Worth around £100) is dependant on you having paid 12 consecutive monthly D/Debit in 12 months, but even though D/Debits collection failure is the fault of n'power, as things stand at the moment you will not get a Cash-Back credit - You require that n'power advise you in writing that the annual cashy-back credit will be applied to this years account

2) Although part of the present debt situation has been caused by under estimation of your useage some of the debt is due to n'powers failure to collect Direct Debits.
N'powers demands for immediate payment are not reasonable and according to Ofgem, n'powers repayment programme should consider your financial circumstances

Bearing in mind the reality is that your true annual bill justifies a monthly D/D of around £83, work out what you can afford to over & above this sum to clear the debt over time, and include details of your income to back up your figures

With a Complaint letter on file, all demands and threats should cease till the matter has been sorted out

nPower

vsl2603 wrote: »

In February 2013 I transfered my gas and electricity supply from British Gas to NPower.

I attempted to set up a direct debit with them but they were unable to do this due to me moving to a new computer system so the direct debit had to be set up manually.

Finally in May I received a letter stating that the direct debit had been set up and I was to pay £42 per month for my gas and electricity and the first payment would be taken in June.

In the middle of June I received a bill for 300.43 and a few days later I had a letter from npower saying my direct debit had been cancelled.

As the bill was estimated these figures were way out so I submitted the correct ones online and waited for an amended bill.

This never arrived then I received a letter today saying they are chasing the payment and that they have a right to enter my home to install pre-payment meters.

I immediately rang customer services as I was extremely concerned and was told they had no meter readings from the middle of June and I gave them the meter readings as they are now, this has pushed my bill up to £421.00.

The lady I spoke to in customer services was helpful but couldn't offer much of a solution, any direct debit amount would take into account the bill as it stood, so instead of basing it on the £300 they were now basing it on £421.

The direct debit amount they quoted was £101 per month, I said this I couldn't afford as I am on benefits and and that is nearly 2 weeks money for me. They mentioned something called direct payments which would mean I paid back the outstanding balance at a minimum amount per week. The quote they came back with was £108.80 per month, more than the direct debit amount.

When I queried why it took so long to set up the direct debit in the first place I was told it was just one of those things.

I have agreed to the £101 per month just to stop the letters but its money I can't afford as I have to top up rent which went up last month as well as paying towards council tax.

So it looks like npower have ensured I will be faced the choice of paying for my energy over buying food.

To be honest I am not at all happy, all npower seemed interested in was recovering the money, yes I recognise I need to pay for what I use but it was partly their fault in the first place for not setting up the direct debit until May, and before anyone asks, I did keep ringing them asking about it but I was told it was nothing to worry about and I wouldn't be hit with a huge bill, well how wrong those people were.

Not sure if anyone can offer any advice at all or am I just stuck with the situation.

Thanks

Hi vsl2603,

This doesn't sound too good and I'd like to take a look into this for you and see if there's anything more we can do.

Please can you pop me an email (address is on my profile page) with your details?

Best wishes,

Adam

parcival

These issues with NPower are very common. I personally would not 'pop' any details to the NPower rep on here but rather raise a formal letter of complaint to the NPower Executive complaints team.

We have had very similar issues around billing and Direct Debits. These were eventually resolved but only by NPower agreeing that things had gone pear shaped and writing our outstanding balance off.

Do not accept bills that do not add up - insist on a correct bill and only pay if you get one...

Jonesy88

I agree with the above - you are entitled to a correct bill.

I just wanted to add a bit of practical advice - if you are struggling to pay large amounts then the situation is only going to get worse the longer the bill builds up. I would suggest making adhoc payments of what you can afford so when things are straightened out you will be in a better position. Yes npower have been silly with the DD but at the end of the day you are using their energy and will have to pay for it at some point.

ETA: if you really dont want to give npower a penny until the issue is resolved then atleast put away what your would realistically have paid into another bank account. Choosing food or energy should not be a choice you need to make, however ignoring your usage until the issue is resolved will not help you either.