What's the minimum to avoid disconnection?

ethan123

Hi there,
I've been searching the forum, but can't quite find what I'm looking for.

I am in debt with NPower, over £50 for Gas and over £280 for Electricity.
I am also on extremely low income at the moment (WTCr).

They have sent me a letter recently, warning that they are exploring my disconnection and/or pre-payment meter installation.
(I live in a flat within a house, and the meters are actually inside the outer door of one of the other flats)

I know that they will want me to set up a payment plan via Direct Debit. But I don't like DD, as this means that they will hold the strings, raising the payments as they see fit.

I did manage to get their Account number and Sort Code over the phone, but the lady warned me that if I used it to make payment to them via Standing Order (which of course allows me to control the payments), that it wouldn't be an "Approved" payment (or something like that), so I would still effectively be in trouble.

My questions are:
1. If I paid them with Standing Order (instead of DD), would that derail any attempt of NPower to disconnect me thru the legal channels?

2. What is the minimum amount per week (hopefully not using DD) that I can pay them, that would derail any attempt of NPower to disconnect me thru the legal channels?

Thank you for reading, and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wywth

ethan123 wrote: »

Hi there,
I've been searching the forum, but can't quite find what I'm looking for.

I am in debt with NPower, over £50 for Gas and over £280 for Electricity.
I am also on extremely low income at the moment (WTCr).

They have sent me a letter recently, warning that they are exploring my disconnection and/or pre-payment meter installation.
(I live in a flat within a house, and the meters are actually inside the outer door of one of the other flats)

I know that they will want me to set up a payment plan via Direct Debit. But I don't like DD, as this means that they will hold the strings, raising the payments as they see fit.

I did manage to get their Account number and Sort Code over the phone, but the lady warned me that if I used it to make payment to them via Standing Order (which of course allows me to control the payments), that it wouldn't be an "Approved" payment (or something like that), so I would still effectively be in trouble.

My questions are:
1. If I paid them with Standing Order (instead of DD), would that derail any attempt of NPower to disconnect me thru the legal channels?

2. What is the minimum amount per week (hopefully not using DD) that I can pay them, that would derail any attempt of NPower to disconnect me thru the legal channels?

Thank you for reading, and any help would be greatly appreciated.

You owe what the bill says.

The supplier will often agree a reasonable repayment plan with you (over and above your current consumption)
Depending on the cause for the debt, the repayment poeriod may even be spread over the period the length of period the original debt accrued. Each request is habdled on a case by case basis.

I doubt the supplier will discconnect - worst case scenario is usually to have a PPM installed and the debt loaded to that.

If that's the situation you find yourself in, I suggest you volunarily request one as it will be cheaper (in terms of costs applied) compared to having one forced onto you.

Have you considered posting your SoA over on the Debt Free Wannabe board? (Details given in a sticky thread there)
If you do, hopefully someone will show you how to get debt free sooner rather than later

Nada666

As you are paying quarterly then the usual period is six months - but you have already lost three of those so would be expected to pay over three months. So £330 divided by three is £110. Plus, of course, you have to pay for one-twelfth of your historical usage. Depending on what this is - could be another fifty or eighty pounds. So £175 or more per month seems likely.

Alternatively you can pay it off over six months - again this will be well over £100.

If you want to only pay off arrears and not commit to a monthly payment for ongoing useage then this can be done at less than £17 per month - but that option will only be available with a prepayment meter.

The easiest method will be by a combined lump sum now and every couple of weeks for a while and a switch to direct debit - pay off a hundred or hundred and fifty and leave just £20 to be added onto a monthly direct debit.

By the way, why the standing order - just make post office or online payments.

ethan123

Thanks for your reply guys,

@Wywth
I appreciate what you are saying - that I owe what the bill says, but a repayment plan over and above my current consumption isn't affordable at the moment, because in order to reduce my elec bill to something affordable would mean using almost no elec at all. Unfortunately, only the hobs on the top of my cooker are gas - everything else is elec. - incl. the shower and all of the hot water in the flat. I use a camping kettle on the gas stove which is great. Thank god it's summer, but that won't last forever.

I will check out the board you mentioned. Thank you.

As for the PPM, according to what someone posted on another thread, the PPM might not be able to be installed due to some complication over all of the meters (of various flats) being put together in a cupboard etc. [sorry, I don't have a link]

... As for the costs of PPM, when i lived in another place, there was one already installed, and if I recall correctly, the unit cost was more expensive than non-PPM.

When we say PPM, I am assuming that this is a meter where you have to constantly top up one of those little plastic keys.


@Nada666,
Thanks for your reply.
Unfortunately, after my rent has been paid, I only have about £38 a week to pay for everything else.
... In my current situation, paying lump sums here and there of x number of hundred pounds, are not possible.


--> Because of my difficult situation, I think this is why I am trying to understand the company's actual "power".
... At the mo, I am only looking to see how I can prevent them from cutting me off... in the future, when i hv money coming in, I will look at paying off all my bills and keeping up to speed - unless I choose to go for DRO (Debt Relief Order).

As for the online payments or PO, will this stop them from being "able" to have me disconnected via legal channels? They might say that this isn't an approved payment method "according to Them".

Thanks for your replies anyway

lstar337

ethan123 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply guys,

@Wywth
I appreciate what you are saying - that I owe what the bill says, but a repayment plan over and above my current consumption isn't affordable at the moment, because in order to reduce my elec bill to something affordable would mean using almost no elec at all. Unfortunately, only the hobs on the top of my cooker are gas - everything else is elec. - incl. the shower and all of the hot water in the flat.

You cant reduce your consumption at all? Sounds unlikely.

How about reducing some of the other things you are paying for so that you have enough to pay for the energy you are using?

maginot

If you can't even afford current payments, you need to post up a SOA and look to reducing your outgoings.

As has been mentioned, power companies are unlikely to cut you off but will force a PPM on you. Yes these tend to be more expensive per unit and you will have to pay off the debt you owe as well. Therefore this is almost the same as cutting you off as if you haven't got the funds for the meter you won't have any gas or electric.

If you are not even considering entering a repayment plan this is almost definitely the only outcome.

ethan123

@Istar337,
Hi there, I have already made reductions... I never use the oven (electr.), I use a camping Whistle kettle on the gas hob.

I'm afraid that the computer isn't a workaround. I use it to launch my online biz from home.

The shower uses 6 kw/hr unfortunately (high temp. setting during winter). This is 3x the consumption of an electric fire.

... I used an electricity monitor to measure the consumption of "everything" in my flat some time ago. I put the results in an excel spreadsheet.

As for the fridge and freezer, turning this off isn't much of an option during the summer.
Tho I wish someone would manufacture a fridge freezer, where it had 2 on/off switches, one for the fridge and one for the freezer. Then you could turn off the freezer when you didn't have any frozen food.


@maginot,
Thanks for replying... Tho could regular payments of a sum which NPower haven't approved (because they're too small) stop them from being "able" to cut me off? ... My Thinking: NPower are not the Magistrates, etc.

SOA? Please excuse my ignorance, what does this mean?


I think I want an exercise bike (or similar) that can generate elec. into a battery, so I can power my computer, or another plug-in-the-wall device.
... Does such a thing exist?

Thanks for your replies, they are all appreciated

[Deleted User]

No chance of disconnections, especially for that small ammount, you will simply get a couple of prepays installed with, say, £5 a week added to debt repayment

silverwhistle

ethan123 wrote: »

in order to reduce my elec bill to something affordable would mean using almost no elec at all.

I've just moved back to my house which was rented out and agree about the blasted PP meter unit rate! I've no gas at the moment as there's a safety issue that needs fixing (using a camp stove as a hob) and I am using just less than 3 units a day. I haven't put the immersion on and rely on the electric shower and the kettle for washing up bits and pieces (although I've just bought a DW).

So yes, I reckon with this weather you could really get your consumption down. Start by turning off the water and using a kettle when you need it, switch off things you don't need etc. On my current usage I'm paying a penny over £4 a week at the expensive key meter rate.

ethan123

@sacsquacco -Thanks
A couple of "Prepays"?
How will they do this? Each flat is owned by a different landlord, and all the meters are together in same cupboard. Excuse my ignorance on this - I've just never seen the transition take place... altho in my case, I don't really want to...

@silverwhistle -Thanks
Key meters are a pain. I really don't wanna go there!
I've turned off the elec water in past... it was very spartan, but, it looks like I'll have to go back to it.
.. A what? A "DW"? ... as in Dish Washer? :shocked:


By the way... I still want that exercise bike that powers a battery. I'm not joking about that!
... Does such a thing exist? ... Welcome any feedback

[Deleted User]

Hi ethan123, if you dont volunteer to let them in to replace the meters they will simply apply for a warrant of entry and a hired locksmith will be used. I think the total costs for warrant +locksmith is around £250 which will be added to the prepay meters as debt. The landlords will have no say in the matter, its a tenants responsibility to deal with his bills. Your debt looks pretty low to me to go down that avenue.I see debts of over £1000 added to prepays. Possibly the threat of an enforced prepay will be used as a first stage. The costs of prepays are not that bad nowadays, the same as " standard " tariff which most people are on anyway but you lose the chance of 6% reduction for direct debit. Prepays are a hassle watching the credit though. BG and others do have online top ups