I came home and Npower/metre plus have changed my metre to a prepayment metre.

undaunted

I also think they may well have simply fitted an external PPM without having ever gone to Court for a warrant.

Calling / implying the customer a liar before establishing the facts doesn't seem great for goodwill here either.

I also noticed that there was no reference whatsoever to addressing the customers comments on their (current?) mobility problems & the ability to service such a meter.

Assuming that mobility is a genuine and ongoing problem - and a number of contacts with the customer, including site visit(s) should have established this fact - Fuel Direct (a deduction of about £3.60 plus your usage paid direct to them from your benefits) would seem to have been a reasonable & far more suitable option in this case. Perhaps the poster and Npower rep should therefore both read the ERA guidelines on vulnerable customers, including

"A PPM will not be fitted or PPM mode applied to recover debt where there are practical difficulties, such as customers not being able to physically use the meter or not having full time access to the meter position.

Where it is not safe and practicable for households to use a PPM, suppliers will ensure that the principles of the Safety Net continue to apply. In this situation disconnection will not take place if the customer is vulnerable, and other routes to recoup the debt will be followed. For example:

 Offering to move, adapt or replace the PPM so it is safe and practicable to use, where appropriate


[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Offering alternative payment methods, including fuel direct [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]To ensure that a recently installed meter is being used and the customer is coping with the repayments, suppliers will check on the customer’s account and if necessary contact the customer, sometimes in conjunction with a carer or a third party where appropriate. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial]As part of their Supply Licence and the Disability Discrimination Act, suppliers have a duty to move a meter if the customer is unable to reasonably access it and as such poses a safety issue. Suppliers will not install a PPM if the customer is unable to use it safely, such as being unable to re-charge their payment device."[/FONT]



[/FONT]
http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/30/308.html

chanz4

undaunted wrote: »

I also think they may well have simply fitted an external PPM without having ever gone to Court for a warrant.

Calling / implying the customer a liar before establishing the facts doesn't seem great for goodwill here either.

I also noticed that there was no reference whatsoever to addressing the customers comments on their (current?) mobility problems & the ability to service such a meter.

Assuming that mobility is a genuine and ongoing problem - and a number of contacts with the customer, including site visit(s) should have established this fact - Fuel Direct (a deduction of about £3.60 plus your usage paid direct to them from your benefits) would seem to have been a reasonable & far more suitable option in this case. Perhaps the poster and Npower rep should therefore both read the ERA guidelines on vulnerable customers, including

"A PPM will not be fitted or PPM mode applied to recover debt where there are practical difficulties, such as customers not being able to physically use the meter or not having full time access to the meter position.

Where it is not safe and practicable for households to use a PPM, suppliers will ensure that the principles of the Safety Net continue to apply. In this situation disconnection will not take place if the customer is vulnerable, and other routes to recoup the debt will be followed. For example:

 Offering to move, adapt or replace the PPM so it is safe and practicable to use, where appropriate


[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Offering alternative payment methods, including fuel direct [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]To ensure that a recently installed meter is being used and the customer is coping with the repayments, suppliers will check on the customer’s account and if necessary contact the customer, sometimes in conjunction with a carer or a third party where appropriate. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Arial]As part of their Supply Licence and the Disability Discrimination Act, suppliers have a duty to move a meter if the customer is unable to reasonably access it and as such poses a safety issue. Suppliers will not install a PPM if the customer is unable to use it safely, such as being unable to re-charge their payment device."[/FONT]



[/FONT]
http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/30/308.html

As they say is it temporary, also who else lives there

inklove

Thank you all for relaying.

Npower rep - the series of events that you have suggested are completely not what happened in my case. I will go into depth below.

On average it takes ourselves as a supplier 6-9 months (in some cases longer) to get to a point where we would consider fitting a prepayment meter. Fitting a prepayment meter is a last resort where we've been unable to come to a payment arrangement with our customer's.

I switched my supply to npower in May, I set up a DD for the amount that you specified, I gave regular meter reading online because I hoped to keep my DD as accurate as possible. In july I received a letter telling me that my DD was not enough and I needed to pay more each month and that I owed some money. I called and agreed to increase my DD and arranged to pay back £15 per month to repay the debt over a few months.
In late October I received a letter saying that my DD was still too low and that I owed more money, I called and it was established that there had been an error somewhere and my DD was not increased enough the first time and that it had always been too low for my apparent usage, I immediately agreed to the new DD price (an increase of £25 per month on top of the previous increase) but when it was suggested that I pay £30 per month back I could not agree to that.
I explained my situation and made it clear that the most I can afford is £10 per month, but I was repeatedly told that that is not acceptable, getting nowhere on the many phone calls I made I decided to write to npower to explain my situation in more detail, offer proof of my benefits and disability, as well as other issues and that I can barely afford the extra money as it is, but I am willing to find the extra money to repay the debt, but £10 is the maximum I can afford.

There are several steps in place before we get to this point. Firstly, we'll send reminder letters and make calls to our customer's to remind them of a balance owed. At a later stage we'll send an agent round to your property to discuss the balance with you amicably to see if we can come to agreement. Sometimes, we'll call on up to three occasions and we'll leave letters if we're unable to get in touch.

Including the letter in July I have received 3 letters in regards to my DD and the money owed, and two of those were informative letters telling me about the problem.
I have never received any calls despite knowing and checking that Npower has my correct phone number on file.

I am usually at home almost all the time, but last Wednesday I was out at a hospital appointment. When I came home I found the letter from meter plus which said they called while I was out and it was giving me 7 working days to call and pay.
This was definitely, 100% the first time anyone had visited my home.

After receiving the letter I contacted npowe and again repeated my situation and my offer of £10 per month, but was told the lowest they would accept is £25, I asked to speak to a supervised about my situation and was told they would consider my situation and get back to me.

As a last resort we'll then go to court to request access to your property to fit a prepayment meter. We'll write to you a few weeks in advance notifying you of a court date and explaining you have the right to attend court to put your case across. We abide by the law and we can only enter your property to fit a prepayment meter if the judge grants us a warrant and right of entry.

Clearly this procedure does not apply if your staff are able to climb over a locked gate to access a meter that is housed outside a property.

The above process takes many months and I therefore find it unlikely we've provided you with a week to come to an agreement. To make sure the correct process has been followed you're more than welcome to send me an email to the the email address provided on our profile page.

As you've mentioned you're in receipt of benefits we'll be happy to look at an affordable recovery rate set to the meter on a weekly basis if you'd like to send me an email.

Obviously in my case the correct 'procedure' has not been followed.

I am in debt because of a fault of npower not my own.
I have told npower repeatedly that I am on benefits and about my situation, but nobody has been willing to discuss a realistic payment plan with me.


It is now Friday and I have still not got a payment key for the meter, or received a response to the many emails I have sent npower.
As the credit on the meter is so low I have been scared to use anything.
I have not put my heating on at all, even though it has been freezing here.
We have not watched tv, used the washing machine or the shower and I have unplugged everything other than my fridge freezer.
I have had my kids sleeping in my bed and have been eating food that is either cold or can be cooked on a camping stove as I daren't use my electric cooker.

I have young children, what am I supposed to do when the credit eventually runs out??

Laughably I noticed that npower still took their DD for this months bill!

I look forward to paying off the money I owe and trust me when I say that I will do everything I can to find the money, because the sooner I have paid off the debt, the sooner I can switch to another supplier!

spiro

Is your house all elec? What was your DD originally set to? How much per month do they want to increase it to and how much have you offered?
Answer to these questions will help provide informed answers.

chanz4

something doesn't sound right with this case, op how much do you owe?

Nada666

inklove wrote: »

I look forward to paying off the money I owe and trust me when I say that I will do everything I can to find the money, because the sooner I have paid off the debt, the sooner I can switch to another supplier!

But £10 is not an acceptable sum to pay - the minimum sum payable by the poorest person on minimum benefits is more than £17 per month. You have children and disability benefits on top - so you certainly should have offered more than £10.

You refused to negotiate. A prepayment meter was fitted.

All of a sudden you are now happy to increase your payments to get rid of your debt and move supplier quickly - so a positive result for both parties.

Being disabled, having children - it does not magically mean you can just not pay your bills.

inklove

spiro wrote: »

Is your house all elec?

I have a gas water heater but that is it, everything else is electric.

What was your DD originally set to?

At first it was set at £35, by them, then it July it was increased to £48, in October it was increased to £73.
That is not including any repayments.

How much per month do they want to increase it to and how much have you offered?
Answer to these questions will help provide informed answers.

The DD has already been increased, they did it automatically when they discovered that it was wrong, it is the repayment amount that was being discussed. They wanted me to pay £30 per month, (later reducing to £25) but I cant afford any more than £10, which I have repeatedly explained to them.

inklove

Nada666 wrote: »

But £10 is not an acceptable sum to pay

Why is £10 not an acceptable amount?

the minimum sum payable by the poorest person on minimum benefits is more than £17 per month.

That is nonsense, I have seen many posts on this forum and others where people with much larger debts than I have are repaying a couple of pounds a month.

You have children and disability benefits on top - so you certainly should have offered more than £10.

Where exactly did I say that I receive “disability benefits on top”?
And where did I provide you with a list of my finances?
You have no idea what I can afford.

You refused to negotiate. A prepayment meter was fitted.

I did not refuse to negotiate, as far as I was concerned we were still discussing the payment plan, I was waiting for someone to call me back to discuss it more when this happened.

All of a sudden you are now happy to increase your payments to get rid of your debt and move supplier quickly - so a positive result for both parties.

Where did I say that I was now happy to increase the payments?
I cant give them what I haven’t got, hence why I have been trying to negotiating a realistic payment plan with them.

Being disabled, having children - it does not magically mean you can just not pay your bills.

I never said it did.
And that is not what has happened, clearly you did not bother to read any of my posts properly.
I have always paid every single one of my bills on time.

duchy

I would hope by now NPower have PM'd the OP and made arrangements to speak to them to sort this mess out.

Nada666

inklove wrote: »

I have always paid every single one of my bills on time.

One post you say you offered £10 per month, other say £10 per week, which is it? The minimum is over £15 per month. If you repeatedly stated you were not going to pay more than £10 per month no matter what then there was no point in them continuing the conversations, was there? Ultimately the only option is to fit the prepayment meter - more convenient for you than any other option.

If you did not want to opt to pay £93 per month to them then fuel direct payment taken directly off your income at source at £88 per month is not a better solution - you would be even unhappier with that as there would be too long a delay to adjust your usage and adjust the payments.

Your child is imprisoned in your home and never gets out? They only leave the house with others? Or do you, in fact, leave the house and are able to top-up your meters once every month or every two months?

Okay, no disability payments but you are able to care for a child. So mobility problems can't be that savage. You really ought to have just paid the £93 or £100 a month and kept your credit meter instead of complaining. Bit late for that now.

Also you did not unknowingly underpay - the meters are in your home, it is your job, (especially as a parent), to keep an eye on what you are using. You should have known how much and accommodated that in future plans - do I want to start saving up to pay up a lump sum or do I want the debit instalment to be altered by a large amount? If you are no happy with the latter alternative then you have to take action, not just shrug your shoulders.