What EXACTLY is NPower's problem?

Cloudydaze

Ok, I know there is an issue with a new IT system & they have 5.4million customers blah blah blah but anyone know what the actual 'problem' is?

Why exactly can't they generate a bill?

My situation after summer bill generated...

16/10 - bill £141
28/10 - payment £66
31/10 - misc credit £1
15/11 - payment £21.50
28/11 - payment £50
3/12 - bill reversal -£141.18
10/12 - bill £122.61
12/12 - bill reversal £122.61
16/12 - payment £21.50

Current balance is £361

So they've generated 2 bills, deducted them and the repaid them.

I thought the idea of DD was to make equal payments over a 12 mth period. My DD amount keeps changing + I'm paying £21.50 separate to the regular DD payment. On the bill they refer to this as a debt payment plan but my account has never not been in credit.

I'm submitting regular meter readings & have set up a spreadsheet to try and calculate the bills myself.

What worries me is that I checked the first bill of £141 and it looked correct but then the second bill of £122 also looked correct. So how am I going to know if the THIRD bill is correct?! Do I just have to trust them?

(I've tried to call them but I can only cope with 20mins of being on hold at any one time.)

nickcc

Paid my first DD last month for the agreed amount, just received another bill for £9.48. Entered my monthly meter readings a week before lasts months payment was due so don't understand why they were unable to take the correct amount due. My contract states that if meter readings are supplied prior to the DD being due then the DD will reflect my energy usage.

I_have_spoken

there is an issue with a new IT system

That's enough, a utility lives or dies by its billing system and Npower's conversion of existing accounts to the new system and getting it working is a total fiasco.

dentedporsche

I left them 2 months ago, got a better deal, primarly because of the poor service we received and the doubling of our direct debit to over £250 a month.

I am over £500 in credit, they did a final bill for gas, then credited it back and since then, nothing.
They are holding on to my money, interest free.

I think I may have to send a letter before action as the 2 complaints I've raised online haven't been aknowledged or dealt with.

I'll never go back to them, no matter how good an offer.:mad:

daveyjp

They probably use SAP.

sbradnam

Their problem is that they are rubbish - absolutely no concern for the customer whatsoever, and keen to blame any and every failing on IT problems - trouble is, they have used that argument for so long now, it has become a joke.

And none of this is helped by comparison sites continuing to encourage people to switch to them while these issues remain unresolved!

Look elsewhere until they get their collective stuff in one sock!!!

desthemoaner

I've been with Npower for just a month, having moved to their November 2014 price fix through MSEs Cheap Energy Club.

They cocked up my DD in December by getting my bank details wrong, and sent me an email threatening to put me on quarterly billing. I rang them and (I thought) sorted it out; then went online and noticed that my DD amount was higher than it should have been as shown in my contract. So I rang them again, using their callback facility to save waiting 45 minutes to speak to a person. An hour and a half later I got my callback, spoke to a very nice lady who talked to their Billing department and they amended my DD to the agreed amount. I went online and checked, and sure enough it was correct.

This morning I went online and my DD was wrong again. My next DD is due in January, and if they don't get it right this time I'll be moving to someone else, whether dearer or not. I don't even care if they impose an exit penalty, because life's too short to spend valuable time doing Npower's job for them.

I guess I was spoilt by the experience with Atlantic, their customer service being light years ahead of that which I've had with Npower thus far.

How hard can it really be, to get simple monthly payments right and run a website that actually works?

Consumerist

I've never been with npower (thankfully) but it seems to me that, in the long run, the only way to pressurise npower into action is to keep complaining and always refer unresolved complaints to the Ombudsman Services: Energy. Eventually the penalties from Ofgem will become so high that they will be forced into action or they will lose their licence.

jazzy

I recently joined NPower, which is probably a big mistake with the issues that I have been having.
Does anyone have the same problem? constant emails to give meter readings, unable to give readings online, when you submit your readings online it states readings received but they are not shown in the meter readings account information.

molerat

Consumerist wrote: »

I've never been with npower (thankfully) but it seems to me that, in the long run, the only way to pressurise npower into action is to keep complaining and always refer unresolved complaints to the Ombudsman Services: Energy. Eventually the penalties from Ofgem will become so high that they will be forced into action or they will lose their licence.

And meanwhile back here in the real world ..... was that a pig I saw fly by :rotfl:

nickcc

jazzy wrote: »

I recently joined NPower, which is probably a big mistake with the issues that I have been having.
Does anyone have the same problem? constant emails to give meter readings, unable to give readings online, when you submit your readings online it states readings received but they are not shown in the meter readings account information.

Yes exactly the same problems. They want you to pay extra now but will they reduce the DD during the warmer months ? Keep entering the up to date meter readings but the DD remains the same. Think I may switch before long as I don't want all the aggro.