Haven't had electric bill for 14 months!

amtrakuk

Hi there. I think you said you have been putting money aside for when D-Day comes. Have you tried phoning saying you want to give a meter reading and offer to play the balance on your account. I have done that in the past with suppliers and they are happy to take a meter reading on the phone, tape it into their computer and generate a balance there and then.

I dont know but I fear it will be in the contract (and trying to cover all bases) that you have to provide a meter reading and administer your account online. If that doesn't work why didn't you phone and speak to an operator?

Worst case sinario if you can't pay the amount owing on the account they may swap your meter for a pre payment meter. I understand that you cannot change tarrifs and can work out very expensive - depending on how much you owe.

RichPyke

I tried that at the start. To begin with I went 4 months with no gas bill either, no DD set up etc. I had to beg for them to take money off of me.

That money ended up going above £500 and it was given back. The DD reduced (twice) and I'm where I am now.

The issue is they have nothing to put that balance to, so it goes as credit on the account which is then given back when it hits £500. The people I manage to speak to can't do what needs doing, they can take payment, add it to the account but that's it. If I was to phone now they would take it and I would receive a refund in a few days as it would be showing a credit balance over £500 (it would show one over £1000 if I have worked out what I owe correctly!)

Also, it is extremely difficult to phone them as I work full time and am unable to make calls during this time. I get home and they (or the department I need) is closed. It is also not free to call them and as I only have a mobile to call from this is an expensive call especially when on hold for 20-25 minutes a time.


It's not a question of if I can pay what I owe, I always keep a buffer in my current account of £1,000 (anything below that and I feel I have no money) and have some tucked away in savings specifically for this issue.

amtrakuk

Sorry totally got the wrong end of the stick... I'd stop paying them and tell them you are not going to pay them until you get a quarterly statement

RichPyke

It only covers the gas now anyway, which I think is spot on so I don't need to do anything. I'd rather earn that 0.4% interest (less tax) on their money than have it sat as credit on the account Although I'd prefer to spend that £1200 on something much cooler than electric and it is very tempting!

At least they have given £20 of credit to the account and sent me £20 of bonus bond vouchers which was spent wisely, so it's not all bad and frustration.

Cornucopia

There are a variety of nPower numbers on Saynoto0870, which might help you get your call cheaper or even free.

http://www.saynoto0870.com

If your mobile does not give free 0800 numbers, you can use this portal to convert to 03xx: 03335558800

Nada666

RichPyke wrote: »

I may look at switching to another supplier or deal. I assume, say I switched to British Gas now and nPower take another 2 months to solve this, they can only charge me for the electricity I've used since April 2013. If they take 6 months then it would be August 2013 and if they take 12 months (or longer) then they can't charge me anything?

No you don't get a second shrinking like that - provided they don't take six years they can still back-bill you a full twelve months.

RichPyke

Sorry I am not quite following.

Say for instance they solved the problem on 21/02/2014, they can back bill as far as 22/02/2013.

However, if I switched to a different supplier and that started on 01/03/2014, nPower solve the issue on 01/06/2014 can they back bill to 01/03/2013 or to 01/06/2013? I.E. The last 12 months they provided the electric or 12 months from the date of the bill?

Nada666

The former.

If you are switched to a new provider April 2014 but npower do not send you a bill until July 2014 or March 2020 they can still ask for a full twelve months. It is not from the date they send the bill.

RichPyke

Thanks. I think with that in mind I'll keep on at nPower and stick with what I have unless there are any insane price hikes that I need to act quickly on. At least this way they may be more likely to work quicker on it and I get the added benefit of those early months falling outside of the 12 month window. In other words, regardless of how long they take I'll only be paying for 12 months electric or £612 if my calculations are correct (which is much less than I thought it would be)

Many thanks to everyone!

[Deleted User]

You seem to rely on electronic systems to log your readings with Npower but the usual and most reliable methods have always been to call customer services and speak to someone. There are a many people who dont possess a broadband connection or mobile and their only recourse is to ring cust services. You seem to have had only one attempt to call customer services and you, for some reason, decided the person at the other end as " not convincing you they are human " . . As you say, you like having the " free electric " so sitting back relying on Npowers well publicised problems with their computer system to get out of paying is the soft option. I joined Npower 4 months ago and have had no problems submitting readings ( by text ) and have been billed and direct debited correctly.