N Power Debt - IMPORTANT

sassy_one

Hi

Looking for some advice.
Basically, someone I know just under a year ago was given a council tenancy and when they signed it, they were given a prepayment key, and the council stated that it was all ready to use and there wasn't any need to register it.

I have been topping the key up for them for a few weeks, and to my horror have discovered MASS electric use, I put £5 every two to three days and it's eaten WITHOUT anything being on, everything shut off at the fuse box.

So this week I did some digging, went through the menu and discovered that it states on it "Total debt £810."
Weekly debt charge £10.
Now, I did a few tests, let the electric run out then top up by £1, keep everything off over night and see what happens, that £1 has gone to 9p by 8am!!!

Now I called N Power yesterday on behalf of them and I believe I've been fobbed off with rubbish.
They advised me the charge is for having two meters when there isn't any, and that it's not a debt, just the way it's charged.
That's total rubbish because last night the debt was £811.20 today it's £810.00.
So I know it's repaying something, the previous tenant had loads of debts so believe the credit meter got chopped and force was used to fit a prepayment.

Now can anyone please advise what to do?
How can I threaten N Power to refund the full amount that's already been paid (52 weeks at £10 = £520!) and most important wiped this meter with a reset?
I'm going to call them again today and want to know how to apply pressure to them.


Thanks in advance

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

sassy-one wrote: »

Hi

Looking for some advice.
Basically, someone I know just under a year ago was given a council tenancy and when they signed it, they were given a prepayment key, and the council stated that it was all ready to use and there wasn't any need to register it.

I have been topping the key up for them for a few weeks, and to my horror have discovered MASS electric use, I put £5 every two to three days and it's eaten WITHOUT anything being on, everything shut off at the fuse box.

So this week I did some digging, went through the menu and discovered that it states on it "Total debt £810."
Weekly debt charge £10.
Now, I did a few tests, let the electric run out then top up by £1, keep everything off over night and see what happens, that £1 has gone to 9p by 8am!!!

Now I called N Power yesterday on behalf of them and I believe I've been fobbed off with rubbish.
They advised me the charge is for having two meters when there isn't any, and that it's not a debt, just the way it's charged.
That's total rubbish because last night the debt was £811.20 today it's £810.00.
So I know it's repaying something, the previous tenant had loads of debts so believe the credit meter got chopped and force was used to fit a prepayment.

Now can anyone please advise what to do?
How can I threaten N Power to refund the full amount that's already been paid (52 weeks at £10 = £520!) and most important wiped this meter with a reset?
I'm going to call them again today and want to know how to apply pressure to them.


Thanks in advance

Your ire should be directed towards the council.

Npower will be able to wipe the remaining debt immediately, the tenant will have to register as the new occupant. They should be able to refund the debt paid to date, although I would imagine they would need a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Energy companies can't intuit when people leave houses, and if someone in the social housing department department of a council said to just use the key without registering it, they need to be retrained, urgently.

The meter will take off a standing charge every day, so even if the debt is wiped it will still decease if everything is off.

chanz4

I agree they need an account, and to be honest to believe the council didnt say not to register. The debt will be a mixture of standing charge from void period and also old occ debt. The supplier wouldnt discuss with you as your not the acc holder.

Scoobysnax666

People seem to be assuming that the account is in the council's name. Who's name it is in is not important, as long as it isn't the name of the current resident.

The person concerned needs to contact the energy company with a copy of the signed tenancy.

The energy company are able to check the top up history on a pre-payment key. They are also able to see any gaps in periods of top up. If the new resident contacts the energy company and states the property was void for an unknown period before they took it, the top up history of the key should substantiate this also.

This can be sorted out, contacting the energy company is the first step, they will be able to advise what they need to get this situation resolved and the account reset in the new resident's name. A refund cheque should then follow.

lordlever

I've actually gone through the same issue with a prepayment meter with npower due to the previous tenants debt on the meter.
The inhabitants need to contact npower to open an account in their name. Its best to be at the property to provide the readings/etc.
Npower must then programme the meter to reset (and wipe the amount of debt owed) which will happen when next topped up.

If the debt is still on the meter then every time it is topped up it will take a huge percentage of that to clear the debt, meaning you have to top up by a huge amount just to get a few days energy.

Also, when the meter has a debt on it then it will automatically take an amount off each week - usually £1 (which could explain the £1 going missing) to pay off the debt.

I had many problems with them reseting mine so I was continously paying off the previous tenants debt for over 2 months.
If this is the case I'd advise to put in a complaint straight away (mentioning the ombudsman), as thats a more sure way of them sorting it out quickly, plus they should also programme the meter to refund the money thats been chewed on the previous debt.

Hope this helps.

chanz4

It takes 3 vends on conscutive days at the same outlet to pick the signal up, also you need to take into account some meters have to be manually reset not via an rti

SwanJon

It doesn't actually take that long to pick up a message, and there is no need for topping up on consecutive days. This is one of those myths that is hard to get rid off.

It can take 48 hours from the agent sending it to it being available in the shop, but once it is there it only takes one top up to pick it up. The message will stay at the shop for at least 4 weeks or until picked up.

In rare circumastances there could be a queue of messages at a shop that mean that your message isn't available when you top up.

There is also an option for a message to be sent more urgently and this may involve you getting a code to give to the shopkeeper (differs for gas and electricity).