npower - confusion with bill and not telling us about usage increase

VW06

Hi there I'm new to forum and looking for some advice if anyone has any.

We switched to nPower on a fixed term which ended in January this year. They sent us a bill to tell us we were £200 in credit. then a few days later a bill came out telling us we were £500 in debt.

They said the first one came out in error and we are definitely in debt to them, problem is they've doubled our bill to cover it and we have two small children and its really crippling us. They also never informed us of the usage increase just sent us this bill soon as the fixed term ended.

I'm not sure where to start in terms of getting to the bottom of why they said we were £200 in credit then £500 in debit and also how to get the bills down to a more manageable amount until the debit is paid. We cant switch to a fixed term until this is paid either which is scaring me.

VW06

To add some call history, my other half called them and they wanted to charge us £180 a month which he managed to get down to £100 a month. They've sent him 2 emails one of which says the first payment would be on 3rd March which he paid and the second said a payment of £100 would be taken on 17th March - we just cant afford this and it strikes me that they're "trying it on" for want of a better phrase!

bengal-stripe

I presume the previous bills were based on estimates, while the current bill is based on a reading. Do the figures (number of units used) tally with your present reading?

Did you never check your meter to see whether the estimates and the bills were (more or less) correct? You have the meter placed in your house, so you can check the actual consumption any time; unlike the electricity company who only has to do an actual reading every two years.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


Firstly NPower's accounting systems seem to be in 'meltdown' if the reports on MSE are accurate.


That said, it is your responsibility to monitor your consumption using the same devices as NPower - namely the meters!


The normal reason for inaccurate bills - followed by a correct bill - is that the incorrect bill is based on a estimated meter reading(s).


Look at that £200 credit bill and see if either the opening or end meter readings are estimated - usually denoted by an 'E'.


Have you also checked that the £500 debt bill meter readings are correct?


The problem is that getting your monthly payment down to £100 when you have a £500 debt, is just building up problems. £100 a month is below average for a Gas CH household - especially with two small children.

Nada666

There are meters in your home. Why did you not know how much you were using? Interim statements (whether month by month or based on estimates) do accumulate notional credit that is not real and will be consumed once an actual reading or bill is generated.

It is up to you to read any statement and compare the readings used with the actual reads of your meters to check whether or not a balance is real.

Over twelve months £500 is £42 per month. Plus you have that as an underspend plus a price increase. You don't say what your previous monthly payment was but you should expect to have to pay it plus two-and-a-half times the £42 for six or twelve months.

You should offer a midway point (ask for twelve rather than six months) and offer say £150 per month. (Actual figure depends on actual usage.)

And start reading your meters and checking how much you are spending - once you take five or ten minutes to figure it out following checks take thirty seconds.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Judging by the language used, I'm not sure you understand how paying for energy works. "Fixed term" refers to the unit rate, not the bill. They aren't "Charging" you £180 a month, they charge you x p/KWh, and "getting it down" to £100 does not do anything to sort this debt problem out.

Paying by DD on a fixed term tariff doesn't mean you can use as much as you like. If you're £500 in debt after a winter this mild, either your usage is out of control or the DD was set up far too low.

If you don't want big bills to sort out, you need to ensure what you're using doesn't exceed what you're paying. The onus is on you to do this, not npower

nPower

VW06 wrote: »

Hi there I'm new to forum and looking for some advice if anyone has any.

We switched to nPower on a fixed term which ended in January this year. They sent us a bill to tell us we were £200 in credit. then a few days later a bill came out telling us we were £500 in debt.

They said the first one came out in error and we are definitely in debt to them, problem is they've doubled our bill to cover it and we have two small children and its really crippling us. They also never informed us of the usage increase just sent us this bill soon as the fixed term ended.

I'm not sure where to start in terms of getting to the bottom of why they said we were £200 in credit then £500 in debit and also how to get the bills down to a more manageable amount until the debit is paid. We cant switch to a fixed term until this is paid either which is scaring me.

Hi VW06,

As suggested by other users of the forum the statement showing the credit balance may have been based on estimated reads and then amended following receipt of an actual reads.

In terms of your future payments/tariff, just because you have an outstanding balance this shouldn't prevent you changing to a new fixed tariff with us.

I'm happy to take a look into this for you to see what we can do and try to give you some peace of mind. If you can pop your details over to me via email, using the address from my profile page I'll be able to take it from there.

Thanks

Leigh