MSE News: Warning: Npower's slapping ex-customers with huge bills

Box_of_Frogs_2

I have been trying to speak to someone at nPower for over a week and every time I call it says the queue time is greater than an hour.

I have sent emails to customer services and complaints asking for an urgent call back but all I get is a standard acknowledgement saying I will be contacted in 7-10 days!

I actually got through to a real person on Saturday - after dialling every number I could find on their website I got one of those 'leave your number and we'll call you back' messages. I got a call about 20 minutes later and although the guy was polite and understood my problem, he said he couldn't do anything as my file was with the collections team. He did agree to put a note on my account to say that I had called and was trying to resolve this but as of yet I am still waiting for a call!

zaax

If they can not prove how much you own why are their bailiff teams taking them on?
Everyone should right to OFGEM and get Npower closed

General_query

zaax wrote: »

Everyone should right to OFGEM and get Npower closed

(write)

Someone should start a Change.org petition to get these scamsters shut down, but it seems OFGEM are in npowers back pocket...

John810

signed up to leave Npower for a small provider in January. Switch was made in mid march and a 'final' bill issued on 16 May. I was £200 in credit. Now they issue 3 'reverse bills' and work out i owe them £220.
After hour and half on phone they offer £75 compensation. I don't want to pay and am making formal complaint. There was no cover letter or explanation, they just left me to find out what had happened. They admitted it's their fault. I doubt there's anything I can do so I'm just adding to the pressure as they won't listen to one person.

zaax

Tell them to prove how they got to the final final bill.
It sound like they are such a mess that they can't, and therefore no court case etc.

mancmum

Please can anyone advise me on how I can get a credit balance back from N Power. Please could you also take up the limited powers the ombudsman has to deal with mistreatment of those with credit balances.

Mar 2013 Father moves to live with me following death of mother
July 2013 Ask N Power to reduce DD to a nominal amount to cover a freezer.
N Power actually increased the DD by about 15%
Oct 2013 N Power send letter indicating my father is dead..He isn't but I do use a POA to deal with his affairs.
Nov 2013 N Power sent final readings and we discontinue DD. N Power send letter which includes clause threatening to sue me.
Dec 2013 N Power tell me to relax as they have set up a new tarrif for me [on property we no longer own].
Jan 2014 Complain to N Power. N Power do not deal with complaint
March 2014 Take up case with Ombudsman
March 2014 Finally receive a final bill....except that it omits to give credit for 600 taken by direct debit during the period of the bill.
Ombudsman offers settlement of £50.00 Which is less than the amount of interest N Power will have gained on my father's money. I refuse settlement and ask them to go at N Power again for a more reasonable amount.
July 2014. Cheesed off with waiting for them to refund even the 700 mentioned in the final bill. Ring N Power ask them what is happening. They promise to call me back between 6.00 and 8.00 this Friday....still waiting for the call, and for the money.

The ombudsman is hamstrung, they cannot impose a penalty of interest on the money illegally held by N Power. ONce you complain to N Power then they seem to remove you from the system and do nothing about resolving your case in the meantime. The penalty of wiping clean bills of over 12 months will actually only give my dad about 14.00 because he obviously didn't use power in an empty house. There needs to be a penalty that can be imposed for administrative uselessness.

My Dad is a vulnerable pensioner he only wants back what is his.

The above by the way is edited highlights.

Wammer

Try calling Ofgem

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/

My Dad had overpaid on his energy bills and I have authority to discuss his account. When I called and asked for the overpayment to be refunded I was told they didn't / wouldn't do that and that "it's not a savings account".

I called Ofgem who gave me some advice. I did eventually get the money refunded.

quiggles

Called them today and they stood by the fact that their contention is that I owe money but as it's a year since I left they would give me £35. I pushed back and they offered £50, I carried on pushing and they said they'd call back in 15 minutes...

They didn't...

So now I am going to ask for subject access on my bills, but I'm concerned, they'll put my "debt" out to a credit agency whilst they muck around with this.

They really are the only winners with all of this aren't they?

swampduck

We left Npower over 18 months ago and have been waiting for a final bill which we figured would be in the region of £600 for dual fuel. A letter has arrived from Npower today and they have written the whole lot off - mind you they could not organise a booze up in a brewery. We changed from prepayment meters to credit meters and to cut a long story very short - a series of their mistakes impacted on our new dual fuel supplier. So much so that I had to send photos of our meters to prove we have the meters they say we didn't have!! Still I'm happy with the result - we suffered enough for it!!


Swampy

mancmum

Now they say that they actually sent me a final bill in January. I don't think they did. I would have noticed if the thing I had been asking for had been sent to me. Given that what they had done was to set up a new tarrif a matter of days earlier I think this was unlikely. I sent all my paperwork in with my complaint to ombudsman so can't check myself.