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Npower billing, and dreadful customer service
Melbryce11
Posts: 22 Forumite
in Energy
This is our story:
On the 7th March we received a bill - our first EVER bill since moving to the property 2 years prior.
The bill was far higher than the projected. We had been advised when we joined npower to pay £50 direct debit and this would be more than enough to cover energy in our pokey little 2 bed house.
To make sense of the poorly constructed and unbelievably high bill (saying that we owed nearly 1000 ontop of what we had been paying monthly) I was promised to be phoned 10 days later.
No answer.
43 days later on 12/4/2014 after not hearing anything I wrote to npower outlining my concerns, disbelief of the bill, and frustration that we were subject to their system fault.
On the 28/4/2014 we recieved receipt of our complaint, however unlike they promised in their 'putting things right' document - we did not receive a time frame of when this issue is expected to be resolved, and had no contact from a member of your 'customer relations team.
To add insult to injury we received an email once again recommending that £50 was a sufficient amount to pay direct debit every month, and that our projected payments were in-keeping with this amount.
Still continued to wait for a reply to my letter
76 days later after not receiving a reply from my phone call on 7/3/2014, then escalated by my letter on 12/4/2014 I then followed step two of thecomplaints procedure on 21/5/2014 to escalate the complaint.
After once again not receiving a reply I escalated the complaint AGAIN on 6/6/2014.
Finally on 18/6/2014 we received some contact! Unfortunately the content of this email was very poor, which made very little effort to 'put things right' and the calculations of our outstanding debit sent via email , were completely different to the written bill received a few days later. From this point we had lost all trust in the method of calculating our bills as every single bill was of a different value!
We made contact via phone on 19/6/2014 because we were moving out of the property and wanted some resolution quickly and were told someone would be in touch .
No one got in touch until 26/6/2014
Once again the amount we were over drawn was different to the one before so npower placed the complaint on hold for 10 days as they wanted more time to look into our account.
No contact.
On 14/7/2014 after no contact from npower I once again chased a resolution to the complaint - BY THIS POINT WE HAD MOVED HOUSE!
I finally got a reply on 30/07/2014 saying that our complaint had been passed onto someone else and once again they wanted more time to look into it.
On 8/8/2014 after no response from our complaint out of the blue we got a generic email saying our bill was ready to view online, so we did. Once again it was completely different again (in some part we were planning for this as we had moved house and our final bill had to be accounted for, however the amount that was visible on our account page, was completely different of that of the bill available via PDF link on the account page. The bill available on the PDF link said we had to pay the bill by 16/08/2014.
We phoned to get an update and some clarity of the situation on 15/08/2014 you were told that the online balance and current bill was not correct but not to worry about paying as our account was on ‘Lock’ so we do not pay any bills until our complaint is dealt with.
There had been no correspondence to inform us that our account was on lock, yet npower send bills telling us we have to pay up- this is very misleading and completely unfair and distressing thinking we have to find the money to pay our debit, which we don't believe we owe, or not given warning in enough time if it appears that we were underpaying for our energy usage.
There's been nothing since. No contact what so ever.
All we want is a legiable, trustworthy and properly calulated bill.
If we knew we were over spending we could have easily halved our energy consumption yet they di the opposite and told us the amount they recommended us to pay every month was correct.
To not have a bill for 2 years (the whole time we loved in that property) is disgusting and I cant trust any of the calculations they made.
I cant understand how our bill is this high, it makes no sense what so ever - we lived in a tiny 2 bedroom house, and had some of the hottest weather and mildest winters in years whilst living there.
What do we do - tearing my hair out, im so stressed out about it and have done every thing I can to chase it up!
On the 7th March we received a bill - our first EVER bill since moving to the property 2 years prior.
The bill was far higher than the projected. We had been advised when we joined npower to pay £50 direct debit and this would be more than enough to cover energy in our pokey little 2 bed house.
To make sense of the poorly constructed and unbelievably high bill (saying that we owed nearly 1000 ontop of what we had been paying monthly) I was promised to be phoned 10 days later.
No answer.
43 days later on 12/4/2014 after not hearing anything I wrote to npower outlining my concerns, disbelief of the bill, and frustration that we were subject to their system fault.
On the 28/4/2014 we recieved receipt of our complaint, however unlike they promised in their 'putting things right' document - we did not receive a time frame of when this issue is expected to be resolved, and had no contact from a member of your 'customer relations team.
To add insult to injury we received an email once again recommending that £50 was a sufficient amount to pay direct debit every month, and that our projected payments were in-keeping with this amount.
Still continued to wait for a reply to my letter
76 days later after not receiving a reply from my phone call on 7/3/2014, then escalated by my letter on 12/4/2014 I then followed step two of thecomplaints procedure on 21/5/2014 to escalate the complaint.
After once again not receiving a reply I escalated the complaint AGAIN on 6/6/2014.
Finally on 18/6/2014 we received some contact! Unfortunately the content of this email was very poor, which made very little effort to 'put things right' and the calculations of our outstanding debit sent via email , were completely different to the written bill received a few days later. From this point we had lost all trust in the method of calculating our bills as every single bill was of a different value!
We made contact via phone on 19/6/2014 because we were moving out of the property and wanted some resolution quickly and were told someone would be in touch .
No one got in touch until 26/6/2014
Once again the amount we were over drawn was different to the one before so npower placed the complaint on hold for 10 days as they wanted more time to look into our account.
No contact.
On 14/7/2014 after no contact from npower I once again chased a resolution to the complaint - BY THIS POINT WE HAD MOVED HOUSE!
I finally got a reply on 30/07/2014 saying that our complaint had been passed onto someone else and once again they wanted more time to look into it.
On 8/8/2014 after no response from our complaint out of the blue we got a generic email saying our bill was ready to view online, so we did. Once again it was completely different again (in some part we were planning for this as we had moved house and our final bill had to be accounted for, however the amount that was visible on our account page, was completely different of that of the bill available via PDF link on the account page. The bill available on the PDF link said we had to pay the bill by 16/08/2014.
We phoned to get an update and some clarity of the situation on 15/08/2014 you were told that the online balance and current bill was not correct but not to worry about paying as our account was on ‘Lock’ so we do not pay any bills until our complaint is dealt with.
There had been no correspondence to inform us that our account was on lock, yet npower send bills telling us we have to pay up- this is very misleading and completely unfair and distressing thinking we have to find the money to pay our debit, which we don't believe we owe, or not given warning in enough time if it appears that we were underpaying for our energy usage.
There's been nothing since. No contact what so ever.
All we want is a legiable, trustworthy and properly calulated bill.
If we knew we were over spending we could have easily halved our energy consumption yet they di the opposite and told us the amount they recommended us to pay every month was correct.
To not have a bill for 2 years (the whole time we loved in that property) is disgusting and I cant trust any of the calculations they made.
I cant understand how our bill is this high, it makes no sense what so ever - we lived in a tiny 2 bedroom house, and had some of the hottest weather and mildest winters in years whilst living there.
What do we do - tearing my hair out, im so stressed out about it and have done every thing I can to chase it up!
0
Comments
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There are many many people with similar stories, albeit yours sounds like one of the worst I've read.
Please don't feel alone, I'm sure people on here will be able to help you, especially the "NPower representative" who frequents this forum. If you catch his or her attention you will be in with a chance. Everybody who has manged to get their attention ended up in a happy and quick resolution.
I'd search the forum for the "npower rep" and contact them.Peace.0 -
Melbryce11 wrote: »This is our story:
On the 7th March we received a bill - our first EVER bill since moving to the property 2 years prior.
The bill was far higher than the projected. We had been advised when we joined npower to pay £50 direct debit and this would be more than enough to cover energy in our pokey little 2 bed house.
To make sense of the poorly constructed and unbelievably high bill (saying that we owed nearly 1000 ontop of what we had been paying monthly) I was promised to be phoned 10 days later.
No answer.
43 days later on 12/4/2014 after not hearing anything I wrote to npower outlining my concerns, disbelief of the bill, and frustration that we were subject to their system fault.
On the 28/4/2014 we recieved receipt of our complaint, however unlike they promised in their 'putting things right' document - we did not receive a time frame of when this issue is expected to be resolved, and had no contact from a member of your 'customer relations team.
To add insult to injury we received an email once again recommending that £50 was a sufficient amount to pay direct debit every month, and that our projected payments were in-keeping with this amount.
Still continued to wait for a reply to my letter
76 days later after not receiving a reply from my phone call on 7/3/2014, then escalated by my letter on 12/4/2014 I then followed step two of thecomplaints procedure on 21/5/2014 to escalate the complaint.
After once again not receiving a reply I escalated the complaint AGAIN on 6/6/2014.
Finally on 18/6/2014 we received some contact! Unfortunately the content of this email was very poor, which made very little effort to 'put things right' and the calculations of our outstanding debit sent via email , were completely different to the written bill received a few days later. From this point we had lost all trust in the method of calculating our bills as every single bill was of a different value!
We made contact via phone on 19/6/2014 because we were moving out of the property and wanted some resolution quickly and were told someone would be in touch .
No one got in touch until 26/6/2014
Once again the amount we were over drawn was different to the one before so npower placed the complaint on hold for 10 days as they wanted more time to look into our account.
No contact.
On 14/7/2014 after no contact from npower I once again chased a resolution to the complaint - BY THIS POINT WE HAD MOVED HOUSE!
I finally got a reply on 30/07/2014 saying that our complaint had been passed onto someone else and once again they wanted more time to look into it.
On 8/8/2014 after no response from our complaint out of the blue we got a generic email saying our bill was ready to view online, so we did. Once again it was completely different again (in some part we were planning for this as we had moved house and our final bill had to be accounted for, however the amount that was visible on our account page, was completely different of that of the bill available via PDF link on the account page. The bill available on the PDF link said we had to pay the bill by 16/08/2014.
We phoned to get an update and some clarity of the situation on 15/08/2014 you were told that the online balance and current bill was not correct but not to worry about paying as our account was on ‘Lock’ so we do not pay any bills until our complaint is dealt with.
There had been no correspondence to inform us that our account was on lock, yet npower send bills telling us we have to pay up- this is very misleading and completely unfair and distressing thinking we have to find the money to pay our debit, which we don't believe we owe, or not given warning in enough time if it appears that we were underpaying for our energy usage.
There's been nothing since. No contact what so ever.
All we want is a legiable, trustworthy and properly calulated bill.
If we knew we were over spending we could have easily halved our energy consumption yet they di the opposite and told us the amount they recommended us to pay every month was correct.
To not have a bill for 2 years (the whole time we loved in that property) is disgusting and I cant trust any of the calculations they made.
I cant understand how our bill is this high, it makes no sense what so ever - we lived in a tiny 2 bedroom house, and had some of the hottest weather and mildest winters in years whilst living there.
What do we do - tearing my hair out, im so stressed out about it and have done every thing I can to chase it up!
As it is over 8 weeks since you first complained you can take your case to the Energy Ombudsman. Explain you have been waiting for well over 8 weeks for a proper response from npower, and in that time they have not even supplied a bill that clearly sets out what you owe, with any adjustments and tariffs clearly explained. Also add that npower have not provided any explanation, or calculation, of how they have applied the back billing code to your case. Say that unless npower can demonstrate that they have correctly calculated the amount they say you owe then they should not bill you. I would add that you have no confidence in any calculation unless it is clearly explained because their figures keep changing without explanation.0 -
Melbryce11 - I'm not sure what your consumption was in your property, but 50GBP/month is a pretty low figure. I've seen studio flats with gas/elec use more and 2 bed houses use 200gbp plus/month.
You don't mention meter readings anywhere here. Did you provide them when you moved in to the property, during your stay there and when you left? Without them you will never receive an accurate bill.
Did your new bill indicate meter readings? Were these correct? A 1k GBP bill is not unusual when an account has been under-estimated for a long time. If your bill is based on meter readings, then it is quite simply how much you used over the period and didn't cover with your DD payments.
A complaint with the Ombudsman is certainly appropriate here though with the above points raised.0 -
Melbryce11 wrote: »This is our story:
On the 7th March we received a bill - our first EVER bill since moving to the property 2 years prior.
The bill was far higher than the projected. We had been advised when we joined npower to pay £50 direct debit and this would be more than enough to cover energy in our pokey little 2 bed house.
To make sense of the poorly constructed and unbelievably high bill (saying that we owed nearly 1000 ontop of what we had been paying monthly) I was promised to be phoned 10 days later.
No answer.
43 days later on 12/4/2014 after not hearing anything I wrote to npower outlining my concerns, disbelief of the bill, and frustration that we were subject to their system fault.
On the 28/4/2014 we recieved receipt of our complaint, however unlike they promised in their 'putting things right' document - we did not receive a time frame of when this issue is expected to be resolved, and had no contact from a member of your 'customer relations team.
To add insult to injury we received an email once again recommending that £50 was a sufficient amount to pay direct debit every month, and that our projected payments were in-keeping with this amount.
Still continued to wait for a reply to my letter
76 days later after not receiving a reply from my phone call on 7/3/2014, then escalated by my letter on 12/4/2014 I then followed step two of thecomplaints procedure on 21/5/2014 to escalate the complaint.
After once again not receiving a reply I escalated the complaint AGAIN on 6/6/2014.
Finally on 18/6/2014 we received some contact! Unfortunately the content of this email was very poor, which made very little effort to 'put things right' and the calculations of our outstanding debit sent via email , were completely different to the written bill received a few days later. From this point we had lost all trust in the method of calculating our bills as every single bill was of a different value!
We made contact via phone on 19/6/2014 because we were moving out of the property and wanted some resolution quickly and were told someone would be in touch .
No one got in touch until 26/6/2014
Once again the amount we were over drawn was different to the one before so npower placed the complaint on hold for 10 days as they wanted more time to look into our account.
No contact.
On 14/7/2014 after no contact from npower I once again chased a resolution to the complaint - BY THIS POINT WE HAD MOVED HOUSE!
I finally got a reply on 30/07/2014 saying that our complaint had been passed onto someone else and once again they wanted more time to look into it.
On 8/8/2014 after no response from our complaint out of the blue we got a generic email saying our bill was ready to view online, so we did. Once again it was completely different again (in some part we were planning for this as we had moved house and our final bill had to be accounted for, however the amount that was visible on our account page, was completely different of that of the bill available via PDF link on the account page. The bill available on the PDF link said we had to pay the bill by 16/08/2014.
We phoned to get an update and some clarity of the situation on 15/08/2014 you were told that the online balance and current bill was not correct but not to worry about paying as our account was on ‘Lock’ so we do not pay any bills until our complaint is dealt with.
There had been no correspondence to inform us that our account was on lock, yet npower send bills telling us we have to pay up- this is very misleading and completely unfair and distressing thinking we have to find the money to pay our debit, which we don't believe we owe, or not given warning in enough time if it appears that we were underpaying for our energy usage.
There's been nothing since. No contact what so ever.
All we want is a legiable, trustworthy and properly calulated bill.
If we knew we were over spending we could have easily halved our energy consumption yet they di the opposite and told us the amount they recommended us to pay every month was correct.
To not have a bill for 2 years (the whole time we loved in that property) is disgusting and I cant trust any of the calculations they made.
I cant understand how our bill is this high, it makes no sense what so ever - we lived in a tiny 2 bedroom house, and had some of the hottest weather and mildest winters in years whilst living there.
What do we do - tearing my hair out, im so stressed out about it and have done every thing I can to chase it up!
Hi Melbryce11
Thanks for your post.
If you'd like to email your details to the address shown on our profile page, I'd be happy to look further into this for you and provide an explanation.
Thanks
Beth
“Official Company Representative"
I am the official company representative of nPower. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE.
If we ask you to contact us, please do so using helpandsupport@npower.com - MSE Forum has temporarily allowed the display of our contact details in our signature due to a technical issue with our profile0 -
I have also had problems. I changed from NPower in May and had a final bill and a refund of £26. Then they wrote to me to say that there was a problem with my final bill and there was more outstanding, but as a gesture they would write it off. Now i have had a letter saying I owe £154 ! Spoke to customer services but getting no joy !0
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If you have it in writing that they will write off the final amount outstanding, and provided you have not given them any incorrect information, you should be fine. (I assume you have moved so they cannot mess you around to much.)I have also had problems. I changed from NPower in May and had a final bill and a refund of £26. Then they wrote to me to say that there was a problem with my final bill and there was more outstanding, but as a gesture they would write it off. Now i have had a letter saying I owe £154 ! Spoke to customer services but getting no joy !
I would send an email headed "formal complaint" to complaintsteam@npower.com saying you are complaining about being sent a bill having previously been told the outstanding amount would be written off. If they disagree follow the complaints process in the following link. Don't speak to them on the phone, insist they deal in writing so you have evidence of what they say. They may just ignore your emails until you take them to the Ombudsman.
http://www.npower.com/idc/groups/wcms_content/@wcms/@busi/documents/digitalassets/puttingthingsright100108.pdf0
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