Ongoing problems with Npower making a mess of my bills

Furious_crow

Not even sure where to begin with this.

I moved out of my flat to move in to a house with my girlfriend last November. I told Npower I wished to switch to the new property but still keep a small amount of money in my flat so I could do it up for renting out.

Anyway, this seemed to coincide with Npower's IT 'difficulties' and the meter readings we submitted back in November (upon moving in) were lost, they made an absolute mess of the dual bill for two properties, and as a result we received a whopping bill for the house which was totally inaccurate.

After a long and tiring battle with them which lasted until April, in which time I received two separate bills for £500 (which I was told to discard), they acknowledged their mistakes, gave me a £100 gesture of goodwill to help to balance out the account and set up the correct direct debit.

Which leads me to this:

I received my recent bill to find that I was in debit of £19 (despite paying the supposedly correct direct debit) due to a high gas usage over the period between March 4 and April 8th. In this time, it says that I used 488 units.

To put this into context, for the gas usage between April 8th and 28th of August was 234 units, and our winter usage between November 2013 and February 2014 was 706 units according to their 'estimates'

This to me seems abnormal, that in a 4 week period, you use double the amount of a 4 month period, and almost half of your 'peak' winter time. As a result, our bills have gone up by £60 a month and we have no 'stock' of money that we would normally accumulate over the summer (as the heating has not been used at all).

I'm also wary of switching suppliers (which I have been wanting to do for months) until this debacle has been sorted out.

They are currently investigating it (apparently) but does anyone have any advice on how to fight my corner here?

boredofbeingathome

Wish i had, they are notorious for mucking up. I am in the process of complaining to the ombudsman.

Furious_crow

boredofbeingathome wrote: »

Wish i had, they are notorious for mucking up. I am in the process of complaining to the ombudsman.

I'm glad I'm not alone in this.

Any tips for gathering a case for the ombudsman? Because a lot of the billing is done online and I don't have any evidence otherwise...

naedanger

Furious_crow wrote: »

I'm glad I'm not alone in this.

Any tips for gathering a case for the ombudsman? Because a lot of the billing is done online and I don't have any evidence otherwise...

You are certainly not alone. Npower was voted the worst company from all industries, and I suspect it won easily.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/household-bills/11100390/Npower-worst-company-in-the-UK-for-customer-service.html

My only advice is put your complaint in writing and insist on a written reply.

Their email address for complaints is here: complaintsteam@npower.com

Their complaint policy is:
http://www.npower.com/home/help-and-support/contact-us/complaints/complaints-handling-policy/

Then you need to be very patient e.g. don't expect them to do much until you reach the Ombudsman stage.

Alternatively keep your complaint here updated with progress and the npower rep on this forum may help you.

nPower

Furious_crow wrote: »

Not even sure where to begin with this.

I moved out of my flat to move in to a house with my girlfriend last November. I told Npower I wished to switch to the new property but still keep a small amount of money in my flat so I could do it up for renting out.

Anyway, this seemed to coincide with Npower's IT 'difficulties' and the meter readings we submitted back in November (upon moving in) were lost, they made an absolute mess of the dual bill for two properties, and as a result we received a whopping bill for the house which was totally inaccurate.

After a long and tiring battle with them which lasted until April, in which time I received two separate bills for £500 (which I was told to discard), they acknowledged their mistakes, gave me a £100 gesture of goodwill to help to balance out the account and set up the correct direct debit.

Which leads me to this:

I received my recent bill to find that I was in debit of £19 (despite paying the supposedly correct direct debit) due to a high gas usage over the period between March 4 and April 8th. In this time, it says that I used 488 units.

To put this into context, for the gas usage between April 8th and 28th of August was 234 units, and our winter usage between November 2013 and February 2014 was 706 units according to their 'estimates'

This to me seems abnormal, that in a 4 week period, you use double the amount of a 4 month period, and almost half of your 'peak' winter time. As a result, our bills have gone up by £60 a month and we have no 'stock' of money that we would normally accumulate over the summer (as the heating has not been used at all).

I'm also wary of switching suppliers (which I have been wanting to do for months) until this debacle has been sorted out.

They are currently investigating it (apparently) but does anyone have any advice on how to fight my corner here?

Hi Furious_crow

Thanks for your post.

In relation to your bill, you don't advise if the meter readings used have been estimated. If they have, then they're based on previous consumption and therefore on the period before you moved out.

If you can get in touch with me using the details on our profile along with your account details and some up to date meter readings, I can make sure your account is updated accurately and your Direct Debit payments are set at a suitable amount to cover any standing charges and the minimal usage, based on an empty property. Please mark the email for my attention and state you've contacted via this forum.

If you do wish to change suppliers, if a payment plan is in place or the balance is less than £250, we would not normally object to any transfers. I'm sure we can get this sorted for you.

Regards

Jess