NPower wrote off final bill now 8 months on they've sent me a final bill

Cardew

Patrickuk wrote: »

Tomorrow, if I have time, I will call their complaints department and ask for explanations. This company is probably the worst I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

My questions are; Do I owe them anything? Can they bill me in May 2015 for alleged usage from Aug-Nov 2013? How about after them writing to me stating that I no longer owe them anything?

Thank you.
Patrick

Personally I wouldn't call them. I would write and email headed 'Complaint' outlining what you wrote above and insisting that you want detailed bills explaining how they have concluded you owe £320.

They can claim for the period from Aug-Nov 2013 provided they produced a bill - regardless of it being an inaccurate bill. The opening paragraph of your post indicates they had sent a bill, albeit based on 'ridiculous estimates'

I moved from the property nPower provided electricity to in November 2013. Npower weren't capable of billing me even though I called them and wrote to them several times asking them to provide a bill based on actual readings and not ridiculous estimates,

The advantage of raising a formal complaint is that it should prevent the case being passed to a Debt Collection Agency and eventually enable you to pass the matter to the Ombudsman.

naedanger

Patrickuk wrote: »

Hello,

...

My questions are; Do I owe them anything? Can they bill me in May 2015 for alleged usage from Aug-Nov 2013? How about after them writing to me stating that I no longer owe them anything?

Thank you.
Patrick

I agree with the comment that you should complain in writing. You will find the correct email address and process to follow here:

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

Firstly they should not bill you anything for the final billing period as they said they wouldn't. I would take that to be the period from the date of the last bill you received immediately prior to their letter (i.e. the letter waiving the balance for the final billing period) to the date you left npower.

Secondly I would ask them to confirm they have applied the back-billing code correctly to your bill and ask them to explain why it has not wiped out the remainder of your bill as it relates to a period that is (well) over a year ago, and it is through no fault of yours that they are billing you now for energy used over 12 months ago.

If they do not agree to the first point and/or do not provide a satisfactory answer to the second point I would take my complaint to the Ombudsman after 8 weeks or if they issue a deadlock letter sooner.

The back-billing code is here:

https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/files/docs/Industry%20codes/Code%20of%20Practice%20for%20accurate%20bills/code_of_practice_for_accurate_bills_-_back_billing_for_domestic_customers.pdf

(You can read for yourself whether or not you think it applies to any of your bill. I suspect it unfortunately may not apply if npower issued a previous estimated bill, especially if that estimate was higher than the amount they are now billing. However if you believe the previous bill was so inaccurate as not to be valid as an estimated bill you could argue you never received a proper bill. I am not saying the argument will necessarily be accepted by the Ombudsman. In any event first wait and see what npower says.)

naedanger

Patrickuk wrote: »

Hello,
...

"Good news on your final statement", they stated that, "We know it's time to put things right, so here's what we've decided to do. Any outstanding balance, specifically related to your final billing period with npower, has been written off. Please accept this letter as confirmation of that, there;'s now no need to send you a final statement".

...

I find it terribly amusing how they now have two final bills when in the letter they sent me stating that everything has been written off, they clearly said that there is no need to send me a final statement.

Please see my above reply.

However I realise I missed a point. I think you may believe (and I can understand why) that npower had written off everything. However I don't think that is what their letter actually said. It said they had written off the balance relating to your final billing period, so anything owed prior to the final billing period was not being written off. However I think they should have been more explicit on this point and I do wonder if the letter was designed to give the impression everything was written off, to give themselves more time and delay customers from pursuing them for all outstanding bills when they were not in a position to produce them (due to their own systematic failures).

However if you think the letter was writing off everything (e.g. because a key component of the final billing period is the carry forward balance from earlier periods) you should include this as your first point of complaint. However I would not rely only on this reading of their letter before going to the Ombudsman.

Gloomendoom

naedanger wrote: »

However I realise I missed a point. I think you may believe (and I can understand why) that npower had written off everything. However I don't think that is what their letter actually said. It said they had written off the balance relating to your final billing period, so anything owed prior to the final billing period was not being written off.

I have one of these letters too and am struggling to make sense of it.

Can anybody explain to me (in words of one syllable) what period Npower's "final billing period" covers?

I switched suppliers in March 2014 and my final Npower bill was compiled on 06/08/2014 and previous to that there was a bill produced on 26/11/2013 (which was automatically debited from the credit in my account leaving nothing outstanding)

Incidentally, the 2013 bill is just an sum shown on my online account simply as "debit". No actual itemised bill was produced in a form that I could view (I complained at the time but nothing was done.)

TIA

naedanger

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I have one of these letters too and am struggling to make sense of it.

Can anybody explain to me (in words of one syllable) what period Npower's "final billing period" covers?

I suspect it means the period starting from the end date of the last bill your received prior to getting their letter.

So if, prior to receiving the letter, you had received a bill saying you owed £x then npower expected you to pay that £x. But anything after that was being written off.

I switched suppliers in March 2014 and my final Npower bill was compiled on 06/08/2014 and previous to that there was a bill produced on 26/11/2013 (which was automatically debited from the credit in my account leaving nothing outstanding)

So when did you actually get the letter saying they were writing off any outstanding balance related to the final period?

Incidentally, the 2013 bill is just an sum shown on my online account simply as "debit". No actual itemised bill was produced in a form that I could view (I complained at the time but nothing was done.)

TIA

Seems a very dubious practice not showing how the bill was calculated.

Gloomendoom

naedanger wrote: »

I suspect it means the period starting from the end date of the last bill your received prior to getting their letter.

So if, prior to receiving the letter, you had received a bill saying you owed £x then npower expected you to pay that £x. But anything after that was being written off.

The bill they created before I received the letter was my final bill generated 06/08/2014. Unfortunately, they neglected to send me a copy by post or email. I'd ceased to be a customer on 28/03/2014.

So when did you actually get the letter saying they were writing off any outstanding balance related to the final period?

It was dated 24th October 2014.

Seems a very dubious practice not showing how the bill was calculated.

My thoughts as well. They have been asked at least twice to do so but nothing has happened.

naedanger

Gloomendoom wrote: »

The bill they created before I received the letter was my final bill generated 06/08/2014. Unfortunately, they neglected to send me a copy by post or email. I'd ceased to be a customer on 28/03/2014.

It was dated 24th October 2014."

So did your letter say the following (with my emphasis added) -

"We know it's time to put things right, so here's what we've decided to do. Any outstanding balance, specifically related to your final billing period with npower, has been written off. Please accept this letter as confirmation of that, there's now no need to send you a final statement

If so it seems confusing as it seems to imply that you had not received a final statement.

However I think in the circumstances I would interpret the letter as meaning you have nothing further to pay. I would therefore complain that they were reneging on their previous agreement if they sent me another bill. That puts the ball back in their court to clarify.

I would send the complaint by email and instruct them that any further correspondence must be in writing so you that have a record of what they say.

My thoughts as well. They have been asked at least twice to do so but nothing has happened.

Did you pay the 2013 bill? If so it may be too late (in practical terms) to dispute it now.

Gloomendoom

naedanger wrote: »

So did your letter say the following (with my emphasis added) -

"We know it's time to put things right, so here's what we've decided to do. Any outstanding balance, specifically related to your final billing period with npower, has been written off. Please accept this letter as confirmation of that, there's now no need to send you a final statement

If so it seems confusing as it seems to imply that you had not received a final statement.

However I think in the circumstances I would interpret the letter as meaning you have nothing further to pay. I would therefore complain that they were reneging on their previous agreement if they sent me another bill. That puts the ball back in their court to clarify.

I would send the complaint by email and instruct them that any further correspondence must be in writing so you that have a record of what they say.

I did that on 30th March and got a response on the 17th April saying that my details had been passed to the billing team but not to expect a response for 35-38 days.

It didn't stop the debt collector threats though so I also sent a letter last week (recorded delivery) that they received on the 20th. On Saturday I got a big orange Telemessage saying that if I didn't phone them as soon as possible they may send my account to a debt collection agency.

I intend to ring them tomorrow just to confirm that I want all further correspondence in writing.

I stupidly assumed that once I had started a complaint that their billing department would back off until it was resolved one way or the other.

Did you pay the 2013 bill? If so it may be too late (in practical terms) to dispute it now.

Yes, it was automatically taken from the credit in my account and paid in full. I haven't really got a problem with that though. It should have been itemised but hey ho.

naedanger

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I did that on 30th March and got a response on the 17th April saying that my details had been passed to the billing team but not to expect a response for 35-38 days.

If you first complained on 30th March then I calculate 8 weeks has now passed so you can (and in my view should) submit your claim to the Ombudsman now. (I cannot see any advantage in delay as the Ombudsman will have a backlog, so the sooner you submit your case the better. If you settle with npower before the Ombudsman considers your case you can withdraw it.)

So long as on 30th March you expressed clear dissatisfaction then I think that should count as a complaint. If npower did not treat it as such (e.g. did not tell you about their official complaint process) then you should add that as a further element of your complaint.

It didn't stop the debt collector threats though so I also sent a letter last week (recorded delivery) that they received on the 20th. On Saturday I got a big orange Telemessage saying that if I didn't phone them as soon as possible they may send my account to a debt collection agency.

If you dispute a debt I believe they are supposed to stop recovery activity until the dispute is fully investigated. So add this failure by npower as another element to your complaint. (I think this is quite a serious matter.)

I intend to ring them tomorrow just to confirm that I want all further correspondence in writing.

Follow up your call with an email that makes the same point. Limit your call to simply saying you require them to deal with your complaint in writing. Refuse to discuss any details over the phone. If they ask why then say you want evidence of what is said and you want time to consider anything they say. If they say they will not deal in writing don't argue just restate that you will only correspond in writing, but add that you will respond promptly to written correspondence. (They really don't like dealing in writing so don't be surprised if they try to persuade you to deal by phone.)

Don't ignore any correspondence. But reply by email, and refer to your previous emails if they repeat questions or ignore your correspondence.

I stupidly assumed that once I had started a complaint that their billing department would back off until it was resolved one way or the other.

Unfortunately assuming npower will behave properly does seem to be a mistake.

Yes, it was automatically taken from the credit in my account and paid in full. I haven't really got a problem with that though. It should have been itemised but hey ho.

You could consider still asking for this itemised bill. If they cannot produce itemised bills it will not look good for them.

If the complaint was mine I would be seeking that they stick to their previous word and pay £100 compensation for the work they have put you to now, and the stress of having to deal with threatening correspondence that they should never have issued because they have not investigated your dispute regarding the legitimacy of this supposed debt.

Ombudsman link:

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/contact-us-energy.html

PS It may take time to resolve and there is no guarantee the Ombudsman will uphold your complaint. (However the evidence that npower are trying to renege on a previous promise seems strong.)

dianadoors

Npower put my DD payments up after being with them for 7 months,my DD went from85.00 per month to 187.00.I complained for 5 months and whenI got no response I cancelled the DD after which NPower gave me a bill of £900.00.This company uses scurrilous methods of collection too.I was sent 'fake' legal letters,purporting to come from solicitors but were in fact from NPower.

I have been to court and will go to court against them in a few weeks.If you are with NPower be warned they are thoroughly dishonest!