We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Problem nPower gas supplier and debt recovery...

shepcobain
shepcobain Posts: 10 Forumite
Hi guys,

I feel a little embarrassed about the above situation, but before I contact the citizens advice bureau I thought I would ask the opinions of experts/real people here.

I am a decent guy and pay all my bills, mortgage payments and monies owed on time every time. It is unusual for me to have outstanding debt, but there is, what I think, a valid reason as I will explain.

When we purchased our second home 18months ago, we left behind Scottish power and moved into the new property. At the time we took new ownership I wrote down the gas and electric meter readings (these have since been thrown away) and tried to find out who the existing supplier to the property was. The estate agent couldn't help and the previous owner hadn't left any information regarding this.

I decided to take it upon myself to arrange a new supplier and applied via USwitch. I decided to go with OVO energy on a dual fuel tariff and they completed the necessary steps to switch. They stated a bill would arrive with a final payment from the previous energy supplier.

Nothing arrived and the switch took 60 days (17th December - February). Obviously the gas and electric had been used for two months in the property and somebody was owed the money somewhere.

5 months later I began to receive letters from n Power addressed to 'The Occupier' saying monies where owed and a detailed bill will arrive shortly. Sure enough a bill arrived, however it was for the sum of £900. Then more began to arrive for all different amounts, £700, £500, £90 etc. none of it made sense. It turns out that nPower only supplied gas to the property and were saying they were still the supplier to the property, hence the higher bills after several months. After contacting them and OVO it turned out both were supplying gas to the property and nPower had billed me incorrectly. Between themselves they rectified the issue and I received a final bill for £323 from nPower. For gas alone for two months I thought this seemed extremely high! I ignored this as I felt it was an incorrect bill. Several days later a letter from nPower arrived apologising for the previous bill, it was incorrect and will be recalculated and sent out. As they said, another bill arrived for the same usage but for £95. I decided to keep the letter/bill and planned to call them and pay it. Sadly as we were renovating the house this letter and all of the previous correspondence got misplaced and we can't find it anywhere. I phoned nPower up and they claimed they had no record of the £95 bill. They reduced the debt to under £300 however, said if I find the bill for £95 they will honour it. I asked what happens if I don't find it and they cut me off. I phoned back a few days later and when finally getting off hold for two hours I managed to speak to another advisor about the account, I was placed on hold and cut off again. I decided to ignore any future correspondence from them as I felt the bill was incorrect and I wasn't getting anywhere. I know this was the wrong thing to do, and as a result a debt recovery agency is now contacting me. I have explained the situation to them and they were helpful. They advised me to speak to the citizens advice bureau and then contact them. I have since been ignoring the letters, which I know is the wrong thing to do and the debt recovery company are now saying I have 7 days to pay the bill. The bill is for £299 (this includes £29 admin fee). I have antagonised the situiation by ignoring the letters but I just was hoping it would go away or I would received another bill for £90!

What annoys me the most is I currently pay £121 per month for gas and electricity with OVO and my account is in credit. So how can I owe n Power £300 for two months of just gas? Also, why did I receive a bill for £95 which seemed reasonable and I am willing to pay yet they have no record of this?

I would appreciate any advice on this matter, even if it just means taking it on the chin and paying the monies owed.

Thanks,

Comments

  • As you correctly identified, the correct procedure is to register with the incumbent supplier. This would probably have expedited the switch, and crucially would have allowed npower to have worked off the actual readings.

    http://www.ukpower.co.uk/who-supplies-my-gas-and-electricity

    The fact npower's shoddy billing system is all over the place doesn't help, but it sounds like they're working from estimated reeadings - a perfectly legitimate procedure if they haven't been provided with the correct ones.

    You have to pay the bill - you've used the energy, and you are expected to pay. What you pay with OVO is immaterial, although 2 months for £300 is far from outrageous during winter - you'll use 75-80% of your usage during the coldest 4 months.
  • footyguy
    footyguy Posts: 4,157 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    shepcobain wrote: »
    Hi guys,

    I feel a little embarrassed about the above situation, but before I contact the citizens advice bureau I thought I would ask the opinions of experts/real people here.

    I am a decent guy and pay all my bills, mortgage payments and monies owed on time every time. It is unusual for me to have outstanding debt, but there is, what I think, a valid reason as I will explain.

    When we purchased our second home 18months ago, we left behind Scottish power and moved into the new property. At the time we took new ownership I wrote down the gas and electric meter readings (these have since been thrown away) and tried to find out who the existing supplier to the property was. The estate agent couldn't help and the previous owner hadn't left any information regarding this.

    I decided to take it upon myself to arrange a new supplier and applied via USwitch. I decided to go with OVO energy on a dual fuel tariff and they completed the necessary steps to switch. They stated a bill would arrive with a final payment from the previous energy supplier.

    Nothing arrived and the switch took 60 days (17th December - February). Obviously the gas and electric had been used for two months in the property and somebody was owed the money somewhere.

    5 months later I began to receive letters from n Power addressed to 'The Occupier' saying monies where owed and a detailed bill will arrive shortly. Sure enough a bill arrived, however it was for the sum of £900. Then more began to arrive for all different amounts, £700, £500, £90 etc. none of it made sense. It turns out that nPower only supplied gas to the property and were saying they were still the supplier to the property, hence the higher bills after several months. After contacting them and OVO it turned out both were supplying gas to the property and nPower had billed me incorrectly. Between themselves they rectified the issue and I received a final bill for £323 from nPower. For gas alone for two months I thought this seemed extremely high! I ignored this as I felt it was an incorrect bill. Several days later a letter from nPower arrived apologising for the previous bill, it was incorrect and will be recalculated and sent out. As they said, another bill arrived for the same usage but for £95. I decided to keep the letter/bill and planned to call them and pay it. Sadly as we were renovating the house this letter and all of the previous correspondence got misplaced and we can't find it anywhere. I phoned nPower up and they claimed they had no record of the £95 bill. They reduced the debt to under £300 however, said if I find the bill for £95 they will honour it. I asked what happens if I don't find it and they cut me off. I phoned back a few days later and when finally getting off hold for two hours I managed to speak to another advisor about the account, I was placed on hold and cut off again. I decided to ignore any future correspondence from them as I felt the bill was incorrect and I wasn't getting anywhere. I know this was the wrong thing to do, and as a result a debt recovery agency is now contacting me. I have explained the situation to them and they were helpful. They advised me to speak to the citizens advice bureau and then contact them. I have since been ignoring the letters, which I know is the wrong thing to do and the debt recovery company are now saying I have 7 days to pay the bill. The bill is for £299 (this includes £29 admin fee). I have antagonised the situiation by ignoring the letters but I just was hoping it would go away or I would received another bill for £90!

    What annoys me the most is I currently pay £121 per month for gas and electricity with OVO and my account is in credit. So how can I owe n Power £300 for two months of just gas? Also, why did I receive a bill for £95 which seemed reasonable and I am willing to pay yet they have no record of this?

    I would appreciate any advice on this matter, even if it just means taking it on the chin and paying the monies owed.

    Thanks,

    Could you please explain the process you used to apply via uSwitch.
    One of the first questions they ask is who your current supplier is and what tariff you are on with them.

    In regards the meter readings you have since thrown away, presumably you checked before throwing them away that these were the ones Ovo started to bill you from. Look at your old bills, or contact Ovo who I am sure will be able to assist you. ;)
  • naedanger
    naedanger Posts: 3,103 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 5 May 2015 at 12:10PM
    shepcobain wrote: »
    I would appreciate any advice on this matter, even if it just means taking it on the chin and paying the monies owed.

    Unfortunately you have not helped yourself by not keeping previous correspondence, but you know this already and you are where you are.

    Have you got a copy of the actual bill which npower want you to pay? If so, does it cover the correct period? If it does then are the readings estimated (it should say this on the bill)?

    Is the closing reading on the bill equal to the opening reading on your first OVO energy bill? (If you don't have a copy of that bill then OVO may be able to give you the information if you ask them).

    In any event you should now act quickly. If you wish to dispute the bill you should calculate your estimate of what you believe you are due to pay and then pay that amount now, before disputing the bill.

    If you dispute the bill then you can ultimately take your case to the Ombudsman. However your evidence needs to be more convincing than npower's if you want the Ombudsman to agree with your estimate.

    You can also ask npower to send you all the information they have on you. This may uncover information that helps your case. It costs £10 to make such a request and needs to be done in the correct way. The following link gives more information on how to do this. (It gives a template letter but I would change the wording to ask for "all information that I am entitled to under the Data Protection Act 1998" and I would enclose a cheque for £10 payable to npower to speed your request.)

    https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/personal-information/
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Googling 'how to find my gas and electricity supplier' at the point of occupation would have saved you a lot of hassle and added expense. As pointed out above, you cannot switch until you have an account to switch from, so that is why the transfer took 60 days.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 347.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 239.5K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 615.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.1K Life & Family
  • 252.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.