Paying NPower But Supplied by ScottishPower

RossHan

Hello
Months ago I posted regarding what I thought was a erroneous transfer to Scottish-power.

For a quick recap this is my situation. I was with Scottish-power for a few years and changed to Npower using a comparison site.
As it turns out after many phone calls, my gas meter wasn't taken over properly and is registered to a different address. I am Paying for somebody else's gas with NPower bills being sent to me whilst being still being provided by Scottish-power. Scottish Power sent me a Bill for around £500. They know that it NPower made a mistake and have sent me confirmation that the gas meter wasn't taken over properly by them, but they still wan the bill paid. They also said I should expect a total refund from the bills from NPower.

I raised the issue with Npower, they sent out a chap from the Gas Board to look at the gas meter, he didn't know really what was going on and he presumed he was checking it for leaks etc, I made sure he entered the right meter number and had the correct address, then I heard no more from Npower.

I raised the complaint again, They sent me a letter saying they will contact Scottish-power and will be resolved in 28 working days. 28 working days has now passed and I have heard nothing. I still get billed from NPower and presumably still being supplied by Scottish-power.

Before I call Npower to ask them where they stand, What should I be doing? Should I be looking for compensation, should I take up new complaint about them with a third party? Is it likely they will refund 2 years of gas bill so I can pay Scottish-power their money?
Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank You

footyguy

RossHan wrote: »

Hello
Months ago I posted regarding what I thought was a erroneous transfer to Scottish-power.

For a quick recap this is my situation. I was with Scottish-power for a few years and changed to Npower using a comparison site.
As it turns out after many phone calls, my gas meter wasn't taken over properly and is registered to a different address. I am Paying for somebody else's gas with NPower bills being sent to me whilst being still being provided by Scottish-power. Scottish Power sent me a Bill for around £500. They know that it NPower made a mistake and have sent me confirmation that the gas meter wasn't taken over properly by them, but they still wan the bill paid. They also said I should expect a total refund from the bills from NPower.

I raised the issue with Npower, they sent out a chap from the Gas Board to look at the gas meter, he didn't know really what was going on and he presumed he was checking it for leaks etc, I made sure he entered the right meter number and had the correct address, then I heard no more from Npower.

I raised the complaint again, They sent me a letter saying they will contact Scottish-power and will be resolved in 28 working days. 28 working days has now passed and I have heard nothing. I still get billed from NPower and presumably still being supplied by Scottish-power.

Before I call Npower to ask them where they stand, What should I be doing? Should I be looking for compensation, should I take up new complaint about them with a third party? Is it likely they will refund 2 years of gas bill so I can pay Scottish-power their money?
Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank You

I'm sorry, but this latest post does not appear to make any sense to me

I remember the post you made in March; here it is
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5200384

In it you said you had voluntarily requested to switch supplier in October 2013. You were previously with SP, but you wanted nPower to be your supplier.

As I understand it, that occurred.

But in January, you were alerted to the fact that you were being moved back to Scottish Power, at least for gas, which you had not authorised. However you failed to take any action about this, and so in March when you posted you had already received a bill from SP for "a few hundred £" for gas consumed.

You are now claiming that, presumably as a result of the erroneous tranfer you subsequently complained about, it transpired that you were being billed for the wrong meter.
If they now know this, they would probably have identified what property that meter does serve, and more importantly what meter serves your property.

You will not be billed by Scottish Power (at least not for any consumption since October 2103). nPower will have the issue of sorting out the mess that has occurred on your account due to the fact you have been billed to date based on the wrong meter.

I would assume as they probably don't have any historical data for the correct meter that they will estimate your consumption since you joined nPower in October 2013; they will do this based on your usage going forward now they know the correct meter for your property.

They will then have to recalculate your bill accordingly, taking into account all the credits (payments) applied to the account.

You won't get any compo in my opinion. They may offer you a goodwill gesture (e.g. £20 credit) if requested as a result of you ignoring the advice I gave you back in March, and loyally sticking with nPower.

RossHan

footyguy wrote: »

...in January, you were alerted to the fact that you were being moved back to Scottish Power, at least for gas, which you had not authorised. However you failed to take any action about this, and so in March when you posted you had already received a bill from SP for "a few hundred £" for gas consumed.

You are now claiming that, presumably as a result of the erroneous tranfer you subsequently complained about, it transpired that you were being billed for the wrong meter.

Correct
I made a complaint about the erroneous transfer, gave details etc. I then received a response letter for ScottishPower. "After reviewing your complaint, I understand that Npower has taken over supply of the wrong gas meter. As a result of this you have an outstanding balance with ScottishPower for the amount of £xxx.xx. We understand that you have paid money to Npower on the assumption that they supplied your energy, of course you will be entitled to a refund of any money that they have collected from you. in the meantime ... contact us to set up a payment plan for the outstanding amount..."

If they now know this, they would probably have identified what property that meter does serve, and more importantly what meter serves your property.

ScottishPower know my meter, but still no word from Npower.

You will not be billed by Scottish Power (at least not for any consumption since October 2103).

ScottishPower are waiting for me to pay the amounted i mentioned in quote above. However they are happy to put this on hold until I hear back from Npower.

nPower will have the issue of sorting out the mess that has occurred on your account due to the fact you have been billed to date based on the wrong meter. They will then have to recalculate your bill accordingly, taking into account all the credits (payments) applied to the account.

Thats my main issue, they still have not got back to me other than a letter regarding the complaint reference. If your saying they are likely to recalculate the bills and hopefully refund the difference then that eases the situation.

Thanks

footyguy

RossHan wrote: »

Correct
I made a complaint about the erroneous transfer, gave details etc. I then received a response letter for ScottishPower. "After reviewing your complaint, I understand that Npower has taken over supply of the wrong gas meter. As a result of this you have an outstanding balance with ScottishPower for the amount of £xxx.xx. We understand that you have paid money to Npower on the assumption that they supplied your energy, of course you will be entitled to a refund of any money that they have collected from you. in the meantime ... contact us to set up a payment plan for the outstanding amount..."

ScottishPower know my meter, but still no word from Npower.

ScottishPower are waiting for me to pay the amounted i mentioned in quote above. However they are happy to put this on hold until I hear back from Npower.

Thats my main issue, they still have not got back to me other than a letter regarding the complaint reference. If your saying they are likely to recalculate the bills and hopefully refund the difference then that eases the situation.

Thanks

I don't know why you are even dealing with Scottish Power.

You asked to leave them in October 2013, which I understand you did, and have never asked to return. As I understand it, you want to be supplied by nPower.

Whilst you have the option of contacting either supplier in the case of an erroneous transfer, I would always recommend contracting the 'losing' one, i.e your preferred supplier.

nPower

RossHan wrote: »

Hello
Months ago I posted regarding what I thought was a erroneous transfer to Scottish-power.

For a quick recap this is my situation. I was with Scottish-power for a few years and changed to Npower using a comparison site.
As it turns out after many phone calls, my gas meter wasn't taken over properly and is registered to a different address. I am Paying for somebody else's gas with NPower bills being sent to me whilst being still being provided by Scottish-power. Scottish Power sent me a Bill for around £500. They know that it NPower made a mistake and have sent me confirmation that the gas meter wasn't taken over properly by them, but they still wan the bill paid. They also said I should expect a total refund from the bills from NPower.

I raised the issue with Npower, they sent out a chap from the Gas Board to look at the gas meter, he didn't know really what was going on and he presumed he was checking it for leaks etc, I made sure he entered the right meter number and had the correct address, then I heard no more from Npower.

I raised the complaint again, They sent me a letter saying they will contact Scottish-power and will be resolved in 28 working days. 28 working days has now passed and I have heard nothing. I still get billed from NPower and presumably still being supplied by Scottish-power.

Before I call Npower to ask them where they stand, What should I be doing? Should I be looking for compensation, should I take up new complaint about them with a third party? Is it likely they will refund 2 years of gas bill so I can pay Scottish-power their money?
Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank You

Hello RossHan

Thank you for your post.

If you would like me to look into this in more detail please email me using the address on our profile page; be sure to mark it for my attention.

Thanks

Neil

RossHan

In case anyone is looking at this topic as they have similar problems the saga and finally been resolved after nearly 2 years.
I had to make 2 Ombudsman cases in order to resolve this. Basically it was an Erroneous transfer by Scottish Power.
The first ombudsman investigation was to find out if Npower took over the wrong meter as SP assumed. They did not
The second ombudsman investigation was to find out if the SP made an Erroneous transfer. They did.
Here is the final findings from the good people at Ombudsman, It really goes to show the hassle I have had from Scottish Power.

"You state that in August 2015 your received a bill from Scottish Power for £xxx You advise that you settled your accounts with the company in 2013, when you left its supply. The company provided log notes that indicate you first raised a concern regarding an incorrect account in your name in April 2015. You indicated that your supply moved to npower in 2013 and requested that it close account number 10068******. There are no notes to indicate that it responded to your concern at this time. This constitutes a shortfall in service as it failed to address your complaint. In August 2015, a log note provided by Scottish Power indicates that it advised you that your supply did not move to npower in 2013 due to a metering mix up. At this time, it issued a bill for £xxx covering 15 May 2014 to 26 May 2015. During this time, you advised that company that a previous Ombudsman Services complaint that found your supply was with npower and not with Scottish Power. The company maintained that your supply did not leave Scottish Power. I must consider that Scottish Power failed to investigate your complaint sufficiently and came to an incorrect conclusion. The details for your previous account and the related metering details were available to it during your complaint. I am of the view that it could have resolved your complaint had it investigated the complaint effectively. I consider this a further shortfall in service that has prolonger your complaint. You advise that in June 2016, you received a debt collection letter from LCS Debt Recovery, relating to a balance from Scottish Power. Log notes indicate that you raised a further complaint with the company at this time and it confirmed your metering details with you at this time. It is evident that the company agreed to investigate your complaint but failed to take any action until you contact it again in September 2016 due to further reminder letters. This constitutes another shortfall in service as it has failed to take sufficient ownership of your complaint in June 2016. In its case file, Scottish Power has acknowledged that it is not your supplier. It has confirmed that account numbers 16008****** and 16008****** both have your name and address attached to them incorrectly. It has proposed that it confirm that your details will be removed from these accounts. I consider this a fair proposal given the nature of your complaint. It has also offered to provide confirmation that your previous correct account 91296****** is closed to a zero balance. I also consider this reasonable given your complaint and recommend that it maintain both offers. You have requested a payment of £xxx for your time and trouble. Given the shortfalls in service identified in my investigation, I am of the view that the company should provide a cheque payment of £xxx as a gesture of goodwill. I consider this an appropriate acknowledgement of your complaint and the shortfalls in service. The company should also provide a written apology in recognition of the shortfalls in service.
• provide confirmation in writing that it has removed your details from account numbers 16008****** and 16008****** as you are not responsible for these supplies; • provide confirmation that your previous account number 91296***** is now closed to a zero balance;
• provide a written apology in recognition of the shortfalls in service and any inconvenience caused; and
• provide a cheque payment of £xxx as a gesture of goodwill."

D_M_E

Thanks for the update.

A good result, you just need to ensure that SP stick to it.

Give them a couple of weeks and if no response write to them and remind them of the Ombudsman decision.