problems with Npower - advice needed please!

db1

so - stayed with NPower but changed my tariff - easy, saved 35 a month. Gave my updated meter reading at the same time. i was told that the account was showing a 1914 pound (yes you read right!) credit! But that Npower had been over estimating my bill in the absence of a recent meter reading so there may be some adjustment that would need to take place.

I said I'd call back in 2 weeks to find out the amended credit.

Called today and was told the credit is now 1300 pounds. When i asked the lady to explain the difference she said it was 'bill reversal' and that there was some outstanding sums on the account. I explained that i'd been told before I have over paying and that that Npower had said they had been OVER estimating the bill. She said she couldn't explain.


Spoke then (5 minutes later) to the supervisor who said that the credit is actually 250. I asked where the 1100 pounds had gone in 5 minutes, she couldn't explain either and said that the information i was telling about previous calls couldn't be true. I told her to draw the tapes and check.

An hour later she called me back and said she had listened to both previous calls and that I was correct in my recalling of both calls but that both members of staff had given me incorrect information. The credit is 250 pounds.

I have made a formal complain and someone from NPOWER will call me within 7 days after they have looked into it .I was also told that 4 amended bills were issued on 4th and that the bills were previous UNDER estimated. When I asked for more details i was told that because this is now the subject to a complaint they couldn't discuss it any further with me.

Is there any one independent i can get to look into this . It all seems very very dubious!!!

Farway

Do you actually take meter readings and work out your own sums?

either way until Npower have dealt with complaint, either to your liking or not, no one else will touch it with a barge pole

nPower

db1 wrote: »

so - stayed with NPower but changed my tariff - easy, saved 35 a month. Gave my updated meter reading at the same time. i was told that the account was showing a 1914 pound (yes you read right!) credit! But that Npower had been over estimating my bill in the absence of a recent meter reading so there may be some adjustment that would need to take place.

I said I'd call back in 2 weeks to find out the amended credit.

Called today and was told the credit is now 1300 pounds. When i asked the lady to explain the difference she said it was 'bill reversal' and that there was some outstanding sums on the account. I explained that i'd been told before I have over paying and that that Npower had said they had been OVER estimating the bill. She said she couldn't explain.


Spoke then (5 minutes later) to the supervisor who said that the credit is actually 250. I asked where the 1100 pounds had gone in 5 minutes, she couldn't explain either and said that the information i was telling about previous calls couldn't be true. I told her to draw the tapes and check.

An hour later she called me back and said she had listened to both previous calls and that I was correct in my recalling of both calls but that both members of staff had given me incorrect information. The credit is 250 pounds.

I have made a formal complain and someone from NPOWER will call me within 7 days after they have looked into it .I was also told that 4 amended bills were issued on 4th and that the bills were previous UNDER estimated. When I asked for more details i was told that because this is now the subject to a complaint they couldn't discuss it any further with me.

Is there any one independent i can get to look into this . It all seems very very dubious!!!

Hi db1

Thanks for your post.

If we estimate a meter reading over an extended period, once we receive a correct meter reading this will cause us to "reapportion" the bill, meaning we'll correct the estimates so they're more in line with your accurate usage. To do this, we'll reverse the old bill, correct the readings, then bill everything back up to date. This may cause the account to show more in credit than is actually the case, as it'll show all of your payments but none of your charges. Once we've billed it back up to date, this will be your genuine balance.

We're happy to check this for you if you can get in touch using the details on our profile page.

Kind regards

Jess

System

db1 wrote: »

so - stayed with NPower but changed my tariff - easy, saved 35 a month. Gave my updated meter reading at the same time. i was told that the account was showing a 1914 pound (yes you read right!) credit! But that Npower had been over estimating my bill in the absence of a recent meter reading so there may be some adjustment that would need to take place.

I said I'd call back in 2 weeks to find out the amended credit.

Called today and was told the credit is now 1300 pounds. When i asked the lady to explain the difference she said it was 'bill reversal' and that there was some outstanding sums on the account. I explained that i'd been told before I have over paying and that that Npower had said they had been OVER estimating the bill. She said she couldn't explain.


Spoke then (5 minutes later) to the supervisor who said that the credit is actually 250. I asked where the 1100 pounds had gone in 5 minutes, she couldn't explain either and said that the information i was telling about previous calls couldn't be true. I told her to draw the tapes and check.

An hour later she called me back and said she had listened to both previous calls and that I was correct in my recalling of both calls but that both members of staff had given me incorrect information. The credit is 250 pounds.

I have made a formal complain and someone from NPOWER will call me within 7 days after they have looked into it .I was also told that 4 amended bills were issued on 4th and that the bills were previous UNDER estimated. When I asked for more details i was told that because this is now the subject to a complaint they couldn't discuss it any further with me.

Is there any one independent i can get to look into this . It all seems very very dubious!!!

To answer your question, you have two options:

1. Invoke the supplier's formal complaints procedure. If after 8 weeks, you fail to get an acceptable response you can escalate the complaint to The Energy Ombudsman. NPower will tell you how to do this. The Energy Ombudsman will review your complaint and come to a judgement. If you reject the judgement, the supplier is off the hook.

2. If you feel that you have a substantive claim then you can forget option 1 and take the supplier to Court.

It is worth pointing out that credit/debit balances and DD payment reviews are meaningless unless they are the result of a calculation based on actual meter readings. At the very least, NPower owes you a detailed explanation about how it re-calculated your DD payment if it didn't have an actual meter reading to hand. Don't let them fob you off with industry speak like bill reversals etc.

Autumnella

What do your own calculations tell you the balance should be?