NPower - Direct Debit Increased significantly!

Edna123

Hello!
This is my first time posting, but would like some advice from anyone in regard to Npower and their significant increase in billing.
I received my statement yesterday which states that my direct debit is increasing from £61 to £174 a month (!)
We currently live in a 2 bed terrace, no appliances that would drain energy significantly and are hardly at the property (working full time)
We've lived there nearly 3 years and until May of this year our direct debit was always £47 and that generally kept us slightly in credit. It increased to £61 in May.
I spoke to customer services yesterday who informed me we are £500 in debit and that it was probably due to a cold winter. We will struggle to pay this, and i feel its ludicrous that it has increased so much....
Any advice / similar experiences?
Thank you

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.



Yours is a very common scenario which is almost certainly caused by your bills being based on under-estimated meter readings; and you now have a 'catch-up' bill.



If you want accurate bills you must check the meter readings and contact Npower if they are incorrect.


Without getting too technical, if the discrepancy between actual readings and estimated readings is too great the Npower computer will reject actual readings as the computer 'thinks' they are a mistake.


As you paid £47 a month for nearly 3 years, when prices were rising, it is not surprising that a debt has built up.

System

Edna123 wrote: »

Hello!
This is my first time posting, but would like some advice from anyone in regard to Npower and their significant increase in billing.
I received my statement yesterday which states that my direct debit is increasing from £61 to £174 a month (!)
We currently live in a 2 bed terrace, no appliances that would drain energy significantly and are hardly at the property (working full time)
We've lived there nearly 3 years and until May of this year our direct debit was always £47 and that generally kept us slightly in credit. It increased to £61 in May.
I spoke to customer services yesterday who informed me we are £500 in debit and that it was probably due to a cold winter. We will struggle to pay this, and i feel its ludicrous that it has increased so much....
Any advice / similar experiences?
Thank you

Hi - welcome to the forum. You need to check that your latest statement is based on either a customer or actual reading. If it is then any credit/debit balance is only valid for the day that the statement was raised. If the statement shows that the latest reading was estimated by the supplier then you need to provide the supplier with an actual meter reading. You can then calculate whether or not the DD increase is justified.

Often the problem is that consumers do not provide suppliers with monthly readings. Bills then get estimated and the consumer sees a credit balance and thinks that there is nothing to worry about. Under current regulations, the supplier now only has to obtain one actual or customer reading a year. It is usually this reading which shows that previous estimates were on the low side. A credit then becomes a debit and the DD is increased.

In the greater scheme of things, DD payments have nothing to do with energy charges. We all pay for the energy that we actually use at the agreed tariff rate. DD payments are just money paid on account from which charges are deducted.

In sum, check that your latest statement is based on an actual meter reading. If it shows a credit and you are unhappy with the DD increase then speak to your supplier. If this gets you nowhere then consider ditching and switching to a new supplier.

Edna123

Thanks - I've been submitting meter readings via the NPower app monthly but I have noted that the bill states they are estimated readings from NPower - I have emailed them this morning to ask why this is.

System

Edna123 wrote: »

Thanks - I've been submitting meter readings via the NPower app monthly but I have noted that the bill states they are estimated readings from NPower - I have emailed them this morning to ask why this is.

There may be a very simple explanation. Most suppliers have a billing date. For example, I get my gas from Zog. They bill on the last day of each month. If I provide them with a meter reading on the last day, it will be billed with an annotation of 'C'. If I happen to be away on the last day and provide them with a meter reading on, say, the 28th, then this will be adjusted and it will show on the bill with an 'E'.

You need to check whether there is a big discrepancy between the reading on your last bill and your meter.

Cardew

Edna123 wrote: »

Thanks - I've been submitting meter readings via the NPower app monthly but I have noted that the bill states they are estimated readings from NPower - I have emailed them this morning to ask why this is.

The probable reason is as I explained in post#2

Without getting too technical, if the discrepancy between actual readings and estimated readings is too great the Npower computer will reject actual readings as the computer 'thinks' they are a mistake.

So rejecting meter readings 'automatically' means an estimated meter reading is used.