Harrased By NPower

FreyaDallas

I have my gas and electric with N Power. They charge me £50 by direct debit and I pay £50 myself which I have done for many years which I started before I had the direct debit. I was aware imy account had been in credit for some time but not exactly how much. NPower had kept reducing my direct debit to £10 per month but I asked them to leave it at £50. This is because. I am disabled and use a lot of heating and I am on a low income. I wanted the credit to cover if bill was high.

This week I received a statement saying they had raised my direct debit to £83 from £50 and were refunding payment to my bank within 10 days. I went in to panic mode as for various reasons I didn't want it paying into my bank as I am in debt and it would get swallowed up. I have been trying to get a new bank but struggling. I couldn't understand how they could raise my direct debit by so much if I was in credit. The credit was over £1978 but they were paying £1678 into a bank account I didn't want them to but they said it had to be this one due to 'money laundering' regulations.

I was on phone with them for over an hour but they refused to budge and kept putting me on hold. I was in tears as I have autism and struggle on the phone. I asked my husband to phone them. He was on the account but. NPower removed him saying only one person could be on the account. I wanted him to speak for m buit they refuse. I struggle because I have mental health problems and autism.

I made a complaint and they kept badgering me to close it. I was unhappy they and raised my direct debit. All they could say was it was £50 because of the credit and now they had got rid of the credit it had to be raised.

My husband rang and eventually found someone who said they would stop the transfer to my bank and issue a cheque for refund in my husband's name. They said they would reduce the direct debit back to £50.

Next day my husband received an email saying they had changed their mind. The money was being sent to the bank account I didn't want it to go to due to money laundering regulations and the direct debit was going back up to £83. They said they would not respond to my resolver complaint as it was a different email than the one they had on file. They had my husbands on file even though they removed him as account holder.

My husband rang and it was a hold load of upset, stress and arguing then N Power repeatedly ringing after we told them not to keep badgering me to close my complaint. They said 'what do you want as resolution'. I said to put my payment back to how it was. They said' you won't get anywhere with company'. I said I will go to regulator. They said 'they can't tell us what to do' I want to complain about their poor service.

Also they keep sending meter readers. The meter is in a cuboard and is hard to access and dark and I need notice to clear it out. The meter readers are bullying and demand immediate access. They have very frequent readings. it was arranged that meter readers would have a password but they never used it. Now NPower said I cannot have this service and after bullying and intimidating incidents I am afraid. My husband is also disabled and in his late sixties so he is afraid too

Robin9

I find it difficult to understand why you are refusing the refund of your overpayments - nearly £2000 is an amazing sum to build up with such a (comparatively) small DD of £50.

£83 is a far more realistic DD for gas and electric - even so this may be low.

Could you post some actual readings for the last 12 months please.

What tariffs are you on.

With inaccessible meters - ask nPower for Smart ones.

FreyaDallas

I thought I made it clear in my post. I was not refusing a refund. I didn't want it paid in particular bank for reasons specified. It hardly makes any sense to build up a credit of nearly £2000 if I am not paying enough. Surely they could have used that credit so it didn't become credit in the first place so I wasn't paying a 'low amount'. I have been paying £100 in total for years each month. Thanks for reply anyway.

Hasbeen

Robin9 wrote: »

I find it difficult to understand why you are refusing the refund of your overpayments - nearly £2000 is an amazing sum to build up with such a (comparatively) small DD of £50.

£83 is a far more realistic DD for gas and electric - even so this may be low.

Could you post some actual readings for the last 12 months please.

What tariffs are you on.

With inaccessible meters - ask nPower for Smart ones.

Op in in debt. They are using Npower as a bank. They do not want the refund to go to their bank as it will be taken to cover dept.

They are paying £100 per month £50 by DD plus an other £50

dj1471

A rather bizarre situation which I'm afraid is of your own making.

Why weren't you using the extra £50 a month to reduce your debt rather than overpaying for your energy? Overpaying is especially crazy if you're on a low income. Presumably you've now reached a limit for maximum credit balance so it must be refunded back to the account it came from, nothing you can do about this.

If you don't like nPower then switch to another supplier, you can probably save money by doing so anyway. Use a comparison site such as this one:
https://www.energyhelpline.com/

You should keep your meters accessible and take regular readings. You can request smart meters so you don't have to physically read them or have meter readers visit. If you're going to switch then wait until after you've switched before doing this.

If you don't want to deal with your energy supplier by phone then send them a letter. You should also inform them that you'd prefer all communication by post and that this is a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act.