Npower Obscenities – is it just me?

Talldave

MoJO40 wrote: »

Hello. Could someone please offer some advice in regards to my Gas supplied by N Power.


In May I decided to switch suppliers - to save annually on my bills. Two months later, I contacted NPower as they still had not settled my final bill and I had received an email apologising for the delay.
I contacted them and this prompted them to open a complaint.
In a nut shell it appears that for two years they have estimated my meter readings, even though I had a SMART meter fitted two years ago with the understanding that it would provide daily meter readings for both Gas and Electric. (Electric has been working fine so they tell me)
For the past two weeks I have been speaking with them whilst they invetsigated the problem. It appears that I have had an incorrect gas meter fitted and it has NEVER been connected to the SMART meter and therefore they have always taken estimated readings, they have never asked me to provide actual readings warning me that they are only taking estimated readings!!
In a phone call last night they informed me that I owe them £87 for the first year and a further £50 to finalise the account. Both of which I am refusing to pay.
My onine NPower account has also showed me in credit with my gas and I was not to know any different.
To settle the matter I have insisted that they pay me compensation to the value of £150. I am now waiting to see if this happens, if they refuse then they will forward me to the Omsbudman.
Has anyone any advice or been in a similar situation? As I feel baffled with my rights over this!
Many thanks in advance.

Whilst I'm not a fan of npower your attitude is rather curious. Ok so the meter wasn't providing readings, but you have used the gas and could have spotted the estimated readings on your bill.

If you refuse to pay for the gas you have used, that's theft and you can expect to be dealt with appropriately. You've had their £137 for long enough, time to hand it over.

Why do you feel entitled to £150 instead of paying for the gas you used?

Smodlet

Welcome to the forum, MoJO40. You have done exactly what I did with my first ever post; jumped on someone else's thread with a query which in no way relates to the original subject; better to start your own.

As for your query, I agree with completely with Talldave. Why do you think you should be compensated for refusing to pay a legitimate bill? Were you the party owed the money, I doubt your attitude would be to offer compensation to your debtor.

Nick_C

MoJO40.

You should have started your own thread. You would have been more likely to get better advice.

Generally, if you have not been billed correctly, they can only go back a year. Have a read of this.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/who-contact-if-its-difficult-paying-energy-bills/energy-backbilling-guide-your-rights

Biggus_Dickus

Talldave wrote: »

Whilst I'm not a fan of npower your attitude is rather curious. Ok so the meter wasn't providing readings, but you have used the gas and could have spotted the estimated readings on your bill.

If you refuse to pay for the gas you have used, that's theft and you can expect to be dealt with appropriately. You've had their £137 for long enough, time to hand it over.

Why do you feel entitled to £150 instead of paying for the gas you used?

Smart meters have been peddled to customers on the basis that they would mean an end to estimated bills,...”no need to worry” they said “the smart meters will do it all for you”...”no need to submit readings”....”it means an end to estimated billing because we’ll bill you accurately for evermore...hooray!”...etc etc etc:(

Sadly, the promised Smart-meter Utopia has not materialized for many customers,...me included.

Energy companies have a duty of care to all their customers,...and more especially to their vulnerable customers;...it’s an ongoing condition of their Ofgem licence.

Allowing a customer (vulnerable or otherwise) to build up a debt by continually (under)estimating readings for over two years whilst simultaneously failing to make any form of contact with said consumer to request an actual reading does not represent good customer care.

D/Ds are under the control of the energy firms and can be varied as is there wont;...notwithstanding the rights/wrongs of the customers action (or inaction in this case) leaving a ‘Smart meter’ account and D/D unmonitored for such a long period is unacceptable.

It’s simply not good enough for Energy companies to demand payment of a very aged debt that has been allowed to accrue as a direct result of their own short-comings.

This situation illustrates exactly why the Ofgem 12-month backbilling rule (as linked to by Nick_C in post #24) is in place to protect all customers,....not just vulnerable ones.

Smodlet

I do agree with you, BD; I just like maintaining what control I can by being proactive and never allowing this situation to arise in the first place. I imagine, if all energy companies behaved as responsibly as we would like, all our bills would increase to cover the cost of all this "care".

Really, how difficult is it to read your meters once a month and work out how much you have spent on energy? Five to ten minutes a month is surely worth the avoidance of this much inconvenience? Guess I'm just old school.

Talldave

Yes, BD, you make some good points and maybe my reaction was a bit harsh. However, I do think that insisting that a supplier pays £150 simply because of a request to pay the amounts to cover previous under-estimation is disproportionate.


For sure, negotiate - see if a goodwill gesture would reduce the figure demanded, check the back billing rules, ask for a reasonable period to pay whatever figure can be agreed on. But to demand a payout of £150 - I don't understand the logic.

badmemory

The suppliers are foisting these meters on people saying that they will no longer have to read their meters & it will all be done automatically. So why on earth, when the meters are obviously not working correctly, do they not contact the customer & tell them they have messed up.


Why do the bills not come with a big red headline note - we have not been able to obtain readings from your gas meter? As in the day off work you had to have your meters changed was a total waste of time & we have left you with 2 meters one of which we can read & the other we can't & this is now much harder for you to read than your old one was!


If you can read it at all & by the way if the battery in that dodgy meter fails we are quite happy to leave you without gas for at least 2 weeks in midwinter.

Talldave

badmemory wrote: »

The suppliers are foisting these meters on people saying that they will no longer have to read their meters & it will all be done automatically. So why on earth, when the meters are obviously not working correctly, do they not contact the customer & tell them they have messed up.


Why do the bills not come with a big red headline note - we have not been able to obtain readings from your gas meter? As in the day off work you had to have your meters changed was a total waste of time & we have left you with 2 meters one of which we can read & the other we can't & this is now much harder for you to read than your old one was!


If you can read it at all & by the way if the battery in that dodgy meter fails we are quite happy to leave you without gas for at least 2 weeks in midwinter.

Because the majority of energy companies are inherently incompetent and operate in the "we've always done it this way" manner. The meters might have got smart but the suppliers who have been around a long time are not adapting.

Some of the new players do have a different approach (I've successfully used "app only" Pure Planet) but it's going to take some time. The opportunities that smart meters allow are quite exciting but we need the thinking of the likes of Virgin, Tesco, GiffGaff, etc to see what really can be done.

Biggus_Dickus

Talldave wrote: »

Yes, BD, you make some good points and maybe my reaction was a bit harsh. However, I do think that insisting that a supplier pays £150 simply because of a request to pay the amounts to cover previous under-estimation is disproportionate.


For sure, negotiate - see if a goodwill gesture would reduce the figure demanded, check the back billing rules, ask for a reasonable period to pay whatever figure can be agreed on. But to demand a payout of £150 - I don't understand the logic.

When I posted I deliberately avoided mentioning MoJO40’s highly speculative compensation claim; :eek:

...however, God loves a trier.

Carrot007

badmemory wrote: »

The suppliers are foisting these meters

Government, suppliers could not give two hoots about it except for the fines if they don't which are all set out by the government.


Suppliers would be happy for the domestic market to go away. No profit in it.