Npower screwing me over. Ombudsman won't help.

Roro12345

Hi this is a very long story, I'll try and make it as brief as possible.

I moved into my 2 bed flat in 8th December 2018. The previous tenant had not told npower they were moving. We tried to tell Npower we were the new tenants and get the account switched switched to us a million times over the phone and was told my names not on the account so I couldn't do anything.
The previous tenants left a very large outstanding balance.
I eventually started emailing/arguing with them as their telephone operators were useless.
I was eventually asked for proof I lived there, copy of tenancy agreement. And after my landlord had to email this to them twice (as they didn't receive the first email...) I was then asked for meter reading which I have to then be told I need both rates which I then gave to then be told I needed 2 readings of both rates day and night..... I eventually got my bill 9 months later!!!! And they have charged me over £100 a month ....

More arguing followed and I took it to the ombudsman services who after another month has sided with npower. And said he couldn't comment on the usage and basically everything to do with the amount that I am being billed. He made this desicion based of the info there was over email.... and desecided that the service I had received was fine (it was not).
But he said he couldn't comment on the thing that I was questioning which is the usage.... I do not understand how we are being charged so much. We only got a microwave after being here for six months, our washing machine is a+++ and 10kg so only used once a week. We both worked nights (normally about 4pm -12/1am) and slept all day so would have mainly used electricity at the lower nightime rate. Our boiler had a blown fuse for the first 6 months of our tenancy so was always off.

Is there anything else I can do now ombudsman have sided against me?
I'm not paying the bill, they let me switch suppliers so my electric won't get turned off...
Does that price sound right ? All the estimates on comparison sites are less than 50 a month?
I've been keeping an eye on my usage over the last few weeks checking the meter and it's no where near as much as npower say I have used?
Helppppppp :mad:

Gerry1

You've provided very few facts so it's anyone's guess. Do you have gas? How do you heat your home? Are you on a deemed tariff? How much energy in kWh have you used since you first took meter readings?

Saying life is unfair won't cut the mustard, you need accurate FACTS and nothing else. Forget direct debit amounts, they're wonky.

Considering it's August, it hardly surprising that your usage is low at the moment.

Do the usual checks: make sure that the meter serial numbers appear on the bill, make sure it really is your meter (switch everything off for a couple of hours and make sure the reading stays unchanged) and make sure that the Economy 7 day and night registers haven't been swapped over.

D_M_E

You need to get back on to the Ombudsman and complain about their decision.

State why you think it's wrong and ask for a review.

Point out that the previous tenants left a large outstanding bill and the suppliers refused to talk to you when you informed them that you were now responsible for the supplies.

Sounds like whoever looked into your complaint did not actually read it or rushed through it at the end of the day so they could go home for the weekend.

Did you take readings when you moved in - if so, have you given them to the supplier/Ombudsman and do they appear anywhere on any bill you have had?

What were the end readings agreed with the new supplier if/when you switched - do they agree with what you supplied, or are the somewhere near or completely a work of fiction?

Roro12345

The ombudsmen investigator has literally based his decision on customer service and has said npower did nothing wrong. He said with regards to phone call he cannot comment, estimated usage he cannot comment, me describing what we have actually used he cannot comment. I don't understand what's the point of them investigating if they cannot comment. We added all the emails as evidence it seems that's all he can Base his decision on.
I gave my landlord a meter reading when we moved in but didn't know it was a double rate. I was asked by npower for thing months later and gave it them.
I gave the end readings to my new supplier on the 6th August and have heard nothing more about it. They said they gave these to my old supplier? I assumed because it was being investigated by ombudsman I wouldn't hear anything.


Sorry Gerry1 I am only on electric . Heaters are electric but have used them about 5 times for an hour or so. As I said we're only ever at work or about sleep. Yes on a deemed tariff but they also tried it on the lowest tariff to get it reduced. I don't know exactly how many kwh we have used. I have the Estimates npower have used and that's it. On 8th December it was 92373 and 63995. On 11 March they said they did a reading (didn't mention this till final bill) which was 93844 and 64620 then I took a reading on 18 July that was 95217 and 65319.
I think that's allot of electric to be using I just don't understand how we could have ever used that much!!!

Forgive my naivety this is the first time I have moved out on my own. For me it still boils down to the fact that if I had been told over the phone the first time I rang what I needed to do it to get my name on the account, it could have been done immediately not nine months later. Then would never have the question over accurate billing.

I'm so upset and exhausted by the last nine months of arguing with them

Cardew

From your figures, between 8th December and 18 July you have used 2824kWh and 1324kWh.

In an all electric flat, for over 7 months including a winter, that is very low consumption.

Roro12345

If that's low consumption why am I being charged so much?

If anything we would have used less in the winter.... we didn't put the heating on often, we're never home, boiler was broken so off and didn't have a microwave.

Gerry1

Roro12345 wrote: »

I gave my landlord a meter reading when we moved in but I gave the end readings to my new supplier on the 6th August and have heard nothing more about it. They said they gave these to my old supplier? I assumed because it was being investigated by ombudsman I wouldn't hear anything.

Sorry Gerry1 I am only on electric . Heaters are electric but have used them about 5 times for an hour or so. As I said we're only ever at work or about sleep. Yes on a deemed tariff but they also tried it on the lowest tariff to get it reduced. I don't know exactly how many kwh we have used.

Let's look at the facts. Rate 1 usage 2844 kWh, Rate 2 usage 1324 kWh. Total for 212 days = 4168 kWh.

Scale up by 365/212 to get approximate annual consumption of 7176 kWh, on the basis that you've had roughly equal cold and warm months.

You're awake at home during the cheap rate hours when it will be colder, so you're probably in the High User category when compared to people sleep overnight. You're in Profile Class 2 because you have Economy 7 rather than gas.

Guess what? Your annual consumption seems to match typical use of 7100 kWh very closely !

BTW, have you had to pay the 'large outstanding balance' left by the previous tenants? Is there any evidence for this? If nPower calculated an estimated reading for your move in date of 8 December presumably you've only paid for standing charges and usage since then? It's all so vague !

Sorry if this reality check brings you down with a bump, but it's not surprising that the Ombudsman can't rule that your estimated consumption is excessive. Your only hope is to get some compo for nPower messing you around when you moved in.

Now let's look ahead. How are you heating your hot water? You need to make sure it's on a timer so it's using cheap E7 rates. Are you sure you're now on the cheapest tariff for 7176kWh? Don't forget to keep taking meter readings and checking the Citizens Advice and Which? comparison websites.

Roro12345

Can u please tell me where you got your typical figures from? Every single other estimation website ha's estimatedy usage a lot lower than that.

As I said we never had the heating on. Hot water is heated by the electric boiler which as I already said was broken and switched off until May

Gerry1

Click on the link for the typical figures. Did you have only freezing cold water until May?? No immersion heater? :huh:

Roro12345

Thank you ive just had a look.

Yep. Shower is electric so that was fine. But as we are hardly home to make washing up it didn't really affect us.

Gerry1

Roro12345 wrote: »

Yep. Shower is electric so that was fine. But as we are hardly home to make washing up it didn't really affect us.

10kW shower, 2 people, each 15 mins.

10kW x 2 x 0.25h x 212 days = 1,060 kWh. If that's in the daytime and the deemed tariff was 20p/kWh, that's £212 or £365 p.a. just for showers ! :eek:
Next time you move, make sure it has gas central heating. Electricity is the most expensive form of heating, as you've discovered the hard way.