Switched from Npower to British Gas....but no final bill yet??

karel

Hi there, I switched from npower to British Gas and have been told 3 times that British Gas had told npower of the switich, I even gave them the reading to make sure. They said on each occasion that I would get a final bill from Npower before I began to pay them. Well I have now paid the first direct debit to British gas with no final bill from Npower. In fact Npower sent me a letter thanking me for my custom in 2007, so it says to me they know nothing about it.

Something like this happened a few years ago and I ended up with both suppliers saying they were supplying me and it took ages to sort out. Please can anyone advise what I do next, do I ring British gas again, Npower, just let things carry on.

Thanks for any help

Paul

olly300

Contact energywatch and put in a complaint about NPower.

http://www.energywatch.org.uk/contact_us/index.asp

karel

Olly thanks for the reply, Do you believe that they are doing this on purpose? What would they gain? If they are no longer the supplier what would they gain? They can't both charge me can they?

In fact I am unsure who is supplying me now to be honest!

chocolatechipcookies

Have you tried to contact NPower about this final bill? Try them first, and if no luck go to the energywatch. I don't know why they don't send a final bill, they don't really get anything out of it.

Possetjohn

karel wrote: »

Olly thanks for the reply, Do you believe that they are doing this on purpose? What would they gain? If they are no longer the supplier what would they gain? They can't both charge me can they?

In fact I am unsure who is supplying me now to be honest!

Hi Karel,

I am in a similar position switching from npower to southern electric. Switch happened on the 19th Dec and I emailed npower to confirm the readings to them, informed them I had cancelled the direct debits and said I would pay the final bills as soon as they sent them. First response was computer generated letters that said they would revert to quarterly billing. A recent letter 5th Jan accknowledged that I was going to switch supplier soon (should be past tense guys) but I was still welcome to contact them. First direct debits go out to southern electric on the 10th Jan, so I will probably contact npower and remind them after that if no bills appear. I'm not so concerned because I owe them money and the longer I earn interest on it the better;)! How about you? Do they owe you money, or do you owe them money? If they owe you money there is more incentive to chase it!!

I would do as some of the others suggest. Contact npower by letter or e-mail reminding them you have switched suppliers and are awaiting their final bills. It is better to have something in writing or electronic text, rather than just talking to their customer service. Keep copies of everything. The ball is then in their court. Then just sit tight. If they end up trying to bill you for energy after your switch date, just send in a complaint to energywatch and copy it to npower.

SwanJon

If you have old bills, compare the supply number (MPAN/MPR) on them to the stuff you have from British Gas, you may find the meter serial number seomwhere too.
It is possible that somewhere in the system the wrong property has swapped supplier.
Speak to British Gas, give them your meter serial number and get them to check they took the right house.
It's easy enough to fix if it is spotted early.
Remember, if this is the case, there'll be someone somewhere who was switched without them knowing.

As always, keep track of your readings - often the first sign something is wrong.

karel

Thanks everyone for the answers, I did take a reading and gave it to British gas but like a fool never wrote it down myself. I hope British gas still have it.

John# Not sure who owes who, but probably me who owes them, but I want to know where they will get there final reading from, as British gas have started taking my money. I don't want them trying to charge me because they did not get a final reading, although british gas said they had sent it. I just don't trust npower at all and expect them to try it on with a final bill that is not correct, just want to know who proves the correct reading when they swapped.

I meantime I will write to npower as suggested thank you.

Paul

olly300

karel wrote: »

I don't want them trying to charge me because they did not get a final reading, although british gas said they had sent it. I just don't trust npower at all and expect them to try it on with a final bill that is not correct, just want to know who proves the correct reading when they swapped.

Your opening account reading with British Gas will equal your final account reading with NPower.

Therefore keep the first bill British Gas send you.

While it may be in 3 months time due to NPower's speedy response you will probably have it.

Also if you haven't done so cancelled your Direct Debit with NPower as you will be allowed approximately a month to pay the NPower bill by other methods. Just make sure you pay immediately as soon as you get the red bill.

Possetjohn

karel wrote: »

John# Not sure who owes who, but probably me who owes them, but I want to know where they will get there final reading from, as British gas have started taking my money. I don't want them trying to charge me because they did not get a final reading, although british gas said they had sent it. I just don't trust npower at all and expect them to try it on with a final bill that is not correct, just want to know who proves the correct reading when they swapped.

Karel,

BG should notify npower of the reading at the switch. Always a good idea to take a note of these readings so you can check! As Olly says you should get the switch reading on BGs first bill, so you can check that against the npower bill. Trouble is that won't be for at least 3 months. You can always ask BG for the supply start reading. They should be able to give it to you.

It is also worth reading your meter every two weeks or so for a while. That will give you a picture of your usage and can help in the case of any arguments as you can extrapolate back to the switch date. You could also use previous npower bills for this as long as it is not all estimated readings

Hope it works out OK