nPower - switch or stay ?

[Deleted User]

We have a dual fuel deal with nPower and pay by direct debit. We're looking to change BUT nPower has just written offering us an annual discount of £80 off our next bill (£40 for gas, £40 for electricity), so I guess this is not the time to switch ??

However, when looking at some of the on-line comparison sites recommended by Martin, I was amazed to see that I could save £20 a month by switching to ... er ... nPower! Is this really true ? Would they really let me do that as I'm already a customer of theirs?

Also - looking at the detail, it says that this price includes a discount given Annually so, presumably, I'd be tied into them for a year at least and if I switched before then, I'd lose the discount? And I can't find out what my monthly payments would be as I don't know how much of that £20 saving per month I'd have to pay upfront, and how much would be a discount to be paid later (if I'm still a customer).

So - at this point, I can't work out if it's worth switching (after getting the £80) because if I do, say most of that saving is going to be paid in a year's time (as Annual Discount) and my monthly payments don't go down, but nPower suddenly becomes expensive, but I feel trapped because I'm waiting for the discount.

Sorry if this sounds a bit muddled (it's how it feels at the moment). Can anyone help?

annettetabs

Hi

I'm on Economy 7 with Npower paying through the roof, so using Uswitch found out I could switch to Eon saving about £180 a year, all was in the process of being switched when I got a phone call from Npower asking why I wanted to change - told them about Eon and they suggested they looked on their system to see if they could save me money by staying with them. They could and they have switched me to one of their new online tarrifs saving me about £200 a year!! So Yes give Npower a ring and ask them if you could change to a cheaper tariff if they have one suitable for you. Worth a try!

[Deleted User]

annettetabs, thanks for this! Hadn't thought to ring them. Yes, will definitely do that as soon as my £80 is in the bank ....

Just shows how what Martin says is true - it pays to be proactive!

3under3

Hi,

I just called Npower as I found they were amongst the cheapest when it came to switching. They put me straight onto the cheaper tariff, I just had to provide meter readings.

Big_Col

I was with Npower's standard tariff for both gas & electricity & wasn't aware they had different tariffs until I did a price comparison online.
I discovered that the Sign Online 10 tariff is a lot cheaper then their standard tariff so rang them to see if I could change tariffs.
They said it might take upto 5 weeks (God knows why?) but just this week I have received confirmation that both gas & electricity have now been changed to the new tariff.
One simple, quick phone call was all it took (no hassle or arguments) but I'm just so annoyed that if I hadn't spotted the other options I would still be being ripped off, how can you pay different amounts for the same product from the same supplier ?
If they hadn't agreed to change my tariff I would have just told them to stuff it as I could have gone to E-on but for the sake of a few pence I stuck with Npower.

You have to be with them for 12 months to get your £80 discount, the last one I got they deducted it all from my electricity bill.