NPower gas 'sculpting'

1carminestocky

Fantastic work, Sterling. Do i gather from Mr Mayo's response that Ofgem haven't even had the coutesy of confirming receipt of his communication? This company really are a total shower of the proverbial and I really really hope they get their comeuppance. What you, DD (and others) are doing here is incredibly admirable. I really hope you get a result here.

My main worry is the apparent lack of any interest from anyone in the Govt. In light of the seemingly ridiculous claim by Ofgem that they don't have the necessary powers to investigate this matter thoroughly (how long before admitting this? 10 months??) I really hope there hasn't been Govt intervention here. If this case is found to be anything like as scandalous as it would appear to be, the very future of npower in the UK could be at risk and this Govt would not welcome such a development. I wouldn't put it past them, tbh. Let's see.

Sterling

Further to my post #1084 earlier today, I am pleased to say that I received a very positive reply, in the late afternoon. Here it is, with my reply to it.

Hi

I’ve received your big email about the npower case. We do share your concern and hope to put forward many of your arguments to Ofgem as soon as they publish their methodology. They advised us on Friday that we should receive it by the end of this week. I will of course forward you a copy. Have you raised the matter directly with Ofgem?

In terms of intelligence, we are familiar with the moneysavingsexpert blog and the Times money section and their strong stand on this issue – we have used much of the evidence in our own analysis of the situation. We have no problem for you to share this correspondence with fellow concerned consumers on the above blog and as our organisation grows we will try to formalise and strengthen our relationship with consumer voices such as these. However, I would ask you not to put my email contact on the site because it could become very time consuming if lots of people start contacting me direct – obviously the priority is to get some clarity on the situation as quickly as possible to allow us to make further representation on behalf of npower customers and/or issue advice to those affected. As I said, we now have a strong grasp of the issues and simply await the information from ofgem to allow us to determine what more now needs to be done.

I hope I have reassured you that when we receive Ofgem’s methodology we will carry out a thorough assessment and if consumers have been overcharged we will act.

I would like to thank you once again for your input in this matter.

Regards

---

Hi

Thank you very much for your speedy and most encouraging reply.

In reply to your question, I personally have not raised the matter directly with Ofgem for two reasons. Firstly, I visited Ofgem’s website, the “contact us” page and found the following unfriendly statement in bold.

“Ofgem does not deal directly with consumer complaints or enquiries”

The remainder of the web page seems calculated to send the consumer elsewhere – anywhere – away from Ofgem.

Secondly, I believe at least one contributor to the moneysavingexpert thread last autumn indicated that Ofgem would merely refer anyone with a complaint or enquiry to Energywatch.

As far as I could see, consumers would simply have to wait and hope that Ofgem’s investigation would arrive at an acceptable result; but without having any direct input into the process of any kind. Sadly it didn’t happen.

I am delighted you are already familiar with the thread on moneysavingexpert and that you are happy for this correspondence to appear there. Please accept my sincere apologies that your email contact appeared there briefly in the copy of Mr Mayo’s email. As soon as I read your reply I deleted it. I do hope it does not cause any inconvenience. I have no wish to make an enemy out of a valuable ally.

I look forward to receiving a copy of Ofgem’s reply from you when it is to hand.

Thank you once again for your reply and for coming back to me so quickly.

Regards

hvaghela

Sterling wrote: »

... I say that, firstly because valid notices should be prominent – not tucked away round the back of a bill in the small print; secondly because it gives the impression that the customer will only be billed for 4572 high tier units, which is misleading in the light of npower’s changes in 2007 to the seasonal weighting.

Edit – I misread your post. I see you had a letter too. Nevertheless, unless it indicated that it was clearly a notice of a change to the terms etc, I still believe it poses as no more than an explanation of billing.

The letter itself, is a general Dear Customer letter signed by Giuseppe Di Vita (managing Director). The letter essentialy talks about the price increase that came into effect on 29.8.8 and also the good news of the rise in the annual direct debit discount upto £100. They also enclosed the updated T&Cs - but having read this there is no mention of how the gas bill is calculated.

The quote I gave before was from the back of this letter, under the sub-heading 'important information you need to know'. It was NOT the purpose of the letter - in my opinion. However I won't risk it.

I've decided to make my claim upto 28.8.8 for stage 2.

Thanks for your help.

amdowney

Hi, I moved in to a flat in October, being so busy and having such a small usage I didn't bother looking in to alternative suppliers than what was left with the flat, Standard N Power Dual Fuel service. For Oct, Nov I recieved a reasonable bill based on estimates, which was about £33 for each.

I have just recieved a bill for Dec-Mid March and although the Electric is a reasonable £70 they are wanting £220 for gas!:mad:

As I looked in to the numbers I can see this is due to there way of pricing in the winter months. I was planning on leaving this flat next month, which means I am paying way more than what you can consider as fair. I called N Power who said that is the way it is and you had the details when you joined. I was not made aware of their pricing as I did not go through their welcome literature with a toothpick, that's if I have it at all.

Is there a way of not paying this without people knocking on my door?

Thanks in advance..

Cardew

amdowney wrote: »

.

Is there a way of not paying this without people knocking on my door?

Thanks in advance..

The short answer is no!

Seasonal weighting(sculpting) is unfortunate in that at a time when you are using the most gas, you pay for more of it at a higher rate - a double whammy.

However over a year it will work out the same because you will pay for less high units in the summer and in the 12 month period you will pay for 4,572kWh at the higher rate.

amdowney

But I didn't agree to anything, if I'd have been aware of this I would have immediately switched!?

KimYeovil

It is your responsibility to choose a tariff that is suitable. If you did not bother to look at the cost of the tariff you inherited then that is your fault. You did agree to the tariff. For all you know the tariff may be an entirely reasonable price for the property.

Would you rather have the gas and electricity switched off for days and weeks when you moved in while waiting for you to decide and book an appointment?

If you want to use fuel in an unusual pattern or want to have an unusual contract length then it is your responsibility to be proactive.

Cardew

amdowney wrote: »

But I didn't agree to anything, if I'd have been aware of this I would have immediately switched!?

When you move into a property and use any gas/electricity from the existing supplier you have entered into a legally binding deemed contract with that supplier(the alternative would be that gas and electricity would be cut off when the old occupant left). So it is a case of 'buyer beware'.

Unfortunately you moved in during the period when NPower charge for the extra units at the high rate.

You will soon be entering a period where NPower only charge for few high rate units, so you may be as well to wait until Autumn before switching - and/or move to one of NPower's cheaper tariffs until then.

Much as Seasonal weighting is a poor system, provided they apply it correctly, it is perfectly legal.

DirectDebacle

colonelhall wrote: »

My understanding of NPower bills is that you will be charged 4572 units per annum at the higher rate. I notice that I have been charged over 6000 units at this rate.
I have been told that, yes they 'sculpted' during the winter months but decided to abandon the method during the Summer months. As a result, the 6000+ units at the higher rate is not overcharging!
Surely this cannot be right!
Can anyone enlighten me on this?

This, almost innocuous post, is post #2 from 27th March, 2008. colonelhall still visits occasionally. Post #3 is from Cardew who still visits everybody in every thread, regularly:D .

Thanks to this thread, many have been enlightened. We just need to spread the word to Ofgem and maybe the Courts. Then npower can be 'enlightened' of their ill-gotten gains.

Happy Birthday Thread.

meggsy

DirectDebacle wrote: »

This, almost innocuous post, is post #2 from 27th March, 2008. colonelhall still visits occasionally. Post #3 is from Cardew who still visits everybody in every thread, regularly:D .

Thanks to this thread, many have been enlightened. We just need to spread the word to Ofgem and maybe the Courts. Then npower can be 'enlightened' of their ill-gotten gains.

Happy Birthday Thread.

Have you and Sterling been taking a well earned rest

My information as of yesterday is that Consumer Focus are waiting for a response from npower, and Ofgem response by today, what are the chances do you think ?

Happy Birthday colonelhalls thread