NPower gas 'sculpting'

DirectDebacle

Hmmmm. Just had a very unsatisfactory afternoon on the phone. First Energywatch told me that the 4572 issue was not part of their remit and that they would not investigate it. They gave me phone no. for npower Higher Level Complaints Team and told me that they were getting a lot of complaints about npower re this 4572 and were giving everyone the npower phone no. So I phoned the HLCT and got the usual from them. 'We're not doing anything illegal, we're allowed to do it and I had agreed that they could do it??? All my bills were calculated correctly and 6500 units at high rate over a year was perfectly proper etc etc. So no joy there and will wait till it is confirmed in writing. Then I guess it is off to the jolly old County Court (Small Claims Division) What is the remit of Energywatch. Do they serve any useful purpose?

colonelhall

Is it possible to take a firm like Npower to the small claims court. If so how do you go about it, I am getting more furious by the minute!

Cardew

colonelhall wrote: »

Is it possible to take a firm like Npower to the small claims court. If so how do you go about it, I am getting more furious by the minute!

Yes - very easy; a Google will reveal all.

This course of action was mentioned earlier, but they will almost certainly take you to the brink and then offer a full settlement 'without prejudice'.

It is a pity a 'Class action' as in the USA could not be taken on behalf of the millions they have robbed.

DirectDebacle

I am not quite sure where to go at the moment. I was surprised at what Energywatch told me as others on here are saying Energywatch have taken this up. Energywatches' take on it was that the utility companies could more or less do as they like as far as pricing and tariffs' were concerned and that it was in their T & C. I explained it wasn't a pricing issue but this made no difference to them. Then there is Ofgem. They will not take up an individuals complaint. They are launching an enquiry as is mentioned on this thread. However this will be a broad brush approach and won't solve individuals claims. Then there is the Ombudsman. An organisation formed by the utility companies themselves.npower are a member. You might get lucky with them, receive £25 and an apology, but no admission of liability and not properly compensated. The Ombudsman has no legal powers as far as I know. Other considerations are the OFT but again they won't deal with idividuals. Local Trading Standards are worth consideration. I think the County Court may be the best way for us as individuals. Just treat it as a straightforward debt (as npower would if you didn't pay their bill) and let them decide. The npower HLCT rep was confident that they were doing nothing illegal as it had been run past their legal team. I am not worried about that as it is only their opinion and that is what needs to be tested. Boils down to can they do it (lawfully) or can't they. Hopefully a County Court would be unbiased.The other Industry Organisations all have one vested interest or another. I will pop into the CAB and see what their take is on it. Shame Martin can't get hold of this one like he did with the Bank charges. Similar territory really. All about T & Cs and hidden meanings. Going to enjoy the footie now.

meggsy

"Shame Martin can't get hold of this one like he did with the Bank charges".

Good idea, or maybe he would give us his opinion on this ?

DirectDebacle

What concerns me is that the other major players will be watching this with interest. If npower get away with it then it will only be a matter of time before the other suppliers jump on the bandwagon. However if that did happen maybe Ofgem or the Govt would get involved then and make them behave. Conjecture really. Best thing would be for a court to rule their practices as illegal.npower are not going to give this up without a fight, that's for sure.

Plushchris

mute_posting wrote: »

That's a bit like saying "sorry we clubbed you around the head with a baseball bat but we took you to A&E - aren't we nice?"

That really made me laugh! :rotfl::T:rotfl:

Its true though!

meggsy

RM5 wrote: »

Hi meggsy, I tried to reverse-engineer your bill using my spreadsheet, based on the sculpting factors in their leaflet. It appears that the start date of the forth bill was 5/12 and not 30/11, then everything is pretty much spot on. It also appears that from 4/1 to 13/3/2008 you only used 1695 out of 1765 primary units, so you should see 0 secondary units in this period and nonzero secondary in all other periods.

start end Calculated Your figures
14/03/2007 08/06/2007 1236 1234
08/06/2007 05/09/2007 1104 1104
05/09/2007 05/12/2007 1723 1722
05/12/2007 04/01/2008 854 854
04/01/2008 13/03/2008 1765 1695

All in all it appears you were charged in accordance with the "tariff in operation". This shows yet again that the tariff in operation breaks their contractual obligation to charge no more than 4572 units in a year. Since you've been with nPower for just a year, your case is an excellent example case in addition to complaining, I would encourage you to submit your case (with copies of the bills as evidence) to the"Energy Supply Markets Probe - Call for Evidence"
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?docid=2&refer=MARKETS/RETMKTS/ENSUPPRO

RM5 - Thanks, my evidence emailed yesterday.

I wonder if adding this npower billing problem to the Government Petitions would be of benefit ? http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/

DirectDebacle

Well had an hour at the CAB. Short answer from them is obtain the papers from the County Court and make a claim. Fair play. I also had a very interesting conversation with local trading standards. Again not something they would deal with but I was told to watch out for this. The Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations, 2008. These will be put on the Statute Book and become law on 22nd May, 2008. Trading Standards described it to me as the most important piece of consumer legistlation in 40 years and it is all good news for the consumer. They said it would cover all the current issues with npower and that it would also empower Trading Standards to mount their own investigation. I am still going to lodge the County Court papers when I get them. Go here if you want to take a peek at the draft legistlation http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/draft/ukdsi_9780110811574_en_2

moneysavingwannabe

Hi,

I'm finding this quite hard to get my head round! :beer:
We have been with NPower for over a year for gas & elec.

Prices seem to have gone up and up. What do I need to look for on my bill to see if we have been affected?

Are you all swapping suppliers now?