NPower gas 'sculpting'

mute_posting

DirectDebacle wrote: »

I agree with mute (except for IYSWIM, haven't deciphered it yet)

If You See What I Mean

Former_MSE_Archna

Hi all,

Sorry for the disapearance of the thread - my fault!

colonelhall

Hoorah! We're back. I was beginning to detect a conspiracy. I hadn't noticed the summary that now appears on page one. This seems to be more encouraging. Well done, all!

DirectDebacle

Oh its sooooooo good to be back home lol. Spoke to Mr Reporter. It is a definite maybe that the article will be in Saturdays Times. There goes another £1.40. Said he is running a story on the scalping and also same article will deal with mis-selling too. Should be interesting. I am looking forward to conpowers explanation. Welcome back colonel. Isn't it time you got promoted?

Taffyscot

Hey I must remember to tell my partner not to throw next Saturdays Times out after he picks the crossy out. I am in Vancouver and I just got an email with a scanned copy of the crossword in it and remembered your article was supposed to be there. Looking forward to reading it. Are you getting commission from the Times for making their sales go up lol? Take care DD
Taffy

judy2357

I was told that the the year is up when there is a price change and in my case this was January so we were overcharged in a period of something like 9 mths not sure exactly. If you have had a price change recently that is the date that you must calculate up to.

Sorry now Ive posted this twice.

DirectDebacle

judy2357 wrote: »

I was told that the the year is up when there is a price change and in my case this was January so we were overcharged in a period of something like 9 mths not sure exactly. If you have had a price change recently that is the date that you must calculate up to.

Sorry now Ive posted this twice.

Judy, this is precisely the con this thread is all about. npower have made up their own definition of a year which thet call a tariff year. In your case a year is 9 months for others it is different. when you have time you need to read back through this thread to fully understand what they are doing. In a nutshell you sign up for 4572 high rate units in a year. That is the contract and any reasonable person would expect that to mean 12 months. npower are trying to blind you with a year ending with a price change. Not in your contract with them so insist a year is a year is 12 months.

Cardew

judy2357 wrote: »

I was told that the the year is up when there is a price change and in my case this was January so we were overcharged in a period of something like 9 mths not sure exactly. If you have had a price change recently that is the date that you must calculate up to.

Sorry now Ive posted this twice.

A stupid hypothetical example to illustrate the point.

Even though they say 4,572 primary units a year. NPower could start their 'tariff year' on, say, 01 Nov and get you to pay for 2,000 primary units a month, so you pay for 4,000 in Nov and Dec.

On 01 Jan they restart the 'tariff year' and you pay for another 4,000 units in Jan and Feb.

On 01 Mar they restart the tariff year and you pay 2,000 etc etc

---

well I am sure you get the point.

Whilst obviously not as blatant as the above, it is exactly the same principle; just well disguised!

By restarting the tariff year after less than 12 months every customer of NPower over that period last year has been overcharged for a lot of extra primary units.

DirectDebacle

Even by my long winded standards this post is a big 'un. I thought it might be useful to summarise the previous threads as best I can to help those just joining. Apologies to those who already know this (and more) and also thanks to you for increasing my knowledge in more subjects than 'sculpting'.


THE (INCOMPLETE) GUIDE TO
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED WEIGHTING

The definition of seasonally adjusted weighting given by npower is as follows:
’We’re changing the way we apply our gas prices. From 1st November, 2007 we’ll be seasonally weighting the amount of primary block units that each customer is charged so it more accurately reflects the amount customers use during different times of the year. The primary block size still remains the same at 4,572kWh a year but the number of units charged at the primary rate will vary from bill to bill according to the season and/or the period covered by the bill. So a typical customer will not see any change in the amount they pay over the year and their primary block size will not exceed 4,572kWh over that year.’

This was printed on the back of a pamphlet entitled, ’At your service’ and was enclosed with a gas bill received from npower in mid - March, 2008. This was the first notification I had received that this charging method existed. It is commonly referred to as ‘sculpting.’
When ‘sculpting’ was first introduced is unclear. Certainly it was well before 1st November, 2007. I have received in writing from npower information that it was first introduced on 1st April, 2006 or on 4th December, 2006. At the moment those two dates are as close as I can pin it down.

What the definition doesn’t tell you is how ‘sculpting’ works.
The 4572kWh per year are not spread evenly over the year but divided over a 12 month period and each month has a percentage of the 4572kWh allocated to it. Without repeating the percentage tables (which are shown in several posts on this thread) it means that between the months of May-September inclusive you will be charged for each of those months 1% or the first 45.72kWh of gas you use at the higher rate. This means that the other 95% or 4343.4kWh will be charged during the winter months. In practical terms it means that the winter bills will be much higher than you would expect, particularly if you have just switched from another supplier.
In theory you should not pay more than the 4572kWh per year, as the definition states.

However the situation has arisen where the majority of npower gas customers will have paid substantially more than the 4572kWh per year. The reason this has happened and acknowledged by npower is this. In April, 2007 the ‘sculpting’ was applied at the percentage rate applicable. On 1st May, 2007 they altered the rate and for the months May to October inclusive applied a flat rate of 381kWh per month at the high price. On 1st November, 2007, they changed the percentage rate again to a much higher rate. (Nov. Dec. 2007 and Jan. Feb. 2008, 882kWh for each of those months)
Npower admit they realised there would be some overcharging, so in May, 2007 they lowered the price of the low rate units to compensate. As some forward planning is required it would seem that they had decided on this course of action prior to May, 2007 and also the percentages they would be charging through 2007 and into 2008.
As the winter bills started to arrive some customers realised what had happened and started to complain. This thread was also born.
The way npower have dealt with the complaints has been inconsistent. Some have received a token payment for ‘perceived’ overcharging, others a partial rebate and others a total denial from npower that any overcharging has taken place at all. As far as I know npower have at no stage admitted any liability. There seems to be no unified policy from npower on this issue. It appears to be ‘pot luck’ as to which response you get from them.

In the main they will not deny the figures you present them with unless they are very inaccurate. After all they will be in black and white on your bills.
Their main argument for justifying the overcharge revolves around their invention of a ‘tariff year’. This is a ploy to enable them to define the length of a year to suit their own purposes. This is their definition of a ‘tariff year’ in a letter to me.
‘When we publish gas charges we state that 4,572 higher-priced ‘Primary Block’ kWH will be applied each year. The year quoted is a ‘tariff year’ that begins from the introduction of any changed charges. When npower change the way customers are charged a new “tariff year” commences from the date it changed.’
Without this device they have no option but to refund you. If you call to complain they will quote this or something similar to you in order to fob you off. No doubt many have accepted this explanation and not pursued their complaint.
Do not accept this as a valid reason. There are several arguments that can be used against this definition but the main one is this. It isn’t in the Terms and conditions.

What is in the Terms and conditions and your agreement (contract) with them is ‘the first 4572 kWh per year’. Any reasonable person would take the plain English meaning of this and quite rightly take it as a period of 12 months. There is nothing in the Terms and Conditions to suggest it means anything else. There is no inkling of a ‘tariff year’ whatsoever. Interestingly at the very bottom of the Terms and Conditions on their web page you will find a ‘Definitions’ section. This is to clarify the particular meaning of any word or terms they feel may be open to interpretation. The word ‘year’ or term ‘tariff year’ is not listed.

For those of you who have been on here awhile and know all this I apologise for the repetition. It is intended for those who are not fully aware of the problem. Anyone who joined npower before mid-September, 2007 may well have overpaid. For those joining after keep a careful check on the high Kwh charged since you joined npower. If they stick to their current percentages you should not be overcharged. There were three different percentage changes last year. According to them and their definitions they can change them whenever they like and not tell you.

If you look at your bills and try to calculate them and come up with different figures to npower don’t be alarmed. Without knowing how npower calculate a bill you won’t be able to do it. All part of their plan. Previous threads tell you how to do it but if you find that mind boggling post your bills on here and someone will check it for you, but have a go yourself first.
As for me I have sent the papers to the County Court to start recovery proceedings. At some point I may post how I did this and the arguments I used to rebut their defence which may assist anyone contemplating the same course of action.
Finally for those of you who have been a longstanding customer of npower check your old bills if you can. I have been overcharged the 4572kWh every year but one, since 1st April, 2003, which is when ‘two tier’ charging rates were introduced.

Ne Illegitimo Carborundum. (Don’t let the !!!!!!!s grind you down)

c0113tt3

I hope ofgem get back with more info soon, heh im starting to get like a raging bull about it lol, it is so infuriating that npower admit the over charge in writing, but wont admit liability of it.