NPower gas 'sculpting'

Anne3333

Hope you don't mind if I just briefly point out something to you via pm DD?

Cardew

Anne3333 wrote: »

I am also considering following DirectDebacle's footsteps by going to court, however I think I am right in saying that outcomes decided in Small Claims Courts by District Judges, do not in fact set a precedent. Only cases decided in the High Court set a precedent for lower courts to follow. Anyone know if this is correct?

Anne/DD

It is certainly the fact that in the technical sense of the expression 'legal precedent', small claims cases have no binding effect on any court in other cases.

However there are plenty of cases where a decision in a small claims court opens up a ‘potential window’ for other claims.

This is why many organisations fight and appeal decisions of the small claim court. Plenty of examples like this one:


http://www.fsb.org.uk/data/news.asp?loc=021&rec=3237

A recent court case judgement at Winchester Combined Court has set a legal precedent that will safeguard businesses from potentially millions of pounds of claims for lost property. The case dealt with a customer who had left a coat at an unstaffed cloakroom in a small hotel that was taken by another customer by mistake and not returned. The cloakroom had several visible signs to indicate that property was left at the owner’s risk. However, when the coat was lost the customer took the case to the small claims court and won £100 plus expenses.

The hotel in question, the Upland Park Hotel in Droxford, Hampshire, appealed this ruling with the support of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The FSB took on the case to prevent a legal precedent making firms liable in such cases. The costs for small firms if such a precedent had been set could have been significant and the potential for fraudulent claims would have been even larger.

John Walker, FSB National Policy Chairman, said:
“This case has wide-ranging implications. Both businesses and consumers need to be aware of it. Everyone now knows where they stand. If personal property is left in a cloakroom it is at the risk of the customer not that of the business. Disclaimer signs at the establishments will now continue to protect business owners. We are pleased that this point of law has been confirmed in the courts.”

I was involved in such a case some years ago where a very large organisation strongly(and unsuccessfully!) defended a claim I made(quite technical but it involved currency exchange)

Should NPower get a ruling against them it is surely inconceivable that they will fight all the other cases, so a de facto precedent will have been set. (IMO of course!!!)

c0113tt3

Taken from the npower price fix thread, I warned about gas sculpt.

The reply from the op:

I asked about the gas sculpting(which I think your refering to in your post) and I was told they don't do gas sculting anymore. And my last bill seemed to confirm gas sculpting is not being applied to my account.

Ok, can anyone work that out? or just npower upto the usual tricks....

Btw goodluck DD, keep us informed m8

fiddling_flower_petals

c0113tt3 wrote: »

Taken from the npower price fix thread, I warned about gas sculpt.

The reply from the op:

I asked about the gas sculpting(which I think your refering to in your post) and I was told they don't do gas sculting anymore. And my last bill seemed to confirm gas sculpting is not being applied to my account.

Ok, can anyone work that out? or just npower upto the usual tricks....

Btw goodluck DD, keep us informed m8

Thanks c0113tt3, I've read the sculpt thread previously as I had switched to npower, prior to discovering mse and forum.

I'm not the type of person to accept customer services answer unless in writing but as my previous bill (Dec to April) has had tier 1 units applied on a pro rata basis and NOT as per my understanding of gas scuplting.

I understand many people have been overcharged because of gas scuplting by npower and this has caused a hatred of npower, which is evident in many threads across this forum,

Anne3333

%

Nov-07

19.3

Dec-07

19.3

Jan-08

19.3

Feb-08

19.3

Mar-08

5.94

Apr-08

5.93

May-08

1

Jun-08

1

Jul-08

1

Aug-08

1

Sep-08

1

Oct-08

5.93

100%

Anne3333

The above are the figures given by NPower for the coming year. If they are not intending to stick to these sculpting figures then all the people who have been paying the exhorbitant 19.3% of higher rate units from Nov-Feb will be hit again! If these percentages were stuck to, we would now be on the low percentage rate of only 1% from now until the end of September, which would mean that for once 4572 higher rates 'per annum' would mean just that! We seriously need to know what they intend to do!

DirectDebacle

Existing sculpt profile March 2008 should be maximum of 271 high units.

Last bill from them: 11/03/08-1/04/08 High units charged 281.
Should have been 184

So much for the new improved billing system.

Flower Petal what is your secret. I think you were looking at an old Powergen bill and got confused lol.

judy2357

Hi all - Im sorry Im not quite so informed as you about this npower thing, still in response to Direct Debacle I have spoken to a customer service lady again about my bill. She said they had the cheque for £48 down in their records as a "goodwill gesture as per sculpting". I asked for a letter to be sent to me to this effect but she said she couldnt arrange for this but would email the 2nd support line Senior advisor GG to whom I spoke earlier this week to give me a call on Tuesday (as Im working on Mon).

fiddling_flower_petals

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Flower Petal what is your secret. I think you were looking at an old Powergen bill and got confused lol.

Sorry to say this DirectDebacle but YOUR WRONG, my first bill from NPOWER Dec to April has been charged units fro tier 1 on a pro rata basis. Therefore I can presumme Npower are NOT gas scuplting my account.

DirectDebacle

fiddling_flower_petals wrote: »

Sorry to say this DirectDebacle but YOUR WRONG, my first bill from NPOWER Dec to April has been charged units fro tier 1 on a pro rata basis. Therefore I can presumme Npower are NOT gas scuplting my account.

Would appear on the face of it there are three sculpting systems in use.

Flower Petal is on a flat rate.

Most are on the 1st Nov. sculpt.

I thought I was on that but from March seems to be something different altogether.

Just shows how sophisticated their billing system is. It can no doubt apply an individual custom made sculpt to each and every customer. Now that's what I call billing!

Explains all the different answers you get from the reps. You are not asking to be put through to your Personal Sculpt Adviser, are you?