NPower gas 'sculpting'

Anne3333

I have had a quick glance at my electric and all seems fine there thankfully!

durango

I moved to ebico on the 22nd of May, npower continued to take direct debits after this date, and then told me they couldn't issue final bills until they received them from my new supplier....new supplier say they passed on the readings on the 22nd.

Meanwhile after canceling my direct debits I received a demand from npower for £90 debit on the gas account, (despite being £90 in credit on the electricity).

Advice please: If I pay the gas off now will that prejudice any subsequent claim when I pursue them for a sculpting refund?

They don't seem keen to issue final bills, (with higher and lower rates in black and white) in fact the demand didn't even come with a bank giro form...

DirectDebacle

durango wrote: »

I moved to ebico on the 22nd of May, npower continued to take direct debits after this date, and then told me they couldn't issue final bills until they received them from my new supplier....new supplier say they passed on the readings on the 22nd.

Meanwhile after canceling my direct debits I received a demand from npower for £90 debit on the gas account, (despite being £90 in credit on the electricity).

Advice please: If I pay the gas off now will that prejudice any subsequent claim when I pursue them for a sculpting refund?

They don't seem keen to issue final bills, (with higher and lower rates in black and white) in fact the demand didn't even come with a bank giro form...

The short answer is, no. Paying what you owe them will not prejudice your claim if you have one. However if you are sure of the overcharge on your gas you could ask them to offset that against what you owe them.

Can you be more specific as to where you actually stand with npower. Are you absolutely sure that your gas and electricity have been supplied to you by ebico since 22nd May? You need to find out if you are not sure. If ebico have been supplying you since then make sure npower know this. The demand for £90. Is this in the form of a bill. If so could you post the details on here and also your previous bill. If it isn't a bill then ask them for one. Make sure that the meter reading you gave ebico is the same as the final meter reading npower have. If npower say they haven't received it give them the reading you gave to ebico. Do the same for the electricity readings.

If ebico have been supplying you from when you say I would adopt this stance with npower. You are no longer a customer of theirs and all you want are final bills from them to close the account. I wouldn't pay them anything unless it arrives to you in the form of final bills for gas and electricity. The start readings on these should dovetail with your previous bills and the end readings should be the start readings Ebico have for your accounts.

Don't worry about the overcharge side of things at this point. You need to obtain the final closing bills from npower and check them. If they are correct then you can start to haggle with them. If they are incorrect the same applies but ensure you put the bills in dispute. This prevents them from instructing debt collectors.
Without knowing your prices for gas with npower it is difficult to be accurate on how much you have been overcharged. Rough guess is £30-40.

RM5_2

durango wrote: »

Meanwhile after canceling my direct debits I received a demand from npower for £90 debit on the gas account, (despite being £90 in credit on the electricity).

You can just phone them and ask to settle the amount outstanding on the gas account with the funds in the electricity account. This way you avoid throwing more money at them before they send the final bill. Worked for me.

durango

thanks DD, final gas bill arrived this morning, the reading is correct, and yes yet more higher rate charges....I'll expect the electricity next week.

this thing keeps growing...As a dual fuel-direct debit customer I was sure you received £80 discount. I only received £75. I say sure because I've gone back through my old bills and I can't find any reference to it. can anyone confirm I've been short changed by a fiver.

It's a bit tight of me I know , but I've kind of got it in for npower, I'm feeling a bit Victor Meldrew(y)

RM5_2

notbritishgas wrote: »

Just given this more thoughts. I think everyones overcharge will be the same as it occured during the period when they suspended the sculpting in 2007, so the overcharge is the difference between what they would have charged under sculpting and what they actually charged when they reverted to the flat rate for those months. Am I correct?

Firstly, it depens on which one year period you calculate. Any one year period spanning their 6 month flat rate 'tariff year' will contain more than 100% of the allowed units, but because the old and new sculpting are different, it depends on the date you start your year e.g:
31/12/06 - 31/12/07: 138%
28/02/07 - 29/02/08: 149%
30/04/07 - 30/04/08: 139%
This is the maximum overcharging you can suffer for those periods. It depends on your gas consumption whether you suffer the full overcharging. Obviously, if you consume less then 4572 units, you cannot be overcharged. If you consume less then 10000 kWh, it is likely that your actual usage in summer 07 dipped below the flat profile and you had 0 secondary units in one of your bills. In this case, you were overcharged by less then the above percentages. Above 10000kWh, it is very likely that you were overcharged by the full amount. Average houshold gas use in the UK is 20000kWh http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file20328.pdf
hence most customers were significantly overcharged.

fiddling_flower_petals

fiddling_flower_petals wrote: »

I rang Npower and enquired about fix for free deal, I was told it was on my current tarriff, which I couldn't believe!! (As the best fixed duel fuel deal currently available would cost me an additional £240 pa)

I sort further clarification on deal, asked operative to confirm tariff charges were as per my tariff rates on my current bill, which were confirmed by operative at Npower. However after reading this thread the standard and quality of information from customer services seems to range greatly and often inconsistant.

In which case I will be joining the I hate Npower club, if you'll allow me!

I'm currently awaiting a confirmation notification, which I presume will include tariff. If I have been mis sold/ mis informed I certainly will be writing to NPower and using 14 day cooling off period to cancel and return to my original tariff.

Hi Everybody at WHNC:hello:

I received my confirmation of fixed tariff and can confirm I've been mis informed / mis sold / lied to * (delete as appropriate):mad: :mad: :mad:

According to Npower paperwork new tariff for electric alone would cost me another £200 per year:eek: , I've still not received my new gas tariff.
Rang customer services, who was horrified:eek: at the fact I had been clearly mis informed by one of her collegues and used 14 cooling off period to revert back to my original tariff.:cool:

It now seems, I'm a full fledged member of WHNC and will wear my badge with pride.

Many thanks to Notbritishgas, for warning!

DirectDebacle

durango wrote: »

thanks DD, final gas bill arrived this morning, the reading is correct, and yes yet more higher rate charges....I'll expect the electricity next week.

So far so good. Wait until you receive the electricity bill and make sure that is all in order. With any luck the £90 of yours they have won't be enough to cover what your gas and electricity totals.

Good news is you are out of their clutches. Wish I was in your position.

I see two main options.

Option 1.

If I were in a similar position this is what I would do. I would inform them that the final gas bill is incorrect because you have been overcharged by £x and this overcharge has not been rectified in your final bill. Request an amended bill. Note I have not put the bill into dispute at this stage, merely requested an accurate bill be sent. This might work. I anticipate it will generate further demands for payment. From this point on all communication you have with npower must be in writing. You may get frustrated and angry but do not phone them. With every demand for payment you receive from them write back repeating your request for the overcharge to be refunded. Ask them to explain why they refuse to recognise you have been overcharged. I expect it won't be long before a debt collection agency contacts you. Never never ever speak to debt collection agency on the phone. If they contact you by telephone be polite but firm that you will only deal with them by mail (not email). I would write to them and explain that npower owe you money and you will not settle the account until they have supplied you with an accurate final bill. Until that happens tell them you will not communicate with them any further. This may well eventually lead to a summons being received. I would deal with this by issuing a counter claim. I am sure at this point npower will attempt to come to some arrangement with you and the issue will be settled. This is what I would do but it may well be something you would not be comfortable with and I wouldn't blame you.

Option 2.

After receiving the final electricity bill proceed as at option 1 but put the bill into dispute. This prevents involvement of a DCA. Haggle with npower as much as you want to. If they won't budge then ask them to 'deadlock' it until Ofgem reach a decision. Don't forget that fiver they owe you. Contact Energywatch if they won't wait for the Ofgem report.

These are not your only options, just my opinion on what I would do. If it does go as far as receiving a summons, don't worry. There are plenty of threads on here to give good advice re DCA/court and external agencies such as the CAB who can give good free advice and put you in touch with other organisations. Good luck. I hope you get your money.

DirectDebacle

For those of you that like to plan ahead there are now only 200 days to Christmas.

colonelhall

I am still working on my response to Npower's statement that any overcharge has been repaid via their tariffs.

If I've got it right, they reduced their prices on 3/4/07 and increased on 4/1/08, so any money returned must have been worked into the tariff during this period.

1.) The overcharge occurred during the period May - November. Therefore they must have known exactly how much the overcharge would be. If this were the case, they could have told us and announced the refund.

2.) According to my bill, the reduction during this period only applied to the lower rate units, therefore each customer would have received a different "refund" relating to how many units used. There is no way of knowing how much "refund" I received.

3.) Anybody signing up from November, would be receiving this "refund" until January, in spite of not qualifying.

Have I got this right?