Direct debit almost doubled

Bexidecimal · 16 May 2017 at 7:04PM

Hi everyone, first time posting but I have trawled through the forums before.

So jumping right in.. I've been with npower for the last 2 years since moving in to my current flat. Never had a problem and the price has always been fine and convenient to stay with them.

I have been paying around £60 a month for 2 years for both gas and electric. Yesterday my direct debit went out of my account and they had taken £110?!?!

So I called them, obviously angry and they informed me that I had gone over the yearly estimation and from now on this was the amount I need to pay monthly. Also that I was now £270 in debt with them to make up for all this extra energy.

I checked my metres today, both of them are right next to the metres for the shop below my flat and I was hoping that they just checked the wrong one. Unfortunately not and the readings are right.

Honestly though I don't understand how they can double my bill, my usage hasn't changed and definitely not to almost double the amount?!

Is there anything I can do? My credit score is untarnished so far and I've never been in debt. I don't want to start now but I also don't want to pay all this extra money. That is over £300 I wasn't expecting to pay out this month. I've never had this sort of issue before, I always pay my bills on time and I honestly don't even know where to begin to handle this properly.

I plan on abandoning npower as soon as I can but I wondered if anyone knows a way I can at least lessen the amount they expect me to pay them before I change company.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

daveyjp · 16 May 2017 at 7:18PM

Useage may not have changed, but the unit price and standing charge has probably increased.

It is down to you to provide updated readings, check tarriffs and ensure you aren't getting in to debt.

keith1950 · 16 May 2017 at 7:23PM

Hi, if the readings are right then you owe the money.
You may be in £270 debt but that will be repaid bit by bit out of the increased monthly payment.
£60 /month is a stupidly low price to have been paying for gas AND electric.
You need to enter monthly readings to check your usage and keep on top of the problem.
If you want to leave npower they won't let you switch until you owe less than £200 however you would have to be prepared to pay the final bill in full within about 6 weeks

Bexidecimal · 16 May 2017 at 7:31PM

So my only option is to just pay and leave?? I understand tarrifs change but to almost double is a little bit insane in my mind.

I didn't even receive anything from them to say "oh sorry you owe us this money"

Will this effect my credit score at all or me in any other way?

There are only 2 of us in my flat, we don't really use much electricity because we hate turning lights on and again only 2 of us. Plus we both like the cold so the heating may not be on as much as most.

Bexidecimal · 16 May 2017 at 7:35PM

They even gave me money back last year for not using as much as expected

keith1950 · 16 May 2017 at 7:48PM

If you take it that they expect you to pay £110/month over the next year...that would be around £1300 , deduct the £270 you owe and divide by 12 means they estimate your actual usage will be around £85.
This means you have been paying around £25 less than you should have been paying for the last year.
Have you been on the same tariff for the last two years.
Could you have been on a special tariff for the first year and then gone back on the standard tariff for the last twelve months? This would account for a rise in cost even if your usage stayed the same

Bexidecimal · 16 May 2017 at 8:07PM

@keith1950

I didn't even think about it like that. That is not how it was explained so I will double check with npower. They made it seem like the £270 was separate from the £110 not that the debt was incorporated in to the new monthly payment. If so then I am slightly less enraged.

I may well have been on a special tariff. Honestly this is my first flat away from my parents house so I'm not exactly a seasoned veteran at knowing how to deal with all of this. I'm usually quite responsible but I imagined that if there was a change the company would at least notify me.

I think I'm going to just pay it off in one go and then look for a better deal else where.

keith1950 · 16 May 2017 at 8:20PM

Remember that you cannot "leave" a supplier as such unless you move house, you have to switch.
Work out you usage in kwh's over the last year then find the best deal then switch, this can take several weeks.
When you give you new supplier your opening readings they will contact npower and they will supply npower with these readings .
It usually takes up to a month for a transfer to take place and you should recieve a final bill from npower within 6 weeks of the switch taking place.

SpotlandRules · 16 May 2017 at 8:57PM

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, if the readings are right then you owe the money.
You may be in £270 debt but that will be repaid bit by bit out of the increased monthly payment.
£60 /month is a stupidly low price to have been paying for gas AND electric.
You need to enter monthly readings to check your usage and keep on top of the problem.
If you want to leave npower they won't let you switch until you owe less than £200 however you would have to be prepared to pay the final bill in full within about 6 weeks

That would depend on the OPs life style and the amount of people living in the property. Obviously it was not enough to be paying a month, but this does not mean that £60 is a silly price to pay in general.

I am currently paying £54 a month and have just moved to get this lowered.

Richie-from-the-Boro · 16 May 2017 at 9:56PM

Bexidecimal wrote: »

So my only option is to just pay and leave?? I understand tariffs change but to almost double is a little bit insane in my mind.

I didn't even receive anything from them to say "oh sorry you owe us this money"

Will this effect my credit score at all or me in any other way?

There are only 2 of us in my flat, we don't really use much electricity because we hate turning lights on and again only 2 of us. Plus we both like the cold so the heating may not be on as much as most.

Having chosen your best tariff and supplier your ongoing best option is to self supply your 6 weekly meter readings. Paying monthly by direct debit and supplying your own 8 or so non estimated readings over a year will 'balance' your annual consumption through the 4 seasons - see below :

Making sure you spend 2 minutes reading your online account at the same time as you submit your meter reads will mean you are familiar with your MPAN MPRN numbers and any cheaper offer from your existing supplier whilst never slipping into arrears. Best of luck, common knowledge to most here but read this for general understanding of your billing and use.

macman · 16 May 2017 at 9:57PM

The UK average is around £1250pa for dual fuel.

Direct debit almost doubled

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