Yes I have it all logged along with names (first only, no surnames given, so not worth the paper it's written on). The outstanding debt we have now I've checked the account online is much less than the reversals, but they changed a meter and were trying to change the monthly DD to over £350 at the same time, despite us telling them our usage should have gone down. They found a leak later, but have never given us any details since.
Npower rant
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I work for Utilita and we use these also. They're rather handy things especially for credit customers (of which <2% are) as they never have to give us a reading.
Weirdly we get a lot of customers saying they don't want it 'due to radiation' or some equal nonsense and they won't budge about it. It's in their contract to have them :/
Since June 2012:
Total Payments £2258
Total Credits £5339.05
Bills £10353.61
Outstanding amount? £2756.56
The bill online is well in excess of that last amount, and we were owed hundreds of pounds before any of this having overpaid a huge amount (IIRC £720 over in 6 months). I'm on the blower now waiting for them to answer (still, 29 mins now) to ask them to issue a letter of deadlock.
Total Payments £2258
Total Credits £5339.05
Bills £10353.61
Outstanding amount? £2756.56
The bill online is well in excess of that last amount, and we were owed hundreds of pounds before any of this having overpaid a huge amount (IIRC £720 over in 6 months). I'm on the blower now waiting for them to answer (still, 29 mins now) to ask them to issue a letter of deadlock.
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^^ that's some major billing issues right there!
...and yet all of the people we speak to say they can see what's going on, but all of them deny that there is a problem.
This attitude of staff being nice rather than useful really irritates me. "Oh I am really sorry you're having issues" - no you're not, guess what I'm more interested in? You resolving it.
If they are all denying there is a problem then surely that's the definition of a deadlock?
If they are all denying there is a problem then surely that's the definition of a deadlock?
Essentially if an account hasnt been billed or incorrectly billed it can be re-billed as far back as 4 or 6 years depending if its residential or Small Business to correct the billing issue(think those time frames are correct).
However most supplier will generally re-bill it then right off everything except the last 12 months if they're to fault and then will come to some agreement with the last 12 months arrears. However they can bill you for anything past the 12 month standard cut off if the customer is entirely to blame for the billing issues (providing fake readings/not giving access etc)
If in doubt Gilly as it seems like you've had months of heartache with this, ensure there's a complaint open and tell them to put it in deadlock then call Ofgem to deal with it. They should go to town on Npower in this instance and will most likely rule in your favor based on what we know and offer you a resolution more amicable to you than Npower
However most supplier will generally re-bill it then right off everything except the last 12 months if they're to fault and then will come to some agreement with the last 12 months arrears. However they can bill you for anything past the 12 month standard cut off if the customer is entirely to blame for the billing issues (providing fake readings/not giving access etc)
If in doubt Gilly as it seems like you've had months of heartache with this, ensure there's a complaint open and tell them to put it in deadlock then call Ofgem to deal with it. They should go to town on Npower in this instance and will most likely rule in your favor based on what we know and offer you a resolution more amicable to you than Npower
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What we have to keep remembering is these companies are huge! That big they employ people who can't number crunch (Uni students, school leavers) to work out the bills! They then put in systems that try to automatically number crunch but fail again.
Just come off the phone to T-Mobile (EE).... another bill thats screwed up due to system errors.
Been billed wrong again!
Once upon a time I never got any billing issues at all but it seems to be at least once a month where something now goes wrong.
Just come off the phone to T-Mobile (EE).... another bill thats screwed up due to system errors.
Been billed wrong again!Once upon a time I never got any billing issues at all but it seems to be at least once a month where something now goes wrong.
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I'm with NPower and have been nearly a year. They have made one adjustment to our DD in order to cover our deficit, which didn't seem to make much sense because our account was in credit over £200. We haven't had any real issue with them yet but I am tempted to hop over to OVO based on the comments here about both companies.
I do like the NPower app though, it makes submitting meter reads a doddle and monitoring usage quite simple.
I do like the NPower app though, it makes submitting meter reads a doddle and monitoring usage quite simple.
OVO has a similar app too
Wasn't even aware of it until you mentioned it, thought I'd have a quick peek and they do! Good shout
I have a question I hope someone may know the answer. When we moved in to our new house I joined NPower. I did an online comparison, picked NPower for both fuels and took out the policy with them (I assumed a dual fuel contract). However, my bills for both fuels are separate. The gas bill is direct debit monthly and states it is now £200 in credit. The electricity bill on the other hand States it is PAYG and it is £200 in debit with no bill payments to date and no bill payments planned.
I wonder if this is usual and whether my gas overpayments transfer to the electricity. The statements are all obtained through the app, they look just like what I'd get through the door if we ever had them (went paperless). Hoped someone could shed any light before I indulge in the inevitable joy of CS phone call.
I wonder if this is usual and whether my gas overpayments transfer to the electricity. The statements are all obtained through the app, they look just like what I'd get through the door if we ever had them (went paperless). Hoped someone could shed any light before I indulge in the inevitable joy of CS phone call.
I can't comment on NPower but when I was with EDF a few years ago we also had a dual fuel account and they treated them as separate accounts, if I was in credit at the end of the year that'd be deposited back to my account rather than go to the other if it was in debit.
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This isn't worth the hassel you get from the bills, i would rather have no app and no hassel! I still can't get over these companies. Im fairly sure they do it on purpous.
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Problem I had with nPower was that submitting readings made no real difference, it would show it on bills to show an actual, real balance, then they would constantly want to up the DD by a significant amount, even though seasonal historical usage over the few years shows no basis for the rise, and being a lot in credit.
Everytime I requested the DD amount to be changed, it was ignored, be it on the online account or phoning up. I had to log a complaint to get it actioned properly.
Whilst I understand there are instances whereby an increased DD is justified, in this case it just felt like I was effectively advancing them money. To make it even worse, towards the end of my "deal", they withdrew the £100 DD bonus they offered for joint fuel.
Everytime I requested the DD amount to be changed, it was ignored, be it on the online account or phoning up. I had to log a complaint to get it actioned properly.
Whilst I understand there are instances whereby an increased DD is justified, in this case it just felt like I was effectively advancing them money. To make it even worse, towards the end of my "deal", they withdrew the £100 DD bonus they offered for joint fuel.
Associate
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I'm with Npower. I had an imperial gas meter changed to a metric one (their request). This was the beginning of March 2013. It is now nearly 2015 and they still have no record of the meter change. I can not submit meter readings as the account still has the older meter serial number and is set up for a 4-digit gas reading, not 5-digit.
Each time i have tried to sort it, i have bee ntold that it has been passed on to the relevant department and i can not chase it for 60 working days. I then call after this time has passed to be told nothing has happened as it wasn't passed on and they will do it again for me. They have failed to acknowledge any complaints that i have sent to them.
To top it off, they have now increased my monthly direct debit by £50 despite the gas side of the account being based on estimated imperial readings and the account actually being in credit.
I can't even change supplier as Npower can't generate a final bill in order to settle the account and complete a transfer process.
Cowboys.
Each time i have tried to sort it, i have bee ntold that it has been passed on to the relevant department and i can not chase it for 60 working days. I then call after this time has passed to be told nothing has happened as it wasn't passed on and they will do it again for me. They have failed to acknowledge any complaints that i have sent to them.
To top it off, they have now increased my monthly direct debit by £50 despite the gas side of the account being based on estimated imperial readings and the account actually being in credit.
I can't even change supplier as Npower can't generate a final bill in order to settle the account and complete a transfer process.
Cowboys.
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Gothic Draconi go to change the supplier but don't ask them to generate a final bill. You will get a sorry you are leaving email/letter and the process should go through. Take the final meter reading when the other new provider asks for it and don't worry about nPower!
Make sure you have times and dates wrote down for all contact with nPower.
Make sure you have times and dates wrote down for all contact with nPower.
I was telling my parents about this over Xmas and they also had major problems with Npower.
Their meter was registered to a care home on the next road, same road name but there's is 'close' and not 'road'. They were getting bills of almost a thousand pounds per month. When they queried it with Npower they didn't believe they had the wrong meter registered to their house. My parents even read the meter serial number to them to confirm it was a different type and they still didn't believe them.
It took them months to get it resolved.
I'll be switching supplier after the New Year
Their meter was registered to a care home on the next road, same road name but there's is 'close' and not 'road'. They were getting bills of almost a thousand pounds per month. When they queried it with Npower they didn't believe they had the wrong meter registered to their house. My parents even read the meter serial number to them to confirm it was a different type and they still didn't believe them.
It took them months to get it resolved.
I'll be switching supplier after the New Year
I've been with FirstUtility since I moved house a year ago and they've been really good (and cheap).