Hi everyone, just been reading the posts on here and i honestly feel that i have a case against N-power.

I changed to N-Power in Nov 07 (!) and was paying by dd £50pcm for joint utilities.

then i got a bill for over £2k for the period feb-sept 2008, with the majority of the expense being for gas.

the only thing in my house that is gas other than the hob, is my central heating, and it wasnt on between feb and sept!!! it was broken, and i only got it fixed when i had it serviced in Nov 08!!!

i have had numerous emails to and from n power, where they basically told me that i cant prove the bill is incorrect and if i dont pay it theyre going to cut me off. in the end they agreed to put in a card meter, but it is costing me £10 every few days for electric, and £20 a week for gas.... this is the latest email reply i have had from them:

Our Reference Number: xxxxxxxxxx
>
> Thank you for your email regarding your bills on your previous normal meters.
>
> I understand your concerns having a large balance on your accounts and I can confirm we did turn up on 14 April 2008, however there was no access for us to read your meter.
>
> After carefully checking your accounts I can see that our energy efficiency team advised you on 15 September 2008 to take 7 days readings from your gas and electricity meters so we could check your daily usage. We also explained to you that leaving your gas on 24 hours a day on low will cause excessive usage.
>
> You called us back on 6 January 2009 with your readings and we explained to you that your electricity used around 22 units a day, which seems normal, however your gas usage came to around 5.5 units per day, which did seem higher than normal, however this is because you were leaving your gas on low 24 hours a day.
>
> Another reason why your balance increased is that you stopped making payments to your accounts on 5 September 2008.
>
> In view of the above we have checked your usage, explained to you that leaving your gas on low 24 hours a day would result in a large balance and as you were not making payments to your accounts this resulted in having a large balances outstanding on your accounts.
>
> I trust this information has been useful for you and it has help you to understand why your balance are outstanding.
>
> Kind regards
> npower customer service


to which i replied:

What you have said in your email is correct, however, I received the bill for a large amount, long before september, and it was covering the period from february onwards. I DID NOT have my heating on at all as a part had broken, and we didnt find out about it until i had the heating serviced in November 2008. I understand that having my heating on low over the winter would increase my bill, but my argument is, i didnt have my heating on at all during the period that you have billed me for - i couldnt have even if id have wanted to as the pump had broken!!!n since the conversation with you in september, i have used my heating conservatively, following your guidance, and have seen a reduction in my gas useage.
what is concerning me is that the peeriod you have billed me for, an excessive amount, was over the SUMMER months, when i didnt use the heating!!

i stopped paying my direct debit out of protest at the lack of support i was receiving from N Power, and the less than helpful customer service. i even called you to tell you that i wasnt paying any more until you came and sorted it out!!!

i even had numerous conversations where i confirmed the meter reading when i set up the account with you in Nov 07, and the reading at the time of the phone call (aug 08 i believe) and confirmed with the customer service person the amount of gas used. then we worked out how much it should have cost, and how much i had paid, and what was outstanding, and the customer service person agreed that the bill seemed excessive. they also told me that my meter was going backwards as you had readings for 6xxxx and i was giving you readings of 4xxxx so i must have tampered with my meter!!!!

i would like you to look again into my account, as there is no way in this world that i have used 139 kWh per day last year compared with 11 kWh per day this year!!!! thats over ten times the amount!! it almost seems as though i am being charged for the whole street, not just my property!!!

N Power are renowned for having done this in the past, and i personally know TWO other N Power customers who have had this exact same problem with you in the last two years.

I am not happy with your reply that basically says its my own fault, even though you neglected to mention that during the telephone call regarding leaving my heating on low, i told the agent that it was with a PREVIOUS supplier, not with yourselves, and it had only ever cost me £40 per month. I have never left my heating on low since you have been my supplier - i worry about even putting the hot water on for an hour for a bath because it costs me £5!!! i have checked this by noting the amount on my pre pay meter before putting the water on, and then noting it again an hour later when i turn the water off. There is no way that putting the water on for an hour should cost me £5!!! my best friend is with Utility Warehouse, and has a three bedroom detached property, and she only pays £10 a week for her gas!!!!!

i look forward to you contacting me with an acceptable solution to this problem.

N Bishop


since then i have had no further communication from them.

i am wondering whether i have a case for the ombusdman to help me with etc??? any help would be greatly appreciated, as i am really starting to suffer because of this - im a student, and dont earn much, and nearly all my wage goes on the card meter! im scared of putting the heating on because of the cost!!!

please help!!! Record your calls You should not deal with any organisation on the phone without recording the call.
Call recorders can be very cheap and you can get them from Maplins.
The best one is the Truecall. It is pricey but will record your calls, screen your calls, reject unwanted callers etc.
Follow this link to read the review of the Truecall telephone recorder and call manager.
This is the Rolls Royce of call recorders.
It's a bit pricey but if you buy it with our special offer you will get it at cost: about 20% discount.
How much do we make on the deal? - Nothing at all.
You can also buy cheaper devices from Maplins. Truecall is the best - but the important thing is to record your calls. gal_register('gal_1_2496591', '3', '1', '0', '0', '0');The Direct Debit Guarantee • The Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own Bank or Building Society.
• If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change, we will notify you three working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.
• If an error is made by us or by your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.
• You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of your letter to us.

This is a term of your banking contract and you can sue on it. gal_register('gal_26_2496591', '1', '1', '0', '0', '0');

Miss Bish: Hi everyone, just been reading the posts on here and i honestly feel that i have a case against N-power.


i stopped paying my direct debit out of protest at the lack of support i was receiving from N Power, and the less than helpful customer service. i even called you to tell you that i wasnt paying any more until you came and sorted it out!!!

You may or may not have had a case but by stopping your direct debit and not making alternative payment arrangments you have all but destroyed any case you may or may not have had. The Direct Debit Guarantee you quote is irrelevent to the circumstances.

Furthermore by cutting off your nose to spite your face you have ended up with a prepayment meter.2-0 to NPower.

Either the billling is right or it's not right. There are many reasons why a bill can be wrong but the bill needs to be scrutinised for errors and in a long post that's about the only thing you haven't done.

I have no idea whether the £2k is right or wrong. On the face of it it seems quite high just as £50/month is a very reasonable payment which you were ill advised to cancel.

I don't defend some of the things you have reported NPower customer service as saying but taking enforcement action after a year is not unreasonable.

If you want to get to the bottom of the high bill you need to post the consumption details that appeared on the £2k bill.

ok, the details i have are as follows:

bill for gas:

3/11/07 - 3/2/08 - £275.18est

11/02/08 - 11/08/08 - £794.61 est

12/09/08 - meter reading provided, credit of £128

12/09/08 actual bill based on readings £691.66

12/09/08 - 28/11/08 - £113.57 act, total bill £805

28/11/08 - 20/02/09 - £388.29 taking total bill to £1183.52

just spoke to billing enquiries again, and she wont give me kWh consumption details as she said that the bill is correct because of actual meter readings.

my argument is (still) that: i was living on MY OWN from jan 08 - sept 08, and i have nothing gas in my house other than the hob and the heating - which wasnt turned on til nov 08 as it was broken.

they are maintaining that the bill is correct because of meter readings, but it cant be - that would mean i was using £120 per month, on gas, just from the HOB?!?! bearing in mind i was at uni full time, and was out of the house all day, and the majority of my cooking was oven based, of a night time, how can this be possible?

i understand that £120 a month might make sense if i had central heating, or was living with someone, but i didnt and i wasnt!?!?

Ask Npower to send a copy bills dating back to when you fist moved in the property.

Have you got a copy of your old bills?

Did you send N power your meter reading when you frist moved in?(could you paying for the last tenants/owners)

There should be on your new gas meter the old reading when the meter was changed. Double check this against there final reading for that mater.

You shouldn't have let them change the meters while your were unclear about your bill. You may struggle to prove if there was a mistake.

Not sure about N power but i htought most supllier had brought there prepayment meters in line with there normally tarffis

£10 a week for electi sounds about right but £20 for gas is a lot I live with 5 people and the £20 has lasted us over a mounth, Have you got a gas leak somewhere?

Miss Bish:

ok, the details i have are as follows:

OK, a start. But it's meter readings which are needed, not £££s

RU saying that NPower refused to give you the readings? If so, as Manky suggests get copy bills if you no longer have them. May cost but could be worth it. What you were told about the bill being right because of actual readings is neither here nor there.

If one adviser refused to give you the readings I suggest making another call, be very clear and careful about your request, get the adviser to refuse twice, ask about whether the call is being recorded, ask again. If they still refuse, at that point make a formal complaint to NPpower about the failure to give you the meter readings only. Make a very careful note of the time and date of the call and who you spoke with. If you have an online phone bill try to obtain the record of the number dialled after a day or two.

The NPower complaints code of practice is available online.

As a minimum I would also suggest making an "on-account" backpayment of the £50/month missed because that will not be an unreasonable amount of energy.

the £50 a month back payment thing is irrelevant, as they already take £10 a week on both the gas and the electric