Good Afternoon, I am currently with NPOWER and have duel supplied. When I first joined them my bills were low DD each month then they kept raising, my DD at its highest was £165.00 per month and now been reduced to £112.00. Their customer services is so unhelpful and told me if I want to change good luck we will make it difficult for you.....this comment has stopped me from changing suppliers as 1) I am worried if I try to change they will hit me with a massive bill!! and 2) I dont really understand the useage and strong and weak gas (as quoted by Martin Lewis). I really am worried and dont know who to change to or if I should......?? thank you for your help

troubled40:

this comment has stopped me from changing suppliers as 1) I am worried if I try to change they will hit me with a massive bill!! and 2)

Whenever you switch suppliers you have to settle in full with the previous supplier so if your account currently has a debit balance what you are worried about could be true. However if you are paying by DD and have not missed any payments then any debit balance is not arrears and is therefore not grounds for a supplier to object to a transfer. In that case the NPower customer service rep's comment was empty bluster.

Gas and electricity is sold by the kWhr as measured by the meters, not sold by the Direct Debit "£". Whether you have an account debit balance depends on your meter readings as well as your DD payment. Are the bills based on actual or estimated readings?

NPower have a very aggresive Direct Debit policy designed to achieve a zero balance at the annual review, by employing a 6 monthly review, so as long as you have been maintaining the required DDs you should not be too much out (and depending on your particular tariff) you may still benefit from a substantial discount paid every 12 months in arrears.

You will get better help if you post the readings stated on your last few bills indicating whether they are actual or estimated.

If you can bear one more call, ask NPower what your annual gas and electricity use is in kWhrs. That is the key to accurate comparisons.

Hi Troubled40,

Direct Debits are the cause for many problems customers (and suppliers) have. Generally this is down to the customer's understanding of the direct debit system being different to their suppliers, which is just poor communication from the supplier, add to this their rather unhelpful comments and what you is a very good example of customer service failure.

Now moving along. You're free to change supplier at any time, however Npower do have a right to object to the transfer if there has been an ongoing debt on the account for 30 days or more - just because they can doesn't mean they will. More importantly I can guarentee it won't be the responsibility of the agent you spke with to make this decision.

If I were you I would contact their complaints team and raise a formal complaint regarding the agent you spoke with, also request their complaints procedure and if need be follow it to the letter - the calls should be recorded and should help your complaint. Additionally I would request my usage infomation, and then plug it into a comparison site such as this one. For cheaper bills focus on internet tarriffs these will give you the better savings/discounts.

To answer you concerns:

1. You may have a bill to pay but it will be the value of your consumption (less any GOGW payments you can obtain for the poor service), if its larger than you epxect you cna arrange a payment arrangement to clear the balance over a longer than normal period of time.

2. Strong or weak gas, i'm sorry i'm lost by this term. If you are able to clarify this one i might be able to aid you better.

FINALLY, yes you should switch and fast! When you do switch please make sure to continually review your account yourself make sure your MDD is sufficient for your usage and proactively request icnreases if you think you are not building a good credit for the winter period.

Mynewt:

FINALLY, yes you should switch and fast!

I don't think that is automatically good advice.

Depending on the tariff it's possible there is a £100 discount still to be applied in arrears after 12 months which would be lost with an immediate switch. Set against that is whether (or not) the particular tariff is subject to seasonal weighting.

If the OP posts the tariff name (from the bill) then we can comment further.

That's a very good point, Jalexa -- and perhaps I should have clarified further as I was speaking just from the level of service provided (or not provided). However making a few assumptions and assuming the advise i provided of looking at online tarriffs the OP will be able to recoup larger discounts and see them quicker looking at other provider's.Perhaps switching now will be worth the loss of £100.00 i'll lerave that to the OP.

(BTW: my assumptions are that you were on Npower's standard tarriff and were an average user as defined by MS's quick quote tool and were located in the South East of england. The saving was £360.00 vs Npower - meaning you would "save" £90.00 in the frist quarter against Npower's tarriffs - again however a very loose illustation based upon numerous assumptions PLEASE do not take as fact).

Mynewt:

(BTW: my assumptions are that you were on Npower's standard tarriff and were an average user as defined by MS's quick quote tool and were located in the South East of england.

...and I made a totally different assumption that the OP could have been on a NPower online tariff...

Shows what a minefield this is for the uninitiated.

It is a case that NPpower online tariff headline costs are regularly at the most competitive end of a Consumer Focus accredited comparison even thought they either feature very high standing charges or seasonal weighting in the case of a no standing charge tariff.

The headline cost is only achievable if the small print is satisfied, in particular 12 month's custom to earn the discount in arrears.

The Consumer Focus accredied comparison does not allow for the specific effect of the 6 month Direct Debit review to clear winter costs in 6 months unlike other suppliers 12 month DD cycle.

Both very valid assumptions it's just my experience that unfortunately the vast majority of customer's are on their current provider's standard option. This is as a result of distrust in supplier so not taking up any better tarriff offered or simply unaware that they could get better.

Hopefully we've given the OP enough infomation to chew over and make a start on improving the situation.

Mynewt:

Both very valid assumptions it's just my experience that unfortunately the vast majority of customer's are on their current provider's standard option.

It's not just anecdotal either, all the figures show that the vast majority of customers are on their providers' standard tariffs. Furthermore, when people do switch, they are more likely to do so through a door-to-door salesperson than by considering the market and switching to the best deal.

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Felicity King-Evans, Deputy Site Editor
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Felicity, Felicity....

There I was rolling up my sleeves ready for a good ol' arguement and you went and agreed with me -- how am I ment to enjoy myself now :D

Felicity King-Evans:

Furthermore, when people do switch, they are more likely to do so through a door-to-door salesperson than by considering the market and switching to the best deal.

That's quite worrying, something I guess Consumer Focus accredited comparison websites can't be happy about.

Perhaps we need Government proposals a la credit cards on this. Store and door-to-door contacts should be backed by a printed proposal from an accredited comparison.

BTW I haven't been subjected to door-to-door for years. A recent store "ambush" from M&S Energy elicited the response that NPower were at the top of (accredited) comparisons because they paid more commission. While it may or may not be true that they pay more commission I do not believe it to be true that it influences the comparison results.

So was I "lied" to by M&S Energy?

Actually the most worrying things about door-to-door and store is that the comparsion usually becomes one of lower Direct Debits which is of course a false comparison.

On the subject of door-to-door sales, I've noticed a worrying trend for them to "skew" the truth a little to increase or fabricate a benefit in switching. The agents are able to determine which supplier a customer is with without even speaking to the customer, and will usually pick that supplier's most expensive tarriff (usually a capped or price protected tarrif) and then compare their companies standard or "cheaper" prices.

Thus generating a huge saving from switching. Of course they won't tell you what tarriffs tehir comparing agianst and they'll use clever wording so they're not lying to you just not giving you an accurate perception of the facts.

Sadly there's an ever icnreasing number of these salesman who are caring less for their customer and more for their pockets. (I am quite sure that not all door-to-door sales agents operate like this, its morethanlikely a case of a few bad apples).

From my experience with door-to-door utilities, they are all young people trying to make a few quid trained in the art of being "economical with the truth" and doing anything they can, including asking some rather too personal questions at point of enquiry. I find their methods intrusive and cheesy. It's time companies like these changed their training methods and realised us customers are not all brainless, gullible oafs- we want honest people, honest answers and good customer care. Not too much to ask.

Mynewt:

Felicity, Felicity....

There I was rolling up my sleeves ready for a good ol' arguement and you went and agreed with me -- how am I ment to enjoy myself now :D

*grins* let's savour this moment, Mynewt, who knows when it will happen again? :)

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Felicity King-Evans, Deputy Site Editor
felicity.king-evans @ moneysupermarket.com

I don't want to comment on door to door sales because I haven't seen any figures outlining their truthfulness or usefulness.

However, I do think education is the only answer here. Obviously, as an employee of a price comparison site and a consumer, I think more people should compare and consider switching - but there's lots of relunctance to do so.

I believe this is partly down to apathy but partly down to a fear of 'things going wrong' - bigger bills, losing money, bills from both providers etc. That really rarely happens but I think there's a perception it will and this puts people off.

Here's a link to an Ofgem factsheet about new billing requirements that it hopes will make switching easier. I think the annual statement really will be a call to action for consumers.

Felicity

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Felicity King-Evans:

However, I do think education is the only answer here.

Interesting link. The annual consumption figures on the bill are welcome as only annual consumption gives accurate results on a comparison website.

You are right about education but how to encourage customers to avoid estimated bills by reading their meters? Yes that was a question. I really don't know the answer as suppliers already make it fairly easy for customers to submit readings. It's very frustrating to read all the forum post where lack of awareness of actual consumption is the causal problem.

Maybe a financial discount for submitting a customer reading? How big a discount would it need to be to be effective?