I received an email yesterday with a new post from Naughty Nigel, but it looks like that post must have been deleted as I can't see it on this thread. I will copy bits I want to quote straight from the email.

NN - "I am relived that I am not alone in suffering problems with nPower, but it seems that for now at least, the law is on their side. "

Me - No it's not; why do you think they have not taken you to court? They cannot do anything without a court order. Of course they will make out that they can, but the haven't have they? In court the onus will be on THEM to prove that the money IS owing, not the other way round.

NN - "I have written to nPower, but continue to receive threatening phone calls from representatives who have not even taken the time to read the correspondence before they call, and refuse to listen, or answer pertinent questions."

Me - you have wasted enough of your life on this already, time to give them the cold shoulder. Show them they will have to take you to court if they think they have a case. The only way to show them that is to ignore them. The only correspondence you need to reply to is a letter which asks you if you want the chance to appear in court or words to that effect; obviously reply that you do.

NN - "I did send a cheque for 50% of the balance in full and final settlement, which I felt was fair under the circumstances, but I have never received a reply. Meanwhile, the threatening calls continue."

Me - With the greatest of respect this was the worst move you ever made. Now they will see you as a soft touch. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.

NN - Frankly, the incompetence of nPower is breathtaking, and I really do not feel they can be trusted to deal with customer accounts.

Me - I wonder if it really is incompetence. I have seen previous posts on here explaining how npower's administrative system works, or rather doesn't work. The idea that a company with the resources of npower can't come up with an administrative system that works frankly doesn't wash with me, and I don't think it would wash with a court.

All of this is so familiar to me - I didn't get to University until I was 21 in part because of dealing with this kind of thing, when most people go at 17 or 18. I wouldn't have got through University at all without learning to ignore extortionate demands for money. To be honest it has got to the point where at least several well-known companies cannot take me to court for money which IS owing because they are afraid of what I would say about the ways they had tried to get money which was NOT owing, and indeed the fact that they were trying to get money that was not owing at all.

Realise that you have power. The further they go over the mark the more power you have. Believe me.

Evomin

Thanks for the replies above. Time for an update:

I lodged an official complaint with the Energy Ombudsman at the beginning of November, and was told that I would hear nothing further from nPower for about eight weeks whilst my complaint was investigated. I wrote to nPower advising them of this fact, (and I daresay the Energy Ombudsman would have done the same).

Yesterday morning I received a letter from a firm of Debt Collectors in Glasgow, purporting to be solicitors. I phoned them as requested, whereupon I got the usual "when will we get paid" routine. The 'Agent' tried quoting various Acts and Laws, but when cross examined admitted that they were in fact debt collectors.

However, the Agent told me that their "Clients" (nPower) had "Instructed" them because they had been sending me energy bills for the past three years, but that I had given them a false address and had not been contactable!

I have notified the Energy Ombudsman, who confirmed that nPower should not have made contact at this time, and invited me to make a formal complaint - which I have done.

I don't want to say any more in case this becomes sub judice, but it is abundantly clear to me that nPower tells lies, and is incompetent.

NN

I haven't had time to read this whole thread, so apologies if this has been said already.

You don't have to do anything until they take you to court. Ignore the mail and phone calls. If they do take your to court ask them to prove that you used the electricity/owe the money. Have some previous bills to hand in the court to show that the amount they are asking for is out of the ordinary. I have experience of this kind of thing - I was taken to court by a firm of lawyers a few years ago who were claiming to have done work for me which they had not. I said they had not done any work for me, the Sheriff asked them if they could prove that they had done any work for me and they said they would abandon the case.

The key thing is you are in the strong position here. They cannot do anything without a court ruling. If you can show the court that the bill is unlikely to be accurate I think you are in with a strong chance.

I'm not a lawyer though - if you want to be more confident about what I'm saying, ask one.

The problem is that when recieved the cheque and letter will be seperated, the cheque heads to the payments team to be processed and the letter would initally be sent to a correspodence team and then possibly onto the department concerned with your queries.

The payments teams whose sole responsibility is to process payment will in all likelyhood be using a different IT system than the customer services team, one that process payments and credits the appropriate account with the funds so will be oblivious to any and all Customer service issues.

As for your letter, well I think you know how that's been dealt with. How is your complaint progressing?

The cheque was marked "paid under duress in full and final settlement of account No XXXXX"

The cheque was sent over a month ago, with a letter detailing my concerns and complaints. I have not yet even had the courtesy of a reply or an acknowledgement, although I know (from their debt collectors) that the letter was received.
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I did ask them to explain why I had not heard anything, and thier (by now predictable) response was "when will we get paid".
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It has also become clear that the debt collectors do not read the correspondence or check the file before calling. Only on Friday I recived a call from one of the debt collectors who lied to me, saying that I had not made contact with nPower. When I told her to check the file she conceded that I had written and sent a cheque, but refused to appologise.
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NN

no1blondy:

I believe that if you have marked the cheque or correspondence that went with it, as "Full and Final Settlement" and the company cashes it, that is taken as acceptance of your offer and the matter is closed. You may have to produce a copy of the letter though.

Good luck

Wrong! You are making an offer, they do not have to accept it.

If you can prove you are owed £500.00 and someone sends you half, do you sit and wait till the other half materialises or do you cash the cheque? At this time until evidence is provided we can only assume that the statement is correct (although obvious the OP and many other's are hoping it isn't).

I believe that if you have marked the cheque or correspondence that went with it, as "Full and Final Settlement" and the company cashes it, that is taken as acceptance of your offer and the matter is closed. You may have to produce a copy of the letter though.

Good luck

No meters were exchanged during my tenure.

From what I have read here, it seems I should give up work and spend my life watching an electricity meter so I can send myself electricity bills; thereby absolving nPower of all responsibility. No doubt if I did that they would be very quick to jump if I made a mistake.
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Frankly I think I pay nPower more than enough to expect a reasonable standard of service. I certainly don't expect to do their job for them.
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When I ask for a final bill I expect it to be delivered within a reasonable time; say one month. I do not expect to recieve an inflated bill three years later when I am unable to veryify the readings quoted.

NN

It could be that the meter was exchanged during this time.

As for inaccurate meter readings - it's a dual responsibility between yourself as the consumer and Npower as the supplier. Much the same as you might (and should but probably don't) check your till receipts, bank statements phone bills etc, you should be checking to make sure you are paying for the energy you have consumed.

In general terms (exceptions do apply for some circumstances) if there's a fault with the readings its just as much your fault as it is Npower's. As for tardiness we'll not know the cause for the delay until you recieve a response from your complaint. (and/or you raise a SAR and recieve the applicable documentation).

There is no charge for termination or lack of notice.
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The bill relates only to the supply of electricity and service charges. The charges going back to 2003 seem to relate to service charges on another meter, which is why I am so concerned.
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There was only one electronic 'dual rate' meter, for storage heaters and socket power; hence two meter readings. However, there were at least seven other meters (for other offices) on the same board, including a Landlords Meter, and I suspect these may have been confused. The building concerned has now been converted to a single occupancy, and all but one meter removed, so it is now impossible to check.
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But for nPowers' tardiness in submitting this bill the whole matter could have been dealt with much more quickly and easily, and without doubt. I do not see why I have to accept inacurate readings simply because nPower has allowed so much time to elapse.

NN

Jalexa:The "amounts going back to 2003" is interesting. I have absolutely no speculatory explanation for that but I would hope that the bill itemises the reason.

If looking for speculation, a possibe reason for this could include estimated meter readings for a long period with provision of an actual meter reading (your final reading perhaps) that proves previous meter readings were inaccurate. YOur supplier would re-bill the entire account from Day1 so to as farily as possible distribute any under-charge at the pricing levels where that usage would have occured. i.e. if you were on different (and probably) lower contracted rates at the star tof the account more usage may have been allocated to these rates than was previously.

But as I mentioned its pure speculation and have no basis in fact.

Naughty Nigel:

I submitted final meter readings in Agust 2006, requesting a closing energy bill. nPower did not submit a bill until three years later, and it bore little resemblance to the electricity that I would have used in the period concerned. (£500 for a single room office in summertime?) The bill also included amounts going back to 2003; even though we have all bills from this period, each of which was paid in full, and on time.

This is just speculation as I am not privy to the said bills or the applicable Contract or Terms and Conditions of supply, but its entirely possible for bills to be paid in full but following a final reading for there to be an unexpectedly large bill.

This would the case if the last paid bill was based on an estimated reading. You will be able to check (and eliminate) that possibility by checking the bill copy which I now know you have. Other speculatory reasons for a large subsequent bill may be NPower's assertion that you did not serve leaving notice strictly in accordance with the contract. I do not have that contract and you haven't mentioned it. The contract *may* have provision for disconnection or other termination charges.

Regarding the energy actually consumed, the "opening" reading (and date) on the closing bill now received should be the same as the "closing" reading (and date) on the last paid bill (which you have). The "closing" reading and reading date on the closing bill should be the same as the reading you passed in August 2006.

If this is not the case then on the face of it there is a serious issue with the NPower billing which I hope the Energy Ombudsman would have short shrift with.

The "amounts going back to 2003" is interesting. I have absolutely no speculatory explanation for that but I would hope that the bill itemises the reason.

A final point. You are adament that you only have one meter but you "submitted final meter readings in August 2006." Is that a typo, or did you also have an NPower gas supply which is not subject to the billing scr*w-up? Or two electric meters?

Jalexa:

Naughty Nigel:

I have written to nPower, but continue to receive threatening phone calls from representatives who have not even taken the time to read the correspondence before they call, and refuse to listen, or answer pertinent questions.

The last post from Mynewt contained a very helpful link to the NPower business section where the NPower complaints procedure can be found. I learned something that the NPower business complaints procedure includes the right to refer an unsatisfied issue to the Energy Ombudsman. I also managed to find the standard small business contract terms.

Reading your last post I see no indication that you have taken any note of the advice.

This is a fight over £250 (because you already consider £250 "fair"). My advice is to settle and put your lack of business record keeping down to experience.

Thank you. I have taken note of the advice, and have completed and submitted the relevant form. However, I fail to see how my record keeping is at fault here?

I submitted final meter readings in Agust 2006, requesting a closing energy bill. nPower did not submit a bill until three years later, and it bore little resemblance to the electricity that I would have used in the period concerned. (£500 for a single room office in summertime?) The bill also included amounts going back to 2003; even though we have all bills from this period, each of which was paid in full, and on time.

As a paying customer, I believe I am entitled to reccive a reasonable level of service from nPower. In my view that level of service has not been delivered, but I am being expected to pay an incorrect energy bill becuae of it. How is that my fault?

NN

Jalexa:Depending on how "complaints" are defined its even possible that the Energy Ombudsman will consider that the 8 week clock started ticking at your first expression of concern and has already expired.

If Npower have logged your complaint correctly as well as managing your complaint correctly, the clock as it were should start from when your complaint was first raised. If upon your dealings with Npower you are able to determine that they have not raised a complaint you can and should request that it be back-dated to the date you first raised this specific query.

Naughty Nigel:

I have tried Consumer Focus, but as this was technically a business supply they say they cannot help.

Whether or not it is correct that they cannot help (because it is a business supply) it is p*ss poor advice because "micro businesses" are now included in the Energy Ombudsman scheme. According to the Ofgem website a "micro business" is defined as follows....

* The Energy Ombudsman will settle disputes between energy companies and domestic and micro business consumers. Micro businesses are defined as a person supplied or requiring to be supplied at premises with an annual consumption of electricity of not more than 55,000 kWh; or gas of not more than 200,000 kWh; or fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 2m.

Please follow up Mynewt's link and submit a proper complaint in accordance with the NPower procedure. After 8 weeks you will be able to invoke the Energy Ombudsman scheme. Depending on how "complaints" are defined its even possible that the Energy Ombudsman will consider that the 8 week clock started ticking at your first expression of concern and has already expired.

I suggest you give the Energy Ombudsman a call and explain, not so much the causal issue, but your allegations concerning the NPower customer service conduct when you try to address the issue.

More info here...

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Consumers/Pages/Consumer.aspx

Good luck.