Npower

...out that we didn't choose NPower personally as our gas and electricity provider. We were basically stuck with them when we moved into our new house. I know you're probably wondering why we didn't just change suppliers if we disliked them so much but, with a company such as NPower, that is a LOT easier said than done.

When we moved into our new home, the previous owners left us a note explaining that the electricity supply was provided ...
...owners had been told by NPower that it was up to the new owners to request that the meter was disconnected. This struck me as being a little bit strange. Surely nobody wants to have the hassle of topping up their electricity meter these days if they can avoid it and, since there was no longer a debt outstanding, there was no real reason to leave it in place, unless they wanted to get more money out of us! However, at that point I was not as cynical ... more

Before I start, I will warn you all now - this is not a review I would advise any of you to read if you're already in a bad mood. My apologies, but it's not a feelgood opinion and it's hardly the shortest read. It is, however, one I would advise you all to read now if you're even considering switching suppliers for your gas and electricity and if that switch involves transferring to NPower. I urge you now - don't do it! They do seem reasonably priced, but it comes at a cost. Even if you cannot be bothered to read this lengthy rant (and frankly I wouldn't blame you), please, please, please steer clear of them, for the sake of your health and general wellbeing. Apologies to anyone who works there, or knows anyone else who works there. I appreciate that every company has a different complaints procedure and I imagine a lot of the people I spoke to were victims of that system, but rarely has a company managed to incense me enough to write endless letters of complaint - all to no avail.
Right, now I've made my peace, I will get on with the job of justifying my reasons for what probably seems like an unfair attack. I have had a bad experience, but judging from some of the other reviews I have had the opportunity to glance through on this company, I see that I am not alone!

I've never found a gas and electricity provider that I've been particularly happy with. Our last supplier forgot to charge us for electricity for a year and, because we assumed we were paying a joint payment for gas and electricity, we didn't pick up on the problem until it was too late. We ended up with a mammoth bill, which we were thankfully able to pay back in instalments. Yes, it was pretty annoying, but it got sorted out and I consider myself to be a pretty reasonable person when things go wrong, providing that I receive a decent level of customer service (without aggression!) to remedy the situation. This theory went out of the window when I clashed with the cretins at NPower.

Firstly, I'd like to point out that we didn't choose NPower personally as our gas and electricity provider. We were basically stuck with them when we moved into our new house. I know you're probably wondering why we didn't just change suppliers if we disliked them so much but, with a company such as NPower, that is a LOT easier said than done.

When we moved into our new home, the previous owners left us a note explaining that the electricity supply was provided via a pre-pay meter. For anyone who doesn't know, a pre-pay electricity meter is exactly what it sounds like (i.e. you pay for your electricity before you use it) and is usually fitted in situations where tenants have bills outstanding, as a means of the company ensuring you pay for their service in advance.

Despite leaving us with confirmation that their final bill had been settled and that they had tried to get the meter removed, the previous owners had been told by NPower that it was up to the new owners to request that the meter was disconnected. This struck me as being a little bit strange. Surely nobody wants to have the hassle of topping up their electricity meter these days if they can avoid it and, since there was no longer a debt outstanding, there was no real reason to leave it in place, unless they wanted to get more money out of us! However, at that point I was not as cynical as I am now and didn't know that pre-pay meters are not only more costly, but highly inconvenient. I had also not yet had the pleasure of trying to communicate with NPower, so assumed it would only take a quick phone call to get things sorted out. How wrong I was!

In order to use these pre-pay meters, you need to purchase top up credit cards (much as you would do with a pay as you go phone) from the Post Office. This is a less than convenient system, as if you forget to top up the meter regularly, your supply will begin running on emergency credit for a short while before you are left with no power whatsoever. There isn't much in the way of warning other than a screen telling you how much money you have left. There is no indication of how much energy is left in relation to the amount of money showing either so, for the majority of the time, it is left down to guesswork.

The meters are also inconvenient because they are a much more expensive method of paying for electricity than if you set up a direct debit. We eventually found ourselves topping up the meter several times a week and spending far more than we would normally be spending if we were paying by direct debit.

The other issue that we had was that, once your house is fitted with one of these horrific things, you are unable to change suppliers until the company who fitted it remove it for you. So, we were 100% reliant on NPower coming to disconnect it for us. At this point, we thought it would take a simple call. They would come and remove it and set up a direct debit mandate with us. It wasn't a hard task, but little did we know how difficult it would be.

At first, we didn't want to top up the meter because we didn't think we would have it for too long and, once you've put money in it, there is no way of getting it back if the meter is removed. We bought a couple of cards to keep us going and then made a call to organise a visit from an engineer. It was only when we got the cards home and realised that they weren't working, that we started panicking about running out of credit entirely.

At first NPower seemed pretty helpful. When I phoned on 19 December 2005 I was advised that the previous owner had run up a debt on the pre-pay electricity meter and I would be unable to add any credit to it until an engineer had re-set it. I explained that the previous owners had left me with proof that this debt had now been cleared, and that I wanted it removed rather than re-set. However, I was told that the previous owners had been given emergency credit before they left so there was still a debt. I was also told that a separate appointment would need to be arranged to have the meter disconnected. The lady told me that we would need to top up the meter a few times as, and I quote, "Npower like to see a few payments from you before they are happy to remove the meter and set up a direct debit".

Effectively, we were being penalised for the financial problems encountered by people who had absolutely nothing to do with us, which made me really angry. Obviously, I questioned this, as it was hardly our fault or problem that there were outstanding debts, but I had been given no choice but to accept what they told us. Irrespective of whether we had to wait for the meter to be removed, we were now being told that we would not be able to pay for the privilege of power without a visit from an engineer anyway.

Trying to remain calm with the lady (who clearly had no responsibility other than to book the appointment for the meter to be re-set) I asked if there was any way that an appointment could be arranged for the meter to be removed whilst I was on the phone. She was very sympathetic, but explained that she would be unable to arrange an appointment until after Christmas, as they would need confirmation that the debt had been settled first and there was a waiting list for such appointments. I felt like asking why they had not arranged this when the previous owners had requested it, but was beginning to realise that I was fighting a losing battle. It was only a few days before Christmas and it was as if they just didn't care. As there was no alternative, I agreed to wait in the house the following day between the hours of 8am and 6pm for the engineer to arrive.

Having waited until 4pm on Tuesday 20 December, with no sign of an engineer and getting pretty p*ssed off, I rang NPower to confirm the latest visit time. I was obviously concerned that we would be without electricity and unable to do anything about it should no one call. I was advised that the job record for my visit had been completed in error and that no visit would be made. By this point, I had established that the meter had already been running on emergency credit and that there was only 8p remaining.

To my total disbelief, I was told that no urgent visit could be made that evening and that there was nothing Npower could or would do to stop the meter running out of credit, except arrange a visit for the following day. After a full day off work to wait for this call, myself and my fiancé were then forced to stay with friends at very short notice so that we could eat, sleep, wash etc. without fear of the power being cut off. I then had to take more time off the following day, so I could wait in the house for the engineer with no power until he finally arrived at 2pm.

At this point, I should probably point out that the member of staff dealing with my phone call was very sympathetic. As I said at the start of this rant, the majority of people I spoke to over the phone during the entire pre-pay meter saga were considerate and apologetic, yet completely powerless to do anything except make the right noises from a call centre far, far away. I genuinely feel for them given Npower's horrific customer service, as they must be under terrific amounts of stress to cope with the level of complaints they must receive on a daily basis!

During this call I was told that we would have to keep the pre-pay meter for a period of three months. Whilst the reasoning behind this was neither fully explained nor justified, it was again heavily implied that this was due to the poor payment record of the previous owners. At first I had been told that I would need to top up the meter a few times, but now I was being told I was stuck with it for 12 weeks, which was both insulting and completely unnecessary, especially given the fact that I was calling to complain! To add insult to injury, I also received a circular from NPower that day inviting me to benefit from the £60 discount of paying for both gas and electricity by direct debit.

After a nasty letter expressing our total dissatisfaction, NPower finally agreed to remove the meter, a month and a half after we requested it to be done. This meant one of us taking even more time off work and the only offer of compensation we received was for £20. I have no idea how they came up with that figure, but apparently it is company policy. It was not lost on us that we were mistreated for someone else's poor payment record, yet we were forced to take time off work which (as far as they were concerned) prevented us from getting paid in the first place!

I have tried phoning and I have written several letters, but have received nothing but standard letters back, which read like cut and paste letters rather than genuine responses to my questions regarding their customer service. Again, I imagine this is company policy and they are unable to answer personal complaints with more than a cursory level of sympathy. I tried to remain objective and detached (which was hard), but have come to the conclusion that nothing will be resolved if they do not take a very close look at their customer service, or lack of it. I should also point out that it took them two weeks to respond to each letter, which I find utterly appalling. Each letter ended with "I trust this has resolved the matter for you", when clearly it hadn't come close.

As a matter of principle, I have decided to change suppliers, as I feel I have been left with no choice and life is too short to spend your time waiting for the next unnecessary drama. No doubt we will receive the standard "Why have you changed suppliers?" or "Please come back to us" letter, because they have no concept of how to make sure they have satisfied customers, which is a shame because their rates are pretty low.

Right, end of the sermon! If anyone has actually been satisfied with a gas and electricity supplier, I'd love to hear from you!
 

...less