NPower - NoService,NoIntelligen ce, NoWay (NPower)

Member Name: headcovers

Product:	NPower
Date:	13/10/00 (325 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None at all

Disadvantages: Extremely poor customer service, long wait on phone lines, more expensive,

At the Ideal Home Exhibition in March I was tempted to sign up to transfering my electricity supply from Southern Electric to NPower. I hadn't had any troubles with Southern, just horrendous bills due to a thirsty electric heating boiler and was desperate to reduce my costs.

Two stands along I met British Gas and due to being a woman and a consumer....I changed my mind and signed up with them! They assured me that all I need do was notify NPower by exercising by 14 day option to change my mind and BG would do the rest. (This is not a criticism of BG, by the way)

Once home I received the letter from NPower giving me the option to cancel the agreement, which I promptly did. However two weeks later (within the cancellation period I might add) I received a "Welcome to NPower" letter, a pack and a new supply date. I contacted Southern to say that I was now transferring to BG and not NPower and they stated that due to the regulations they could not interfere and that they would have to conform with the changeover to NPower. I tried to phone NPower and held for 45 mins on their "customer service"(that's a breach of the trade description's act for a start) line and when I got through she said that they had no record of my cancellation and that I would have to write to them, but as I was still in the cancellation period it should get sorted. I wrote to them.

A week later I received a request from Southern Electric for a closing meter reading. I protested saying that I cancelled the changeover to NPower, but they said it was out of their hands. I decided to give British Gas a call to see if they could help. They suggested that I give in and let it go through and they would cancel the agreement with NPower after the required notice period when they took over my supply. May I add here that I got through on BG's service line immediately!

I duly started with my supply from NPower (after a few faile
d 45 mins holding on to their customer line). Sure enough BG sent a letter stating that unless I had any objections they would serve notice on NPower to take over the supply. God, yes please I said. I happily completed the closing meter reading after the requisite notice period and BG informed me that they were now my supplier.

I began to get suspicious when I did not receive a closing bill from NPower (Southern Electric were very prompt) but I assumed it would appear sooner that later.

One month passed and I received my first bill from British Gas (quite a bit cheaper that Southern Electric I might add) but still no closing bill from NPower.

Lo and behold sure enough a week later I received a bill from NPower. But they had charged me for a full supply for the same period as British Gas, as if I had never cancelled. The amusing thing was that it contained a letter stating how much more expensive BG were even with the cancellation of the Standing charge and yet when I compared the bills NPower were more expensive, even deducting the extra period they were charging for.

I called NPower.......same old story....held for 35 mins.....finally got through....explained problem and well blow me, they admitted that they had my closing reading on file and had made a mistake and would re do my bill.

Two weeks later.... no recalculated bill... but I did get a letter from NPower stating that I had not paid the latest bill and could I pay it immediately.

Called again.... held for ages again.....explained again....they apologised again..............

I'm still waiting.........I'll let you know. Howver one thing I can confirm, NPwer have the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I would recommend you choose just about anybody else.

By the way if you're interested British Gas offer the following rates for electricity:

No standing charge, but 13.350 pence per kWh for the first
200 kWh at peak to make up for it, followed thereafter at 5.890 pence per kWh peak and 2.310 pence per kWh off peak. I found the lack of standing charge did save money. It's done so that you don't waste money on a standing charge if the property is empty for any period and I think it's a sound idea!

Update: 1/1/01

Here we are nearly three months later since my review and I still have not received the closing bill from NPower for the month that they supplied me with electricity. Still...I'm not complaining!

Summary: