npower:Where's my money? (NPower)

Member Name: Lucille

Product:	NPower
Date:	22/11/00 (259 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Won't give me back my money! Staff are useless and don't know what's going on

I've given npower one star on this opinion, but it's only because dooyoo makes you give some rating. If I could I would have given no star at all.

At the end of August we moved. Npower had supplied our gas for a while, without any problems. We used their direct debit scheme, to pay our bill, and when we moved there was a credit of £33 remaining in the account

We gave them the amount of notice of our move that they required, and on the moving day I rang npower with the final meter reading. I was told that within two weeks of moving I would receive my final bill, with a cheque for any credit left in the account. This all seemed straight forward. Approximately two weeks after I moved, I did receive the bill, but no cheque. I rang npower, and was told that the cheque would be issued, and it would take another two weeks. When my cheque had still not arrived after this time, I rang again, and was told there was a problem on the account, not caused by me, and once it was sorted out I would receive my money. After several more phone calls I was told that there was a difference of ten units between the meter reading we gave, and the one the new people gave. This comes to the grand total of 12p in our favour! Since then I had rung them on many occasions, speaking to a series of very polite people, who tell me nothing at all.

If there is a problem on the account, I feel that three months is more than enough time to sort it out. The most annoying thing about it is that npower don't feel they have to tell me anything. At no time have they offered any information as to the nature of the problem. Anything I wanted to know, I had to ring and find out from they. This is not good customer service. I just can't believe I am having so much trouble getting back what is, to npower, a rather small amount of money.

I have now written to them, as they don't seem to take any notice of phone calls. I have told them I want my cheque or
a full explanation as to what is going on within two weeks, or I will have no choice but to take the matter further. I know I can make a complaint to the Gas Consumers Council, but I have also been told that I can make a claim against them in the small claims court for this money, which could be very interesting, because if I won and they still didn't give me the money, I could send in the bailiffs!

Recently one of their agents knocked on the door of my new house to ask if I wanted to sign up to npower for my gas and electricity. You can probably guess that I said no. It's a shame, because up until this I was quite happy with npower. I now wouldn't touch them at all for my gas or electricity supplies, and recommend that no one else does either.


************Update**************

On Friday, I had to sit down from shock. My npower cheque finally arrived, for £33.41, exactly the same amount of money on the first bill I received at the start. I suppose I could ask for more money because of the time and phone calls, but I'm just so pleased to see something, I'm going to drop it.

Summary: