n power

[tony4321]

Has anyone had a problem with npower?
I had a prepayment meter fitted when my lodger moved in. I thought it would make things easier. When my lodger moved out I had a constant battle to get it changed back. This was 2 years ago. They kept saying I was in debt. Cut a long story short, they said I owed £1500 and couldn't change the meter back whilst I was in debt.After I insisted on an investigation, it was found they owed me £55 because they had never updated the meter to account for the rise in price increases. So 2 years of constant battles, asked finally if I could get the meter changed back to mains. Guess what? Told again I owe £1500. sorted that out again- established I am in credit and appointment booked for 16th Feb. Fine. to change back to mains. Sorry to go on, but I charged my key on Thurs pm £15 and realised I had lost it between there and home. Called them at 8.20am Friday. Was advised to let the meter to get to 50p and call again.(took the afternoon off work to do so) and was told an engineer would come out within 4 hours. 4 hrs deadline(now friday evening 7.30pm) and 3p on the meter) no one had been. Called back and was told to ring again after 8pm. Did so and guess what? CLOSED. Unable to shower, get my clothes dried/prepare for a conference in Derby the next day, I managed ill prepared.Phoned them on the way down and spoke to an advisor who began to argue with me. I told her I would be returning at 10pm that evening in darkness. She asked me not to swear at her. Never did and asked for a manager to call me back. In the mean time an engineer rang me at 11.30am Sat. to say he was outside my house.I am in Derby! Luckily I spoke to a friend working for Scottish power assured me these meters are over ridden and won't switch off. He also told me if I swore, they don't even have to speak to me as I am "a swearer!" Also told me npower offices close at 8pm. This has cost me half a days pay, 2 years of stress and not a good performance at my work conference on Saturday. Even better I got home that evening to find there is £21.70 on my(I think faulty meter!) without any one gaining access to my property. No way dare I even phone them, because I may well swear. Manager did call me back and have asked for him to listen to the recorded calls and give me feedback about npower's lack of customer service and trying to goad me into swearing.. Phew! rant over, but I pay over the odds anyway for this meter and expect a decent level of customer service.Anyone else experienced similar with these incompetent people and their shabby service?

[Bookworm]

Yep yep yep.

I have my gas with them showers. It's a very simple set up: I pay them x every 4 weeks, more or less the same all year round, last year, I was so much in credit they had to refund me £200, so I dropped payments way down. Winter comes, for once, I am about £20 behind, but I know that I'll be catching up at next payment, and increase the payments again, as I realise that with the cold snap, we have used a fair bit. Ok. I pay by Standing Order, I don't do direct debits.

Sounds simple enough? Not for npower, who started sending me final demands, and threats to enter my house and what not. For about £20, mind you.

Phone call no 1, where I advise operator that no, I don't owe £60, I owe £20, because payment has left my account, and by next payment, I'll be back in credit. After a while where she tries to get me to pay the £20, she finally gets it and says to call again next week once payment has reached them to set up a payment plan. To note that I have been with them since 1999 and have always paid by s/o. Apparently, I am not on payment plan. I wonder how I have paid all this money all these years.

I dutifully call again the week after. I get the stroppiest (and god knows the 1st one was no picnic!) cow I have heard in a long time, and she is adamant that if I want a payment plan, it has to be by keycard. But I pay by s/o, says I. We don't accept s/o, is her reply. Now, that confuses me a tad, as you may imagine. Back and forth we go, "we don't accept s/o". Eventually, I demand to be put through to a supervisor, surprise, not available. I end up slamming the phone down rather than giving myself a stroke.

Phone call no 3: Worried that the stroppy cow will set a break and neter on me out of spite or incompetence, I phone again. Get a reasonably intelligent chap, who before putting me to supervisor, asks me if he can help. As I pour my woes, he advises that stroppy cow is wrong, and they do indeed accept s/o (well, DUH!) and that he can set up a payment plan, 2 mns later, it's done. Why on Earth did it take that many phones calls and my blood pressure going through the roof when it was that simple?

You'd think here it ends... Nope, 2 days ago, I got a letter from them... complete with keycard.

Sod that, I'm not phoning them again.