N Power Being Unreasonable, Please Help

[golflad]

this is going to be quite long winded but please read on.

really need some help here guys. we used to live a few doors up the road from where we live now and we had a debt with n power for electric but unsure of amount. we received a bill from them in the new house which obviously included the remaining balance from the old house. due to their extortionate prices we were unable to pay the full amount so was willing to enter into an arrangement with them.

the only problem here was the fact that they told ME how much I needed to pay them in order to avoid any further action and they wanted £38 per week which was absolutely ludicrous. there is no way we could afford to pay that every week. i told them this but they backed me into a corner so i had no choice but to agree so i did and we ended the conversation with both n power and myself knowing that we wouldn't be able to keep up the payments.

i paid the first couple of payments although struggling like hell at the same time and then had a bomb shell dropped on me. i have been made redundant recently. the last payment i made to them was for ten pound on the 28th march but i was made redundant on the 15th march so they can see i've been making an effort to pay them something.

i have just received a letter from their pre court division saying that as a result of failure to keep up with the arrangement i now have to pay the full amount.

so i rang them to make a new arrangement for the £437.29 that we owe them telling them that i was redundant and they said they can't make an arrangement unless i pay them 30% which was £131.19. at this point i thought i must be talking to myself because i'm pretty sure i had said i was redundant and i didn't have a pay out for redundancy because i didn't qualify.

i told them this wasn't possible so they said i need to speak to the dss about entering into an arrangement through them but they're useless too. i've been unemployed now for 6 weeks and still haven't received any jobseekers allowance.

they then said that the other option was a pre payment meter but then you end up paying more for your electric and for every £10 you put on the card they'll take £5 for the debt so you spend a tenner, get a fivers worth and it lasts you a day. where's the sense in that.

they THEN said that they wouldn't enter into an agreement through the dss because in order for that to happen i would need a good reason for not being able to get to the shop to put money on the pre payment card i.e. i need to be disabled.

so my only option is a pre payment meter which i am NOT doing.

please help me, i need to know what action to take or if there is anything i can do.

thanks in advance for any helpful tips and advice.

[ozzywizard]

they then said that the other option was a pre payment meter but then you end up paying more for your electric and for every £10 you put on the card they'll take £5 for the debt so you spend a tenner, get a fivers worth and it lasts you a day. where's the sense in that.

The above is not correct, the meter is set to take a set amount every week regardless of how much you put in the meter or your useage. As you are on government aid they have to accept 3 pound a week for collection towards the debt plus your useage. Sometimes this is the best option as your paying for your usage so not going further into debt and also paying towards bringing the debt down at a rate that is affordable.
Going back to your bill, you seem unsure what it is for so I would advise you to phone them up and ask for a full breakdown of charges so you know they have billed you correctly for the correct dates and check no estimated reads like when you moved out of your old property and into your new one.

[demon_x_slash]

Great advice from Ozzy above, with one proviso - I would write to them asking for a breakdown. It's very easy to get fobbed off or lied to over the phone.

[ozzywizard]

Yeah always best to write so you have a trail of your investigations, just phoning and requesting the information can be quicker as cuts out a middle man in correspondance. If you request over phone get name and extn number of who you speak too.

[tiglet]

I wouldn't even bother phoning - they'll deny you made the call (trust me on this).

I would write to them and send by RD so you have proof of delivery.

[reduk054]

Hi Golflad, have you been in touch with Energywatch?

www.energywatch.org.uk

You should not be made to pay any more than you can afford, which in your case will be limited to circumstances beyond your control. However experience tells me that these companies want all their money owed like yesterday and seem to stand firm with regards to repayments.

I telephoned Energywatch having had a good look around their website, regarding my repayments to another gas/elec supplier. Within a week the gas/elec comany accepted (in writing) my offer per month which was around £240.00 LESS than what the gas/elec company were trying to make me pay them after they were threatening to take me to court. But it was only after intervention with Energywatch that I actually got somewhere!
Hope that this helps
Regards Red