@npowerhelp npower electricity cost per unit

[oktober]

My last two quarterly electricity bills from npower have been huge, the first one was around £230 (the bills from EDF at my old flat have been around £80-£100 per quarter) I grudgingly paid that at the time after going round in circles with npower customer support, this week I got the latest quarterly bill and its for almost £400!

 

I checked the meter readings and the estimate on the bill is not far out, however I notice I'm being charged 18.60 pence per unit, does that sound right to other npower users?

 

Any help/advice appreciated.

 

M.

[Clare_L]

There should normally be 2 prices on your bill, one for your primary units, normally the first 225 per quarter and then the secondary price which is every other unit you use after the primary. I would definately question what tariff you are on as that is expensive if you are paying that for every unit you use.

[oktober]

Thanks for the info Clare, after some effort with customer support earlier it seems that I am being billed on a Business rate for some reason.

 

I'm being sent a form to fill in order to change to residential billing, however the person on the phone at npower mentioned that "changing to residential rate may actually INCREASE your bill size" which surprised me but the person on the phone just repeated that statement again. Surely that cant be possible!?

 

I'd love to know if this is a standard scare tactic they use to keep people on the expensive rates, it cant be legal...

 

M.

[Clare_L]

I would also check then that they have you down as being on a prepay meter. Check that your meter serial number matches with what they have on their system. I cannot see how that would increase your bills as to start off with the VAT is much less than a business rate. I think I would be inclined to ask them to explain why and they should be able to calculate that on the phone if they believe it will cost you more. Just give them a meter read and they should be able to work that out for you.

 

I work for Eon, also have a prepay meter which I am more than happy with, purely for the fact that my DD was set high and I couldnt afford it and im using far less than was estimated. Also with their prepay tariff, you dont pay any more than someone on a standard credit meter and with the gas prepay meters there is no standing charge anymore so should be costing less now.

 

Hope that helps anyway, but try and get more info, get them to reassure you and justify what they are telling you.

[bedlington83]

If you click on the link below it will give you all of npower's prices fro your area after you input your post code. Where I am its 14.448p per unit for the first 728 units, after that its 13.892p (standard rates). Prepayment is 13.892p for all units (but there's a standing charge as well)

 

https://www.npower.com/at_home/Applications/QuoteAndSwitch/UnitPrices.aspx?workflow=UnitPrice

[oktober]

I think I would be inclined to ask them to explain why and they should be able to calculate that on the phone if they believe it will cost you more. Just give them a meter read and they should be able to work that out for you.

 

Hi Clare, I asked customer support for an explantion and the answer was that basically the standing charge is factored into the unit prices on residential rates.

 

They couldn't estimate what I would end up paying, I have to wait until they "convert" my status to residential...

 

Thanks,

M

[oktober]

If you click on the link below it will give you all of npower's prices fro your area after you input your post code. Where I am its 14.448p per unit for the first 728 units, after that its 13.892p (standard rates). Prepayment is 13.892p for all units (but there's a standing charge as well)

 

https://www.npower.com/at_home/Applications/QuoteAndSwitch/UnitPrices.aspx?workflow=UnitPrice

 

Thank you bedlington83, that link is very helpful.

 

M.

[LauraJane1983]

Hi im new to this but as i saw you were having problems i thought id ask a question to if you dont mind. i hope some one can help. i signed up with npower end half of last year to save money as i was paying £40pm on my gas and same for my electricity. Npower promised to be cheaper and promised if i payed £30pm on each gas and electic it would cover me completely and keep me in credit. Today ive learnt ive ran up a hugh bill thats only just come to my attention as apparently my monthly usage is £87 so i now need to find £120pm for my electric alone to cover my usage and my debt. As a single parent of three i have no idea how i can cover this each month as i struggled to pay £30 each. My neighbour who is in the same size accomodation as me same amount of kids, same appliances etc is only paying £20 to npower and that covers her electric usage completely. When ive queried this theve advised two seperate propertys cant be compared regardless how a like the situations are. Ive asked them to come and check that my meters correct to be advised only 1 in 650000 meters are faulty so its highly unlikely and they arent prepared to come out. Ive phoned for advise on reducing my usage, have gone through what i use how often etc to be advised they cant help me reduce my usage as im doing everything possible to keep it as low as possible. what can i do now? I cant change supplier whilst in debt to them bt will never be free of debt with the bill so high.

[indebtstudent]

You could complain about the sales person, if upheld they might transfer you back to you other supplier as if you hadn't left. Depends on the timescale though.

 

Ps six monthly billing is a terrible idea!

[mattlamb]

LauraJane. I would suggest something is wrong with how NPower are billing you. Did NPOwer start your account off on the same gas and electric readings that your previous supplier ended your account with them on. Were these estimates or actual readings? And have NPower calculated your usage based upon estimates or proper readings?

How much of the £87.00 per month usage is for gas and how much for electric? Does your electric meter have one or two (or even three) readings? If there is more than one reading, it is possible that NPOwer have got the meter readings back to front. This could well cause hugely inaccurate bills.

 

If all of the above has been done correctly, then you are well within your rights to ask for a check meter to be fitted temporarily so that it can be established whether your meter is working correctly or not. If you insist, then NPOwer muct do it. They cannot refuse. However, you have to pay an initial charge to NPower. If it is found that your meter is faulty, NPower will refund you this fee. If your meter is in fact working correctly, I believe they won't refund it. Therefore, you need to check all other avenues first. And have NPower not considered the fact that yours could be one of the minority of meters that aren't working correctly. Anyway, other posts I have seen on this forum would suggest that it is fairly common for meters to be inaccurate, to a greater or lesser extent.

 

 

I believe there are ways of testing whether the meter is correct yourself, or from an independent electrician, etc. Unfortunately, I am not sure what these are. Perhaps someone else on this forum can help more with this.

 

Do not let NPower walk all over you. NPower have got a pretty appalling reputation for their customer service (or lack of it) and they should not be allowed to shrug their shoulders and insist nothing is wrong without investigating things further, if need be.

[indebtstudent]

A simple test to check the meter yourself if you don't want to spend any money. Turn everything off, wait 20 mins, read the meter. Boil 7 litres of fresh water in a kettle. This should use 1-2 units. Alternatively a 40 degree was on the washing machine would use 2-3 units.

 

Have you asked for a breakdown of the amount they are asking you for? They usually reassess over six months but can take it over 12.