@npowerhelp NPower negligence

[MarathonPaul]

Hi All

 

NPower have failed to install credit meters at my property on three separate occasions in the past month.

 

On each occasion, I have been told to be at the address and have lost a day's income.

 

Furthermore, my new tenant has just quit the property on the grounds of a breach of utility clause in the tenancy agreement.

 

Can NPower be pursued for negligence?

[BankFodder]

You can probably sue them for a breach of contract.

 

Please can you tell us a bit more about the arrangement.

[MarathonPaul]

Hi Bank Fodder.

 

I am happy to provide more detail, but are you aware of customers successfully suing NPower for breach of contract?

[BankFodder]

Yes I am.

 

But I have to ask, why should it matter whether or not there have been successful cases previously? If you have a good case then why shouldn't you be the first?

 

Npower certainly aren't immune from justice although they conduct themselves in a stupid and obstructive manner. Their in-house lawyers are particularly idiotic and we have seen some really strange stuff coming from some guy called Kenneth Bradley Smedley badly something or other. However, he lost in court.

[MarathonPaul]

Thanks BankFodder

 

My case is with the complaints team at the moment, and their £30 per failed attendance agenda. However, my losses are far more than this. I have lost £1200 in income for the three failed meter fittings by their contractor Lowri Beck, and my tenant has just vacated the property because of a breach of the utility clause in our tenancy agreement (it was a 12 month contract at £1400 per month). ]

 

I want to take this out of the complaints/Ombudsman process, and straight to court to recoup my losses. You spoke of 'breach of contract' - can I download a copy of the standard NPower contract from somewhere?

 

Many thanks.

[MarathonPaul]

thanks for the name. I have just sent an email to [email protected], let's see if he gets in touch to discuss my grievance.

[BankFodder]

I'm not sure that you need a standard npower contract for this.

 

It seems clear to me that if you made an agreement for a meter to be fitted on a particular day as part of some general contract for supply in which you are involved with npower, then there is an implied term that they will carry out their promise.

 

The real question is as to the measure of damages for the breach.

 

The recoverable damages in contract will be equivalent to the loss which has been directly caused by their breach – or if you like, the foreseeable losses.

 

It is certainly foreseeable that you might need to take a day off work to be there for the installation of the meter, so some kind of loss is recoverable. I don't think that that can be in dispute.

 

What we are talking about here, is the level of damages. What is the loss which you claim to have suffered for each one of the three days that you weren't present? What evidence do you have that that figure does truly represent your loss?

 

Also, did npower know that the property was already tenanted? Did the tenant give notice? How many days rent have you actually lost? What steps have you taken to replace the tenant?

 

It may not be reasonable for you to claim an entire month's rent.

 

Although I think that a court would have no difficulty in finding that there was a liability to you caused by their breach of contract, you should realise that the courts would be very rigourous in calculating your losses and their likely to be quite conservative about it.

 

You will have to be meticulous, extremely realistic, provide compelling evidence and be modest about your claim.

[BankFodder]

thanks for the name. I have just sent an email to [email protected], let's see if he gets in touch to discuss my grievance.

 

I wouldn't bother to start involving Bradley Smedley Radley Gladly in this. He certainly not interested in this aspect of any dispute. Our experience of him is that he simply pushes paper around and doesn't seem to care too much about what he says about his employers liability or obligations to any of their customers.

 

If you have a look on the thread by Eversir, you will find an extensive history of dealings with Kenny – and it's really not very impressive at all.