Bloody Npower AGAIN

[IllegallyBrunette]

Just got in to find a final demand notice from Npower, for £43.49, for gas.

The letter says -

'When we checked this morning we found that you still owe us the above amount. Your payment is very overdue.

If you do not pay within the next 10 days then we will appoint a debt collection agency to call at your property.

I don't have my gas from Npower.

I rang them and they are saying that I owe them this money from 14th May 07 - 15 Jan 08, but I have never had my gas from Npower in all the time I have lived in this house, and in my old flat, I didn't have gas at all.

I told them that I moved in to the house in 04 and was with powergen for my gas on a prepayment meter, and it stayed that way until I changed to Southern Electric in Jan 08.

Npower are saying that according to the national database I was a customer with them for my gas from the above date, but I have never had a bill from the or a statement for gas or anything.

The idiot i spoke to said that Powergen must of handed me over to them, and when I said that they'd need my consent for that, she waffled on about them having left the company, and them not being able to chase them for it.

She insists that I was their customer for this period, but that my payments were going to Powergen instead of them.
She has taken a current meter reading and is going to chase it up again and send me a new bill.

I don't want a bill, I was never with them, how the hell can I get them to see that ?? and the fact that as far as I am concerned, I paid, I put money on my card and put it into the machine. If it went to thr wrong person that isn't my fault.

I can't even prove that I was with Powergen because I don't now have any paperwork from them.

Just rung Powergen, who confirmed that they stopped supplying my gas, the day before |Npower reckon they started supplying it.

I asked the bloke at Powergen why they'd transferred me to Npower when I hadn't asked them to, and he said it must of been done by mistake, and it is now Npowers job to investigate it and claim any money back from Powergen that Npower think they owe them.

Thing is though Npowers attitude seems to be that if they can't claim the money back, then I have to pay them, which means I will of paid twice.

Has this happened to anyone else ?

Their twatishness has just made eat four ferrero roche when I am supposed to be on a diet.

They can't just "hand your account over" to another supplier. Npower must have provided Powergen with information to say that you wish to change supplier so they have to have something signed

I would ask Npower to provide you with written information on why/how the account was passed to them and the contract that was somehow signed by you to request your supply from them.

I would also point out that unless they are saying that you have tampered with your meter OR that you are buying £5 worth of credit for your meter from some dodgy guy in the pub for £2 then you cannot have a bill owing on a prepayment meter.

If anyone comes to your door to collect the money you supposedly owe, I would inform them that you have been on a prepayment meter the whole time.

If you have a debt with Npower then techincally you have a credit with whoever received your prepayment meter top ups.

I used to work for Npower on debt collection so I do know what I am talking about and in this instance Npower are talking crap!

I think Watchdog recently ran something similar re telephone suppliers and it wasn't technically illegal. Try the Ofgem website too.

Watchdog re NPower

Powergen have said that my account must of been moved to Npower by mistake, perhaps when someon e with similar details or account number, had requested to move. He did have a particular name for it, but I forget what it was now, but he said it can happen.

Have just read your last link Liz, but in that case his power company could tell Npower that he was indeed their customer, whereas Powergen are teling me that they did indeed hand me over to Npower.

I know I haven't signed anything to move anywhere until I swapped power companies in Jan of this year.

I am going to wait and see what Npowers investigation reveals, and if it is ont in my favour I will contact Ofgem.

The thing that astounded me, was Npowers insistence that although I had paid my money to Powergen, if they can't get it back I should pay again.

Oh and one more confusing things, is that Npower are saying that I only owe them £43.49, for over 6 mths of gas. How on earth did they arrive at that figure ?? If i had indeed been their customer for the period they claim, then surely i'd oew them the whole amount for that period, roughly £250.

Write to Npower and request that they provide you with a copy of your signed contract with them. Tell them that you dispute the bill and that you have no recollection whatsoever of signing a contract with them.

Good luck

What feelingused said - I had the same problem with LondonElectric - ironically it was NPower saying 'Don't know who you owe for gas, but it's not us!', wrote them a couple snotty letters demanding to see proof of my signing a contract with them and an exact breakdown of what I owed for what, and that any future correspondence would be copied to Ofgem, my MP and Watchdog.

Last I ever heard from them.

We switched to BG. n power sent a letter on Mon threatening court action for final bill which we hadn't yet recieved. We got the bill yesterday (£180 ) which has to be paid by Sun or more court action!