Npower’s chaotic billing has left us with a £600-plus debt

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/05/npower-bills-errors-charging-period

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My former housemates and I switched to npower dual-fuel a few years ago but it was incapable of billing us properly. The billing section of my online account consists of an incredibly complicated series of credits, debits, write-offs, returns etc.

Money was taken out of my account occasionally, but I spent a lot of time on the phone trying to establish what was going on and giving them endless meter readings. We decided to quit npower in advance of me moving out of the house at the end of October, switching to a different company.

I paid a bill in mid-July and sought an assurance from the person on the phone that we would only be charged on our usage from that time until I moved out. I made it clear I wasn’t going to pay for any more usage before then because of their inefficiency.

The person said repeatedly that I would only be charged from mid-July until my moving out.

Now npower is saying that no such assurance was given and that what happened was either miscommunication on its part or a misunderstanding on my part.

It has now billed me £616.36 for electricity from 6 June 2014 to mid-October 2014 and for gas from 1 April 2013 to mid-October 2014. I am not prepared to pay this.

The top of the bill states that my final bill for the period covering 28 December 2012 to 5 June 2014 is £248.57. Further down the bill it refers to different time periods and amounts.

My view is that we shouldn’t be paying the £616.36. The whole situation is incredibly complicated and entirely npower’s fault.

What should I do? The thought of paying this bill (and asking for contributions from my former housemates) horrifies me. AO, London

When we contacted npower it was quick to admit that the service you have received has been less than acceptable. It said there had been a delay updating your account with the correct tariff, which created a knock-on delay in you receiving your up-to-date bill. This has now been resolved – hence the £616.36 bill.

It had already written off charges of £194.32 under what is known as the backbilling code of practice. (Energy suppliers have to follow certain rules about how far back they can bill you). That means that if you have made efforts to contact your supplier and it failed to provide a bill, it cannot charge you for energy you used more than a year ago.

To your credit, the company admits that you have been assiduous in keeping in touch and providing meter readings. It says it has written off over half the original charges and now suggests reducing the balance by a further third – leaving a debt of £400 – which could be spread over a year at £33 a month.

It said: “We’re really sorry to hear about AO’s experience and the delay sending him an up-to-date bill. A bill has now been sent and we’ve written off charges over 12 months old. We’ve also factored in a suitable goodwill gesture to apologise.”

If you decide not to accept this offer, which means npower is unable to sort your complaint to your satisfaction, it must tell you this in writing through what is known as a “letter of deadlock”. Then you can contact the energy ombudsman for a free, independent review of your case.

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number