Absolutely livid at Npower.

[Melonfish]

Got an e-mail through last night...

OUR RIGHT TO ENTER YOUR HOME
We’ve tried several times to make arrangements to inspect your gas meter, but you haven’t contacted us to make an appointment or given us access to your meter. You must let us inspect your meter as soon as possible.
What we’ll do if you don’t let us inspect your meter
We’ll apply for a warrant of entry from a Magistrates Court so that we can enter your home, even if you aren’t there and if necessary by force, and any legal costs incurred may be passed on to you (a minimum of £150). If we’re granted a warrant of entry, we’ll visit your home to gain access to our meter, even if you aren’t there and if necessary by force.
How to avoid this action
Of course we’d prefer to avoid this action if possible. If you give us access to inspect your meter, we won’t need to apply for a warrant.

Now we had an engineer round just two weeks ago to do a safety check on our electricity meter. he signed it off fine and was on his way, he visited out of the blue.
gas however we've not heard anything about until this...
no calls, no texts, no mail and no e-mail until this letter.

to say i've phoned Npower and gone completely freaking nuclear down the phone at them is an understatement, i've arranged with them when an engineer can come round to look at my gas meter (which is in an un locked external cupboard next to my front door) but i've told them straight i'll not be bullied like this, i've revoked their right of implied access, the engineer will have to ring me when he shows up so i can escort him onto the property.

i'm spitting blood i'm that angry at them.
anybody else had this crap before?
Pete

 

[TVC]

Not quite, but a couple of months back, EON sent round a meter reader who did his job and I received a bill a week later as expected. Two days after that I got a call on my answer phone demanding I contact them urgently as my meter had not been read for over two years. I called, they pulled up my account, there was the record of reading, but absolutely no apology, instead she asked me for an updated reading so they could send me out a revised bill (I had the two day old bill in my hand). Holding my temper I questioned whether this was really necessary but she insisted. So I read out the meter value from the bill, adding 1 unit.That seemed to satisfy her, despite, I assume, the cost of re-issuing a bill being more than the added value of 1 unit.

Obviously she then went on to offer to review my tariff.... had I considered dual fuel...etc. So I pointed out I was not interested in this turning into a marketing call and the conversation was over.

Finally of course she asked "Is there anything else I can help you with this afternoon?"

 

[Spinney]

Melonfish - is there some kind of ombudsman you can complain to about getting what is, in effect, a threatening letter? They probably won't do anything as a result of your complaint, but if everyone that is treated like this complains, word will get out.

 

[Shaun]

Just wait until your dual-fuel bill goes from £67 per month to over £150 ... then, like me, you can enjoy waiting in a 40 minute queue to speak to an "account manager" who tells you the best they can reduce it to is £130.

The account manager's colleague in the cancellations department was a bit keener to assist and we mutually agreed £100.

Bank statement arrives - £120 paid to npower ...

I think it's just one of those things that you now need to watch closely and deal with straight away if they start operating outside of your agreed / expected billing.

Doubly-frustrating, of course, if you've already given them everything they need and they still come back at you like it's your fault!!!

 

[fossyant]

Our bills used to fluctuate really badly. Now with Scottish Power and they seem to estimate accurately. Our monthly bill has remained on £105 a month for last couple of years and is spot on. We have to log in every 3 months with our latest reading, so it lets you check where you are. We fell lucky this year and we are bang on for the latest bill after the long winter.

 

[Kestevan]

Could be worse, back in the early 90's I bought a house, which was not connected to the gas supply.
This did not deter British gas from sending a bill for the wrong side of £100. I contacted them, told them I'd just moved in and that there was no gas connection..... they asked for the meter reading, I told them I couldnt give them a reading as the property had no meter to read, and no pipes connected to the meter which wasn't there.

Over the next 2 years I kept getting increasingly threatening letters demanding payment of the gas bill, and threatening to cut off my non-existant supply. This eventualy resulted in a Gas board employee turning up, accompanied by a copper, to force entyr and cut off the supply. He demanded to know the location of the meter and refused to believe me when I said there wasn't one. He spent 10 minutes in the cellar before coming out to proclaim.... "This properties never been connected to the gas supply".....
(The plod was pissing himself by this point).

AAARRGGGGGHHH... still kept getting letters every now and again till I moved, years later.

 

[Shaun]

Oh, and don't mention the meter men who quietly sneak down the cul-de-sac, make a pretence of coming to your front door - don't knock, but instead quietly slip a card through the letterbox - then tip-toe away, whilst you stand there, watching from behind the partly drawn blinds ...

 

[hopless500]

Oh, and don't mention the meter men who quietly sneak down the cul-de-sac, make a pretence of coming to your front door - don't knock, but instead quietly slip a card through the letterbox - then tip-toe away, whilst you stand there, watching from behind the partly drawn blinds ...

I've had that with meter readers (par for the course) but also the postie... so I then have to do a 8 mile round trip to collect what they couldn't be bothered to deliver...

 

[accountantpete]

British Gas phoned me about moving back to them.

I explained that I was registered with the TPS and didn't want nuisance calls but they guy was adamant that my original service agreement (which was cancelled years ago) still gave them the right to contact me.


NPower were OK but have a habit of really irritating customers over easily avoidable matters (mine was a Direct Debit which doubled despite the account always being in credit and nothing on the website explained what to do about it).

Now with EDF and happy ATM.

 

[Melonfish]

I'm already looking at moving, think i'll hit comparethemeerkat later and get me a free toy for doing it. see if they'd contacted me and asked to come see there wouldn't have been an issue, but to threaten out of the blue like that? wow.

 

[Shaun]

I'm already looking at moving, think i'll hit comparethemeerkat later and get me a free toy for doing it. see if they'd contacted me and asked to come see there wouldn't have been an issue, but to threaten out of the blue like that? wow.

Let's hope your next supplier gives you better service.

 

[summerdays]

I've had that with meter readers (par for the course) but also the postie... so I then have to do a 8 mile round trip to collect what they couldn't be bothered to deliver...

I thought that was happening today. I was waiting in for a parcel my daughter had ordered which had to be signed for apparently as it was her first order. I just heard the letter box noise and ran to the door to see a note on the floor and a departing back so rapped the window as I unlocked the door (cursing myself for not thinking of doing that earlier as I had let myself in the back door). He came back said he rang - tried the door bell and sure enough it didn't ring but it turned out that he had left it by the back door anyway as he had delivered to our address before and so knew us. Very relieved as I thought we were going to have to be in for the next 48 hours to receivethis parcel.

 

[Spinney]

My postie leaves things in the cold frame or recycling boxes round the back if I'm out (with a note through the door so they don't go off with the glass and tins!). Generally very good - but I see lots of rants on here about the posties, so an awful lot must depend on the individuals involved!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Ha!...i'm wasting my life trying to get hold of these idiots who are trying to take a direct debit I never agreed to and they keep sending emails saying I agreed to it, when in fact they told me to set up a standing order which I have done. There is currently a 40 minute wait to get to speak to an 'operative' ...bloody hopeless...so gladd I switched .

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Got an e-mail through last night...



Now we had an engineer round just two weeks ago to do a safety check on our electricity meter. he signed it off fine and was on his way, he visited out of the blue.
gas however we've not heard anything about until this...
no calls, no texts, no mail and no e-mail until this letter.

to say i've phoned Npower and gone completely freaking nuclear down the phone at them is an understatement, i've arranged with them when an engineer can come round to look at my gas meter (which is in an un locked external cupboard next to my front door) but i've told them straight i'll not be bullied like this, i've revoked their right of implied access, the engineer will have to ring me when he shows up so i can escort him onto the property.

i'm spitting blood i'm that angry at them.
anybody else had this crap before?
Pete

I had this last week. The letter stated that they'd been trying to gain entry for 18 months! It was the first I'd heard about it.
I work the same hours as the readers, so I've only had a proper reading taken 4 times in 11 years.
In a previous conversation I asked about this and was told my electric meter was due to be inspected in June, and my gas meter next year. So this letter was a fun way of being notified.

It seems until recently a separate company was required to inspect each meter, so I've booked for both to be done on the same day.

I'm sure it's all with safety in mind and not just ensuring I've not been telling porkies about the reading for years on end.

I just rang and pleasantly told them that it was not a nice way of doing things, then booked it. I've enough crap going on without stressing out at giant corporates.