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I received a statement from Npower that did not show my 13 direct debit payments, so, on August 24 last year, I wrote to ask what had happened to them.
The firm replied to say that it was investigating, but, since then, I have had no contact, despite chasing it on several occasions.
My meter hasn’t been read for months, but my direct debits have reduced to £24. I don’t know what is happening, but I’m sure £24 a month will not cover my electricity use.
After receiving no energy bills for two years one reader was concerned he was about to get a nasty surprise
I am 82, live alone and worry that I am being set up for a nasty surprise. I can only assume Npower is ignoring me, in the expectation that I’ll forget or just go away.
R. L., Co. Durham.
You’re not the only one who felt that way. You wrote to me back in January, and it took until July for me to get a full response from Npower and assurance that your issue had been resolved.
On June 12 — nine months after you had questioned your billing and almost five months after I made contact with the firm — I was informed that the matter was still being investigated by the executive complaints team.
Three weeks later, it was resolved. Basically, you received a confusing bill based on actual meter readings, which did not show payments you had made, although these had been included on past statements.
This, not unnaturally, led you to believe that your payments had not been credited to your account.
Npower has now provided you with a statement to show the payments were, in fact, credited.
But it also reassessed your billing under the billing code of practice because your direct debit had not been reassessed for more than 12 months. As you suspected, it was set too low, which caused you to fall into debit.
Npower admits that, had it reassessed your payments at the right time, your balance would have been less, or possibly in credit.
It has apologised for this error and, as a goodwill gesture, has wiped the £210.83 outstanding balance you owed.
I understand that you are happy with this resolution, so I suppose good things can be worth waiting for.
You have YOUR say
Every week, Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories.
Here are some on our report about claims firms targeting households ahead of the August 29 deadline for claiming PPI compensation…
I went through a claims management company for my payment protection insurance (PPI) claim.
It took just 12 per cent of the payout, and I got back nearly £40,000, so it was worth it. It saved me the hassle of finding the paperwork.
J. M., by email.
Surely if an organisation has mis-sold you a product, then it should be obliged to contact you.
The way in which this scandal has been handled has enabled third parties to charge for the service.
K. T., Droitwich Spa, Worcs.
I got back more than £15,000 in PPI compensation from my mortgage provider and bank combined.
I also got £1,500 for a mis-sold packaged bank account. I did have to pay fees, but the whole process was quickly handled.
A. T., by email.
After receiving incessant cold calls, I eventually took the plunge with one of the ‘no win, no fee’ claims companies. In the end, I got a cheque for just £7.51. I wouldn’t say it was worth it.
G. M., Newcastle.
I think some of the staff who handle PPI claims at one bank are paid bonuses to dismiss as many as possible. I am actually taking the bank in question to the small claims court.
G. D., Cambridgeshire.
I was being pursued by a claims company, but decided to approach my bank myself. I didn’t think I would get a penny back, however I have received a letter to confirm that I am owed £2,636.
Z. R., Newcastle.
I don’t get why people don’t make the claims themselves. It’s not difficult — it just takes half-an-hour of filling in forms. Why would you not want to keep all the cash for yourself?
K. W., Swindon, Wilts.
My mother is 83, arthritic and has poor sight. She was getting large-print statements from HSBC but, since July 2018, they have stopped.
The bank looked into it and told my mum there is no reason why she should not be getting statements. After we complained again, the issue was referred to the complaints department, which said it checked everything was set up correctly.
But still no statement arrived. After more complaints, she was promised a system-generated copy of the statements.
She got a letter saying: ‘Please find enclosed a system-generated copy of your June statement’ — but there was no statement!
R. T., Dorset.
large-font statements are dealt with differently to normal statements, but HSBC is still struggling to get to the bottom of what happened.
Its records show the statements were sent — but, obviously, you were not receiving them. The bank is working with the third party that handles them to make sure that whatever went wrong can’t happen again.
By now, your mother will have received all her statements by recorded delivery. HSBC says it will continue to use this method over the next few months and monitor the situation.
It has apologised and credited your mum’s account with £200, as well as sending a gift basket as a gesture of goodwill.
A spokesman says: ‘Circumstances such as these are rare and do not reflect the level of service our customers have grown to expect from us.
‘We have taken steps to help ensure it doesn’t happen again.’
In December, I got a letter from my insurer, Churchill, about a car accident claimed to have happened in September.
The police said no accident had been reported. I had been at the location, but the only witness was a taxi driver who had been very rude to me a few minutes before the accident was meant to have happened.
I had asked him to wait for an elderly lady who was finishing her dinner.
Churchill has asked if I am willing to go to court, which I am. But I feel I’ve been badly treated and don’t want to renew my insurance with the firm.
Mrs V. P., Suffolk.
I think your anger is directed in the wrong direction. Churchill is doing its best to represent you, but the party making the claim has not yet told it about its next course of action.
The claim must stay open while the third party considers pursuing you for the alleged damage to their vehicle. Churchill has chased the third-party insurer and will update you when there is news.
The third party must provide evidence to prove there was damage and that it was caused by you. This is out of Churchill’s hands, and you must be patient.
A person has three years to make a claim for damage to a vehicle and six years for injury.
- Write to Tony Hazell at Ask Tony, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email asktony@dailymail.co.uk — please include your daytime phone number, postal address and a separate note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Tony Hazell. We regret we cannot reply to individual letters. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
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