plucked chick, I don't suppose you have any update on this do you please? Particularly would be interested to know if you had any further contact with this Kenneth Radley-Davies character. Thank you.

Crikey, overlooked 21B.3 this time. Well done for spotting it Mike. In sight of the fact these documents get updated fairly regularly, probably better to link to the main repository: https://epr.ofgem.gov.uk/Document Filter via: Document Folders > Electronic Public Register > Licence Conditions > Standard Licence Conditions > Gas Supplier or Electricity Supply (as appropriate)

The source is quoted in the post: 21B.4 was copied word for word, including the bit about prepayment meters. Obviously the part about prepayment meters doesn't apply in the OP's circumstances as the crux of the matter takes place before a prepayment meter was installed. So the energy supplier will have to take all reasonable steps to obtain a meter reading. Again, not really sure why I'm the focus of your attack here, but it's getting a bit silly. Until the OP updates the thread with more information, there isn't really a lot more to add. The EON rep will probably not be able to comment about an individual's account over a public forum and I sincerely doubt they would admit they have breached the terms of their supply licence anyway.

I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that I was being misleading? I was challenging the EON rep on the basis they claimed an energy supplier only has to read a meter once every two years (which is technically incorrect, for the reasons previously outlined). Those paragraphs you quoted are not mutually exclusive of one another. That means all, some or none can apply depending on the individual situation. You may want to re-read my post

This is potentially misleading. The energy supplier must inspect a meter at least every two years to assess damage, deterioration and interference. This inspection must include a meter reading also. However the following also applies:

Wow. So glad an SAR was sent. The documents, SAP print-outs and call recordings have confirmed just how badly Npower has mismanaged the account. This includes: Complaints not actioned Direct debits not setup despite repeated assurances Complaints not logged despite repeated assurances Meter readings not logged despite repeated assurances (you're seeing the pattern here?) Account not setup properly Complaints actioned with the wrong action by staff, causing the complaint to be cancelled by back office staff Admission that a serious problem with account existed, but no action taken Admission there is a known problem with sending customers bills late, in general Admission of failure in it's Service Level Agreement Other interesting points: Some recordings are missing entirely Some recordings have audio segments missing SAP records are a general mess. Hopefully we can post these up in future. There is also evidence that Npower has a policy to automatically close down complaints in a short time frame (about two weeks). This is regardless of the complaint's status. It is specifically referred to as the "Pre-Regent Backlog bulk closure exercise". In the event the customer is still unhappy, a new complaint is opened and the cycle begins again. No wonder it feels like banging your head against a brick wall dealing with them. Project Regent is when Npower axed nearly 1,500 jobs and outsourced it's call centre staff and also it's back office staff to India in 2013. More info here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10477681/Npower-to-outsource-call-centres-and-axe-1500-jobs.html There are some additional things discovered which will be posted up at a later date. There is also still a lot more to go through. If you have problems with Npower, it is crucial that you issue them with a Subject Access Request without delay. You may need to be persistent, but what it may reveal is certainly worth the effort!

You'll probably find at least some of your complaints are on the system somewhere, but they either haven't been actioned at all or actioned correctly. Some may be missing entirely, as we have discovered. As stated before, Npower now seem to have a procedure in place where they close complaints automatically after a short amount of time - regardless of the status - opting instead to open up a new complaint if the customer isn't happy. And thus the cycle continues. It doesn't seem to matter whether the complaint is in writing or via phone, the end result is usually the same. Start recording your calls with these guys, consider corresponding in writing only in future (so you have a paper trail) and definitely get an SAR to them. Draft template can be accessed via the linked "SAR" text in previous posts. Send it to their Data Controller and include your account reference number. Data Protection SARs Team npower, Building Tio 2 Ground Floor, Traynor Way Off Shotton Lane, Peterlee County Durham SR8 2RU There probably needs to be further action of some sort in relation to your complaint... How would you summarise your dispute in a short paragraph? i.e. Do you dispute the usage? Can you be sure on any energy you have used? Are they attempting to backbill past the 12 month cut off? What is the outcome you want from this?

How dreadful. Lots of points to address here, but if you haven't done so already prepare a Subject Access Request (SAR) to Npower immediately. Npower will be obliged to hand over all the information they have regarding the account within 40 days. It's really easy to prepare and only requires a short letter and £10.00 fee, but get the ball rolling now. Npower are shockingly incompetent when it comes to resolving issues and it would be helpful to have evidence of this should Npower continue to behave the way they do. An SAR sent to Npower in our own case has revealed serious problems with their complaints handling process from 2013 to 2015 and I imagine it will do the same for you too. In fact, it would seem Npower has a policy in place to close all complaints automatically regardless of whether they have been resolved or not (they call it the Pre-Regent Backlog bulk closure exercise). Have you got solid evidence that the meter was faulty? i.e. photos, videos, independent reports

Get records of all your bills, meter readings and payments made. Relying on estimated bills is no good to you. You may have either over or under-paid and need to be sure either way. Need to explain this backbilling issue fully because there are little bits and pieces fragmented over several posts. Ideally need to know how they justified this recalculated amount. That could be wrong in itself. dx is spot on - they may be reading someone else's meter. Would say check your meter serial number against the one on your bill, but if they've replaced it you may struggle now. Have a look anyway. If you dispute the usage, I'd be tempted to turn off all my mains appliances (everything) and see if your meter still registers a consumption over say a few hours. "Creative" wiring in a shared complex isn't totally unheard of. For best results, flick the master switch on your consumer unit - usually a big red one. If energy is still consumed, something is wrong somewhere.

Just to clarify, as you mention a back-bill. When you received the bill, were they trying to bill you for energy used more than 12 months previous to the bill? Backbilling rules may apply here if so.

A complaint has already been sent to the ICO for failing to respond (this morning before the documents arrived!). Tempted to wait and see what their response is before following up with further complaint, what do you reckon? Will post back with details once we've been through. Looks like they have provided direct printouts from SAP, which may reveal some interesting stuff in addition to the phone records (if complete of course).

Npower this morning have sent through approximately 500 pages of documents and a CD via two parcels, in response to the SAR request that was sent to them on 12th November 2014. (That's only 71 days after the 40 day deadline!) [ATTACH=CONFIG]56262[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]56263[/ATTACH] Will be working our way through this slab of tree later, however a cynical person may wonder if the receipt of a court claim is the only reason that Npower have responded. Hmmm... Edit: In fact we should probably run a "Guess how many pages there are from the photo" competition.

Sounds about right. At the other extreme, the EO wouldn't investigate our complaint as Npower refused to provide a deadlock letter. Until they do, they refused to investigate (unlikely now that court proceedings have been issued).

Keep it straightforward. Set out what your complaints are in order. Refer to specific instances but don't waffle if you can help it. A blow-by-blow account can sometimes make things harder to understand. Try to tie in your complaints with breaches to the Equality Act 2010 where it becomes appropriate. Most importantly you need to state how you want the club to remedy what has occurred! That could be merely a written apology, disciplinary action being taken against those responsible or actions to prevent this from occurring again. Preferably a combination of all three. If you need help, it may be best to draft out what you can and post it up here so people can provide feedback (personal information removed of course).

Have been following this thread with interest as was in a similar situation a couple of years ago with a heating engineer. A real bummer about the judgement, but at least you did walk away with something. Encountered some really good judges; have also encountered some terrible ones. It's like anything I suppose. Have also learned the hard way that litigation is never 100% risk free, no matter the perceived strength of your claim or defence. Hope all goes well getting some money back from the cowboy.

By the legal definition, you are either a member (quite likely) or if not, a guest. It is true you could be neither if you never attended the club, but that is not the case. The argument is whether your "lady card" can be classed as membership. There is a strong argument that the club, in fact, operates a two tier membership system based on gender. Failing that, at the very least you could be deemed a guest. In either instance, the club will have discriminated unlawfully. Steampowered's advice in post #42 goes into detail about what you can do if you want to take it further

You want to be following the legal definition as per the Equality Act in this document: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/EqualityAct/service_providers_association__club__society.pdf

You can write the letter, but whether they reply is up to them Send it recorded if you do decide to send one. If you have a membership card (your "lady card") and have copies of documentation you signed - IMO that should be enough to show you are a member. Albeit one at a serious disadvantage to male members. And remember: they can't discriminate against guests either, should it be decided by a court that you are not a member. As it stands, it boils-down to three options: 1) Do nothing and accept the behaviour. 2) Vote with your feet - don't go back. 3) Take further action, whether via complaint or court, or both. There is not really a lot more to add. Check previous posts. If they didn't want female members/guests, then the lawful solution would be to restrict membership to males and not allow guests at all. Not allow both and treat you with contempt.

Any statutory rights that a normal consumer has are granted implicitly in a business to business contract, unless specifically removed via an exclusion clause in the contract terms. It is sometimes possible to challenge exclusion clauses though, and there are some things which they can't exclude (like responsibility if someone dies or is injured from carelessness).

Based on what you say then, it may be prudent to set out your complaint in writing to the club. Refer to the Equality Act (specific breaches) and provide specific examples of lawful/unlawful discrimination from those documents listed previously. They may just need a bit of educating, but either way you will know where you stand. Failing that, it's really upto you whether to take it further. For a money claim you'd have to show to a judge, on the balance of probabilities, that the club was in breach of the Equality Act and have failed to remedy it (this is where your written letter of complaint comes in). A breach is a breach, but you'd need to carefully consider whether you have enough evidence to show it has happened. Before any of that, you'd also have to work out what your losses are. How much is your membership? You could maybe think about claiming £200-300 for distress as a ballpark figure. No one can ever guarantee a win regardless of how strong your case is. But if you can show unlawful discrimination has occured, it's a pretty strong case.

Still lurking around, just waiting for Service of court documents to be effected before posting PoC up. An update on Wescot, one of the debt collection agencies' Npower instructed: An SAR was sent to both Npower and Wescot on 12th November 2014 along with a statutory £10.00 fee (each), in the form of a Postal Order made payable to each company respectively. Wescot shirked their obligations under the SAR and instead forwarded the request on to Npower, along with the statutory £10.00 Postal Order that was made out to Wescot Credit Services Ltd only. Notwithstanding their obligations under the SAR, they had a duty to return the £10.00 payment to the sender. There is no sign of this Postal Order at Npower, and Royal Mail can confirm the Postal Order has been presented for payment and cashed on 24th November 2014. Therefore the only conclusion is that Wescot have cashed the Postal Order and kept the money. There is more. A further letter was sent to Wescot on 13th November 2014, highlighting their breaches under Debt Collection Guidelines and once again making clear the debt was in dispute. Wescot received this letter on 14th November 2014, yet never responded. Debt collection activity resumed not long after. A recent letter from Wescot, in response to a more recent letter of complaint, confirms that Wescot took it upon themselves to restart debt collection activity (without instruction from their client Npower). On 20th February 2015, Npower has apparently advised Wescot "they have record of an on-going complaint that has been going on for a long period of time in relation to the billing and the lack of response you had received from Npower." The file with Wescot has apparently now been returned to Npower. Wescot reject the complaint and feel that they have neither been made aware of a dispute nor have they ignored previous correspondence.

Would also not turn off any services / startup programs that have the words "AMD" or "Catalyst". These are your graphic drivers and related software. As per BankFodders advice, if you leave Windows services and antivirus stuff alone you should be fine. If you lose certain functionality (commonly sound, printer and wireless networking) you can always undo your changes.

You may find the AMD A6-1450 CPU in your laptop will struggle in certain scenarios. It's a 1GHz Quad Core, which is fine if you're a light user Try and find out what is using your CPU in task manager as in post #4. You can sort your list of processes by CPU usage. Could be there is some bloatware still on the machine giving the CPU a hammering.

Separate membership forms depending on your gender? It would be interesting to see how these differ. Do they take the same approach for male members in regards to acceptable and unacceptable behaviour? ------ This explains what recourse you have for unlawful discrimination: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/your-rights/service-users/dealing-discrimination

"Switching other customers without their knowledge" That's Ofgem taming it a bit; Sparks' impersonated their own customers (that were in debt) to offload them to other energy suppliers!