@npowerhelp nPower - Mismanaged account, County Court claim issued aganst Npower

[Eversir]

We need to submit a fresh ICO complaint in relation to Npower's failure to comply after three requests. We can now also prove Npower has cashed the £10 payment necessary for the SAR (back in November). Wescot have also cashed their £10.00 (it was made out in Wescot's name).

 

Not holding much hope for the ICO to actually do anything given their response to the other problem, but who knows.

 

A claim via MCOL is currently being prepared against Npower and will be issued shortly. Will post back up here once it has gone ahead.

[Eversir]

A claim has been filed against Npower - will post up full details shortly.

[Eversir]

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.

[ericsbrother]

tell wescot that you will be altering your claim to include them as co-defendants unless you receive an apology and your tenner back

[Eversir]

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.

[BankFodder]

Well I don't see any cynicism at all. It is quite obvious the Npower has learned that most of their customers who complain will never bother to take any other action and therefore it's not worth taking seriously.

 

As soon as a customer does take action, then Npower finally starts to take them seriously.

 

I'm sure it's the same with all the other utility providers – just in exactly the same way it is the same for the banks and other big companies.

 

I hope that when you get your judgement against Npower – and I'm sure you will, that the judgement will find its way to trading standards and also to the regulator as part of a general complaint.

 

I hope that other people who visit this forum and the people on the two Facebook groups will start to realise that if you just get involved in a talking shop, then really you are wasting your energy and wasting your breath. On the other hand if you tackle Npower full-on, then suddenly once they have received the court papers they start to take you seriously.

 

These people are bullies – the courts are the great levellers and this is why people should stop talking and start suing.

 

Less jaw jaw and more law law.

[citizenB]

Despite the fact that you have received this information, Eversir - IMHO, you should still make a complaint to the ICO, about the length of time it has taken.

 

I only hope that once you have trawled through this data, they have provided you with everything.

[Eversir]

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).

[Eversir]

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!

[BankFodder]

Persistent here means bringing a county court action.

 

Don't be frightened of it. Small claims actions are easy and cheap. You will get compensation as well.

[citizenB]

I am not sure why they are outsourcing their call centres/complaints to India when there are so many unemployed in this country ?

[topcat1802]

You have probably heard the idiom "Out of sight, out of mind", I think you will find this is the reason for outsourcing to India!

[Mat-H]

HI all!

 

I'm new to CAG, unfortunately i, like most others here i suppose, have an ongoing 'billing issue' with one of 'the big six' which i have been trying to resolve for the past few months....

This thread is absolutely fascinating and has certainly added to my knowledge which, again unfortunately, i have been put in the position of HAVING to acquire.

 

I have had months of stress, guarantees, innaction, SERIOUSLY insulted by a call centre member of staff.. the list goes on!!!!

 

I cannot post too many details presently as it is still ongoing and i am expecting contact from one of their staff next week some time to resolve the issue.

 

I can say though that i have been given numerous assurances that this would be sorted out within 28 days and we're now about 4 months in...... the 28 day 'cutoff' period for complaints passed some time ago and when i informed a member of staff of this i was told 'oh we can have up to 56 days' to which i obviously responded 'well why do you state 28 then' and was met with a 'durrrh'????

 

I have overwhelming evidence to support my case in the form of VERY high quality recordings which make very interesting listening and when this is all dealt with i will look into some way of making these available, legal issues aside, to help others who may be in a similar situation.

 

I would SERIOUSLY urge people to record ALL contact with these people as some of the responses i have had from the company in question have been quite hilarious and frankly delusional .... well they would be funny if it weren't such a HUGE amount of money involved... so i have been able to refer to those calls and am able to recall names, dates and the content of conversations verbatim... they have now realised this and the last contact i received from them was INCREDIBLY apologetic.

 

Even IF the 'debt' is written off and i am 'compensated' i am not going to walk away from this....... i read a quote on another forum the other day from someone who has had/is still having the same issues with this company..... 'i've decided not to change companies, i'm going to be exactly the kind of customer XXXXX deserve'!!!!! I think the more of us that subscribe to that paradigm the better....

 

Time to bully the bullies don't you think?

[BankFodder]

Thank you for this post and welcome to the forum.

 

A couple of pieces of advice: there is no reason to keep anything that you are doing a secret. If you have a good case and you are dealing in a straightforward manner. Then being open and public about it is much more effective for you.

 

Also, if you let everybody know what is happening and which of these companies is causing you the problem, it will encourage others to come onto the forum and start complaining as well.

 

You really should name and shame and frankly not naming the company only helps the company. It doesn't help anybody else. It certainly doesn't help you.

 

Secondly, have you read our customer services guide? If not, then do so. You need to have a proper understanding of how you should deal with customer services in order to maximise the benefit that you can have from this kind of contact.

 

I earnestly suggest that you read our guide and also start a new thread and post your full story for others to see. I'm sure you will get lots of support and believe me it won't do you any harm.

[Eversir]

Definitely name and shame them!

 

Interested to hear more and sure others will be too.

[Old Cogger]

I am not sure why they are outsourcing their call centres/complaints to India when there are so many unemployed in this country ?

 

 

Call Centers abroad, wages locally £10-15 per week, enough said?

[Eversir]

i then post processed them to reduce noise..... the GOD AWFUL on hold music (remember i am a studio owner here... ) which is either VERY poorly chosen or deliberately chosen and it does not translate well over a telephone earpiece/speaker... it's VERY high in the 2-4khz frequency band which will FATIGUE a persons listening in only a few minutes... i have also found i am generally put on hold for 4 minutes or more... ask ANYONE with mental health 'de-escalation' training and they well confirm that this is the amount of time after which most people start to 'calm down' when they are angry.... your guide is entirely correct in assuming that CS techniques ARE designed to wear you down.. as is being asked the same questions repeatedly...

 

But of course, Npower would never do something like this deliberately...

 

Very useful information, thank you for sharing it. Stellar customer service from Npower as always.

[Eversir]

Finally got around to updating this properly!

 

Claim Summary sent to Npower:

 

This claim is for breaches of contract and the Data Protection Act.

 

The defendant supplied gas and electricity to the claimant. They mismanaged the claimant's account and sent inaccurate bills. They also failed to apply their Complaints Handling Policy correctly. The defendant's also breached their contract by failing to treat the claimant fairly, including that they instructed debt collectors and duplicate debt collectors whilst, by their own admission, the account was in dispute. The defendants have breached the Data Protection Act by keeping inaccurate records and by placing inaccurate information on the claimant's credit file. They also failed to satisfy a statutory request for data disclosure. The claimant seeks damages for breaches, loss and distress not exceeding £3000.00.

Full Particulars of Claim sent to Npower:

 

Download the Word Document Here

 

More to follow shortly...

[Eversir]

Mod / Admin - Autolinking feature appears to be breaking the attachment link.

 

Any solution on your end or is it just a case of renaming and re-uploading the file?

[Mike_hawk]

Mod / Admin - Autolinking feature appears to be breaking the attachment link.

 

Any solution on your end or is it just a case of renaming and re-uploading the file?

 

Renaming is the quickest fix

[Eversir]

Quicker yes, however it will also break the link in the email sent to thread subscribers. If there is a way to disable the autolink as a mod that would be preferable.

 

Edit: Found a workaround. Post #69 updated.

[BankFodder]

Thank you for this post and welcome to the forum.

 

A couple of pieces of advice: there is no reason to keep anything that you are doing a secret. If you have a good case and you are dealing in a straightforward manner. Then being open and public about it is much more effective for you.

 

Also, if you let everybody know what is happening and which of these companies is causing you the problem, it will encourage others to come onto the forum and start complaining as well.

 

You really should name and shame and frankly not naming the company only helps the company. It doesn't help anybody else. It certainly doesn't help you.

 

Secondly, have you read our customer services guide? If not, then do so. You need to have a proper understanding of how you should deal with customer services in order to maximise the benefit that you can have from this kind of contact.

 

I earnestly suggest that you read our guide and also start a new thread and post your full story for others to see. I'm sure you will get lots of support and believe me it won't do you any harm.

 

 

Thank you

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?442997-Yet-another-tale-of-woe-from-an-NPower-customer.%2810-Viewing%29-nbsp

[Mat-H]

Mate...................... I am SO pleased for you!!!

 

Fancy hooking up for a class action suit?

[Eversir]

Thanks, I don't think it's over yet though.

 

It was a while back so you may not have seen this, but the general consensus is that class action lawsuits in the UK are not like class action lawsuits in the US. In a nutshell, unless the issues are identical it doesn't work. Even if the issues are identical, then it takes a huge amount of co-ordination.

 

Far better to issue a company with lots of individual claims, with the added bonus it takes more effort for the company to defend against each individual claim.

[Mat-H]

Ok i understand.....

 

I see where you're coming from too having read numerous other stories etc from other people....

 

I'm still going to make one or two enquiries around a CA though..... can't hurt to have a bit of a dig.