nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

We want to hear from you: please tell us about your experience of the online community.

Free Energy Advice on 22nd May 2019 - have you got a question to ask?

Deb_Alumni

On 22nd May 2019, our topic will be all about energy.

We’ve joined up with npower to host a Question and Answer forum so you can ask all those energy related questions you may have.

Maybe you want to find out about switching energy supplier or what your gas or electric bill actually means.
Perhaps you’d like to know how to reduce your bills.
Or it could be that you’d like to find out if there is help if you are struggling with your finances.

Jessica, Carmel and Martin will be joining us as our panel of QA experts from npower so be sure to post your questions on the board below and they’ll be here to answer them on the 22nd May.

They tell us a bit about themselves here:

We work as part of Social Media team on the npower digital hub so we help with advice on all energy related questions via the likes of Twitter and Facebook. Between us we have 22 years of experience so we’ve definitely heard them all. (They must be good as even David Hasslehoff follows one of them on Twitter!) It’s great working at npower as there is so much comradery in our team and there’s lots of diversity too – npower is an inclusive company and that really shows in the respect all the staff have for each other and our customers.

We’re all really proud to be working with Scope as it’s an amazing charity. We’re acutely aware that not all disabilities are visible, and can take many forms. Sometimes you might need that bit of extra support, time, information or an alternative way of doing something. This Q&A is a great way to ensure everyone has access to support and advice available to help best manage your energy.

We pride ourselves on providing a high level of customer service and using our knowledge and skills to help and resolve customer’s accounts/queries end to end. We know it’s not always easy finding all the answers but we want to make sure everyone can get access to the support they need. Energy and bills can seem complicated at first, but we’re here to help explain away the jargon and do what we can to help!

So post your questions and ask us all the things you wanted to know about energy but never asked – and hopefully we’ll be able to help you on your way reducing your gas and electricity bills, or at least help explain things a bit more clearly for you.

Or if you just want to ask a question to some like minded people, a few topics close to our hearts are Football (Newcastle United in particular), Music, Glastonbury and running a Doggy Diner (a regular café that also caters for dogs) just to name a few!

We look forward to chatting to you all on the 22nd May.

If you have any question you wish to ask before Wednesday please type them hear and tag the experts below

@npower_Carmel
@npower_Jess
@npower_Martin

NOTE – Please do not post any specific account information on the message board.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

exdvr

Hi,

I am not currently a customer of npower but I would like to ask about the installation and accuracy of smart meters. Who exactly is responsible for installing them, and when, and do they still work even if I change to a different supplier?

Also, as both of my gas and electric meters are so low down as to be very nearly inaccessible, what would be involved in getting them moved?

Deb_Alumni

Hi @exdvr
Thank you for your question, the npower team of experts will be here tomorrow where I hope they will be able to answer your questions.
Best wishes
Debbie

Deb_Alumni

Good morning and welcome to our experts @npower_Carmel, @npower_Jess @npower_Martin who will be with us throughout the day to answer any questions you may have about energy, energy saving benefits and other general chat topics.

I would like to know a bit more about energy meters and are they worth installing and is there a cost involved?

On a personal note I quite fancy hearing about the doggy diner, as a dog owner that appeals

npower_Carmel

Hi @exdvr, thank you for your question. The meters are fitted by a third party meter engineer (these are dependant on your area). You should now be able to change from supplier to supplier without it effecting the smart functionality of the meter. Updated technology makes them more accurate than ever and reads can always be taken from meter as you do now so no changes to the meter readings, just that we receive them remotely from the meter.

A meter exchange can still be booked in if the meters are too low and the engineer can assess this on the day and the make the call if he can fit them as they are or not. If the meters did need moved, your energy company might be able to do this for you if the move is not over 30cm for electricity or 1 metre for gas. If the do exceed this then you would need to speak with your local distributor for electricity and gas transporter and they can then give you a quote regarding moving the meters.

I hope this answers your questions and I hope you have a lovely day.

npower_Carmel

Deb_Alumni

Question from Twitter

Gavin asks:
hi, yes, specifically to E-on but others, when are they releasing accessible (talking) smart meters for totally blind customers?

@npower_Carmel are you able to answer this question and we can share your response with him on Twitter - thank you

npower_Carmel

Hi @Deb_Scope, . It is not the smart meters that need updating it is the in home display which shows what a customer is using and how much their bills currently are etc. I know RNIB are working to get something in place for the in home displays to be accessible to the blind and partially sighted however this is something we do not have a date for yet.

If he contacts his current supplier they maybe able to shine some more light on this for him personally or what other options they may have available.

Thanks

npower_Carmel

Deb_Alumni

Thank you @npower_Carmel I will share that with them

npower_Jess

Deb_Scope, thanks for asking about the Doggie Diner! A lot of people always ask what it is, and we're just a café based in the north east that both allows and caters for dogs - they have their own separate menu full of sausages, pupcakes and woofins! We get customers coming in from all over the country and from all walks of life, we do special parties for doggie gotcha days or birthdays - we even have our first doggie wedding coming up! Specific breed meet ups are our most popular events - what better sight than 20-30 Chihuahuas or pugs all playing together!
Cheesiness aside, we just want to be as inclusive as possible, and it's great when you can take your dogs somewhere too. We work with TherapyDogsNationwide who help brings dogs into care homes, schools and prisons to help give those who need it a bit of extra love and support, as well as local charity Stray Aid to help find forever homes for dogs who maybe haven't had the best start in life or families have had to make a tough decision. It's a really loving community and we're privileged to be part of it!
We have new diners opening all of the time, including one soon in Cromer in Norfolk, so you may find one near you!

Deb_Alumni

@npower_Jess that is truly fabulous... I sadly don't live near Cromer but will keep a watch on where you might pop up. It sounds so lovely, a dog or pet is such a comfort. I have a cockapoo who loves sausages...

npower_Jess

@Deb_Scope it's the best thing in the world - totally not like a job at all! We always say we don't have customers - just one big doggie family! It's truly magical to see guide dogs, service dogs, old pets, new puppies - last month we had a 1st birthday party for a litter of bulldogs who'd all gone to different families all over the country! It's a real community and you couldn't ask for a better support network to help with all those day to day worries and issues. You're definitely welcome any time!

Ami2301

Hi @npower_Jess

Do you provide guides and tips for those who cannot comprehend, or thinking about living independently and easily get confused ( Like myself) about the basics of learning about the services you provide, terms and conditions, tariffs, etc?

Thanks ?

npower_Jess

Ami2301 said:

Hi @npower_Jess

Do you provide guides and tips for those who cannot comprehend, or thinking about living independently and easily get confused ( Like myself) about the basics of learning about the services you provide, terms and conditions, tariffs, etc?

Thanks ?

Hi Ami2301, that's a really great question! We try to cater to all of our customers and offer additional support for those who may be new to energy bills or struggle to understand them more than others.
The best place to start is our FAQ here: bit.ly/1osdmOn

We have handy user guides, tips, videos and check lists for a large number of queries. For anyone looking for something a bit more bespoke, we have different methods of getting in touch as we appreciate that some people may not be able to speak to us on the phone, or may want a bit more time to read through a response to understand it. We also have a designated Social Media team where Carmel, Martin and myself all work - you can contact us @npowerhelp on Twitter or our official page on Facebook. From there, you can send us screenshots or photos of bills or letters you need help with, give us permission to speak to other people on your behalf (you can also do this via the phone, Live Chat or email/letter) such as Citizen's Advice or a friend/family member, or send us a photo of your meter if you're unsure of how to read it (or even if it's the right meter at all!).

The best thing you can do is let us know if you have any potential vulnerabilities or health issues we may need to know about, as this can help us tailor our service to your or other customers' specific needs. We may even have additional products or services that can help even further!

Ami2301

Wow, thank you so much! I'm not currently looking to live independently however if is very reassuring to know how excellent the customer service is!

npower_Jess

@Ami2301 You're welcome

Living independently doesn't have to mean living alone or without the help or support you need, sometimes it just a case of asking! I have both mental and physical health issues and it's really great to work for a company who are helpful and accommodating of both

It also means I understand where many of our customers are coming from too if they have a health-related issue that can affect the way they manage their energy usage or bills!