£794 energy bill has left my wife feeling tearful

E.H. writes: My 74-year-old wife has received a demand from Npower for £794. We moved into our bungalow last November and to date she has paid the supplier £1,079, but her energy account has been credited with only £350. She spoke to Npower and was told she would be contacted, but she has heard nothing. This has been stressful and left my wife tearful.

I AM not surprised that your wife has been upset. On top of the disappearing payments she has made, there has been confusion over how much Npower should collect from her bank.

Recently, she was told she could pay £67 a month, but no sooner had she agreed than Npower changed this to £42.

Npower has told me the confusion began because there was a mix-up over the date you moved into the bungalow, so it opened an account that was simply in t he name of ‘The Occupier’. This is where your wife’s disappearing payments ended up – but the bills were generated from the real account in her own name.

Npower has now merged the accounts and matched the missing payments to the bills. Forget the £ 794 demand–your wife’ s account is actually £249 in credit.