Npower help

[Stella58]

Hi
ive got an ongoing problem with Npower and coukd really use some help. They are taking me to court for a £14k bill in 2009. Is there anyone here I could talk with. I can pay. Don’t have much but really need some input. I live in Sussex. Thanks

[ploddertom]

Is it possible you can explain more about how all this came about and what has happened since 1999. That way you will hopefully get more interested.

[Stella58]

Thanks for your reply. I previously gave a long explanation on 15/10 but it’s such a long story and I didn’t get any replies. I would like some advice as to what to emphasise in my defence.
They have given a statement as evidence to the court dating back to 2008. The closing balance is over £14k in debit. Within that on some days there is over £20k of invoices. Credits and debits of £40k in a short period. I also have yearly statements showing usage per year. They are taking me to court for electricity used 1/5/12 to October 2018 when I asked them to split the account so I felt I wouldn’t be in danger of them cutting off or putting in a prepayment meter. The account is now split.
mon 1/5/12 my statement (sent to me by Wilkins chapman) shows a CREDIT balance of £5k.
Taking that as the start and adding in all electric used and taking off all payments made from 1/5/12 to October 2018 when account split comes out that I owe them around £5k. (Often during this time, for months when I went to pay online my account balance would show a credit balance so I didn’t pay anything when a credit balance paid as it said I coukd use the credit balance to pay my bill)
I said to Wilkins Chapman can we agree on the £5k balance and arrange a payment plan. They said they would go back to Npower which took a few weeks. Then I was told my calculations were incorrect as all payments made after May 2012 had been allocated to the debt before May 2012!!! Even though the statement on my account showed a credit balance at 1/4/2012 and in an email from Wilkins chapman when asking what period the debt they were chasing was they told me my account was not in debt prior to 1/5/2012.
The documents they have supplied to the court is the long statement going from 2008 (which starts with a £2000 credit balance as we have been in house since 2004) and what causes the problem is the invoice in 2009 of £14k.

can they allocate payments made after 1/5/2012 to before that date?
the statement going back to 2008 that they have sent to the court does not at all correspond to the statements on my account - should I emphasise this in my defence?
Wilkins Chapman sent me both forms of statement.
shoukd I ask them to explain the enormous amount of credits and debits as I say sometimes £20k, £40k in a few days in my defence?
The ombudsman looked at my case in 2016. I was under enormous stress and anxiety regarding this as at that time it had already been going on for 7 years. I was verbally told it was the worst case the investigator had seen. But it went to the longest time and they found in Npower’s favour. I was told on the phone and didn’t read through the paperwork when it was emailed through so didn’t realise I coukd appeal (I know , incredibly stupid!) so didn’t. Reading it now apparently Npower didn’t receive a VAT declaration back from me to ascertain the house wasn’t a business (?) therefore they didn’t apply backbilling policy to the £14k invoice in 2009.
if I gave them a VAT declaration now relating to that period would they have to look at backbilling?

I have to send my defence in to the court by the end of this week. I sent the Acknowledgment within the timeframe to give me 28 days for defence. Can this defence I send now be added to? Can I say something on the form to say this in ‘legal speak’.
if there is anyone who coukd help me at all I would be enormously grateful.
thanks