Npower touting for business.

Jonny69 · 20-08-2008, 14:19

A couple of years ago when I was trying to decide what to do for my career I answered one of those little ads in the paper "Young company experiencing massive growth is recruiting exciting people NOW to make lots of money!" purely out of interest to see what the deal was. I phoned them up and an excitable chap asked me to come in the next day for a chat and they'd see what they could sort me out with.

I arrived in a suit at an expensive looking office in London and there was a long presentation about the company and how fast it was growing, how much money this guy had made, then how much this other guy had made but no hints as to what the nature of the business was. There was a short lunch break and we got to meet some of the guys who worked there, who were waiting for us in another room. They all had clip boards and little packs of stuff and were basically ready to go out and do business. We were told we'd be out shadowing them as they worked to see what it was like.

It turns out they were out reselling electricity plans for Npower, basically cold-calling businesses on a preplanned route. They got a commission from every shop owner who switched to Npower. It was a roasting hot day and I was in a black suit so I was boiling over. After about an hour of watching this guy get no business I decided my scope for earning money here was nill and to call it a day. I sarcastically wished him luck and went my own way.

I'd never really heard of Npower back then but since I've learned first hand that they are a pain of a company to deal with. If you've ever had dealings with them I can almost guarantee you've had problems and you'll be swearing never to go back to them no matter what their carrot on a stick offer is. Family and friends have had similar problems and we are all happy with our new power suppliers.

A couple of nights back, in fact it was 7pm on Sunday night, there was a knock at the door...

"Hi, it's the electricity company, please can you let us in?" (I live in a flat)

Strange time for the electricity company to call, especially since I am on a direct debit and I call them with my meter readings, so I put my shoes on and went down myself. Two guys in suits standing at the door, clipboards and little packs of stuff.

"Hello we're from Npower and we were wondering if..."

I cut them short and told them I wasn't interested.

"but..."

No, really, I'm not interested.

"Are you with British Gas?"

A cheap shot. I closed the door at this point. In hindsight I feel like I should have been really rude to them on the doorstep. People like this are a nuisance enough but when they are from a company who almost everyone I know has had problems with I can't believe they still have the cheek to send out mugs like these guys to try and reel me back in. I hope others are clever enough to see through the ploy.

Burble · 20-08-2008, 14:42

They called around mine the morning after I got back from LA. At the time I was suffering from jetlag and insomnia so didn't appreciate being woken up when I'd finally managed to get to sleep.

I let them get about 10 seconds into their speech before saying 'No thanks' which they seemed to ignore and started to continue so I closed the door and went back to bed.

Wryel · 20-08-2008, 14:57

At our old house my mate actually changed companies due to one of these guys, it turned out to be an awful deal and he regretted it ever since. Roll on about a year and a half and the same company (can't remember who it was but it wasn't nPower) knocks on the door and my mate answers. This time instead of getting suckered in he rants at the guy for a good ten minutes about how they screwed him over last time and sends him on his way. How could anyone do such a job? You must get constant abuse from people that don't want to be disturbed by a p**ck in a cheap suit and too much hair gel.

Jonny69 · 20-08-2008, 15:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wryel

How could anyone do such a job? You must get constant abuse from people that don't want to be disturbed by a p**ck in a cheap suit and too much hair gel.

I don't know how this guy I shadowd did it. It was quite clear he didn't earn much doing it either. The company model seemed to be a bit like a pyramid scheme where there were minions at the bottom working their asses off while up the pyramid everyone took a skim of their earnings. Guy at the top made a load of money basically and had nothing much to do with the business.

BBx · 20-08-2008, 16:08

I had a blind association buzz my flat the other day.. I made Rob stand at my door to hear the conversation, basically they were chuggers who wanted you to sign up for £10 a month or something, I said I could give them some money now, but of course they said no.

:/

BB x

Mark · 20-08-2008, 17:08

Most people won't do that now for fear of getting mugged. That's why on home delivery menus you often see 'our drivers carry less than £xxx change.' - in other words - it isn't worth your while mate, find someone else.

kaiowas · 20-08-2008, 17:09

In the rental agreement for the house over the road it was actually a condition that we weren't allowed to change utility supplier. I'm sure the agency would have let us change if we really wanted to but the line "this is a rented house and we're not allowed to change supplier" was such an effective way of getting rid of these people quickly and without fuss that I still use it now even though we own this house.

Wryel · 20-08-2008, 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaiowas

In the rental agreement for the house over the road it was actually a condition that we weren't allowed to change utility supplier. I'm sure the agency would have let us change if we really wanted to but the line "this is a rented house and we're not allowed to change supplier" was such an effective way of getting rid of these people quickly and without fuss that I still use it now even though we own this house.

I found that saying its an all inclusive rental agreement and you don't personally pay the bills works well, that way you don't have to be rude or politely say now a thousand times.

MarcLister · 20-08-2008, 18:01

A few years ago my Mum and I were held hostage by some guy from nPower! Seriously. He must have been in our dining room for at least an hour badgering on about how nPower are better than British Gas. My Mum signed up to shut him up and get him out and then cancelled it under some clause.

karbon · 21-08-2008, 01:52

the company you went for an interview with are subcontracted by Npower.

the group that do it in glasgow are called Mamba Marketing, or Cobra Marketing, or one of many other guises. you'll find the guys with the clipboards will at times be promoted to the rank above. then if they get promoted again they can start their own franchise kinda. when you work for them you're basicly self employed so get ****ed on wages and holidays and stuff. google them if you like, fist thing that comes up is a huge thread on another forum i'm on.

20-08-2008, 14:19	#1
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	Npower touting for business. A couple of years ago when I was trying to decide what to do for my career I answered one of those little ads in the paper "Young company experiencing massive growth is recruiting exciting people NOW to make lots of money!" purely out of interest to see what the deal was. I phoned them up and an excitable chap asked me to come in the next day for a chat and they'd see what they could sort me out with. I arrived in a suit at an expensive looking office in London and there was a long presentation about the company and how fast it was growing, how much money this guy had made, then how much this other guy had made but no hints as to what the nature of the business was. There was a short lunch break and we got to meet some of the guys who worked there, who were waiting for us in another room. They all had clip boards and little packs of stuff and were basically ready to go out and do business. We were told we'd be out shadowing them as they worked to see what it was like. It turns out they were out reselling electricity plans for Npower, basically cold-calling businesses on a preplanned route. They got a commission from every shop owner who switched to Npower. It was a roasting hot day and I was in a black suit so I was boiling over. After about an hour of watching this guy get no business I decided my scope for earning money here was nill and to call it a day. I sarcastically wished him luck and went my own way. I'd never really heard of Npower back then but since I've learned first hand that they are a pain of a company to deal with. If you've ever had dealings with them I can almost guarantee you've had problems and you'll be swearing never to go back to them no matter what their carrot on a stick offer is. Family and friends have had similar problems and we are all happy with our new power suppliers. A couple of nights back, in fact it was 7pm on Sunday night, there was a knock at the door... "Hi, it's the electricity company, please can you let us in?" (I live in a flat) Strange time for the electricity company to call, especially since I am on a direct debit and I call them with my meter readings, so I put my shoes on and went down myself. Two guys in suits standing at the door, clipboards and little packs of stuff. "Hello we're from Npower and we were wondering if..." I cut them short and told them I wasn't interested. "but..." No, really, I'm not interested. "Are you with British Gas?" A cheap shot. I closed the door at this point. In hindsight I feel like I should have been really rude to them on the doorstep. People like this are a nuisance enough but when they are from a company who almost everyone I know has had problems with I can't believe they still have the cheek to send out mugs like these guys to try and reel me back in. I hope others are clever enough to see through the ploy. __________________

20-08-2008, 17:09	#7
kaiowas The Stig Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fightertown USA Posts: 1,458	In the rental agreement for the house over the road it was actually a condition that we weren't allowed to change utility supplier. I'm sure the agency would have let us change if we really wanted to but the line "this is a rented house and we're not allowed to change supplier" was such an effective way of getting rid of these people quickly and without fuss that I still use it now even though we own this house. __________________ Anal Fish Porn

20-08-2008, 18:01	#9
MarcLister Absinthe Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Leighton Buzzard Posts: 1,282	A few years ago my Mum and I were held hostage by some guy from nPower! Seriously. He must have been in our dining room for at least an hour badgering on about how nPower are better than British Gas. My Mum signed up to shut him up and get him out and then cancelled it under some clause. __________________ Website (sod all on there!) \| MSN \| Email

21-08-2008, 01:52	#10
karbon Long Island Iced Tea Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Glasvegas Posts: 475	the company you went for an interview with are subcontracted by Npower. the group that do it in glasgow are called Mamba Marketing, or Cobra Marketing, or one of many other guises. you'll find the guys with the clipboards will at times be promoted to the rank above. then if they get promoted again they can start their own franchise kinda. when you work for them you're basicly self employed so get ****ed on wages and holidays and stuff. google them if you like, fist thing that comes up is a huge thread on another forum i'm on. __________________

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20-08-2008, 14:42	#2
Burble Rocket Fuel Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7,826	They called around mine the morning after I got back from LA. At the time I was suffering from jetlag and insomnia so didn't appreciate being woken up when I'd finally managed to get to sleep. I let them get about 10 seconds into their speech before saying 'No thanks' which they seemed to ignore and started to continue so I closed the door and went back to bed.

20-08-2008, 14:57	#3
Wryel Absinthe Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,148	At our old house my mate actually changed companies due to one of these guys, it turned out to be an awful deal and he regretted it ever since. Roll on about a year and a half and the same company (can't remember who it was but it wasn't nPower) knocks on the door and my mate answers. This time instead of getting suckered in he rants at the guy for a good ten minutes about how they screwed him over last time and sends him on his way. How could anyone do such a job? You must get constant abuse from people that don't want to be disturbed by a p**ck in a cheap suit and too much hair gel.

20-08-2008, 16:08	#5
BBx Reverse SuBo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: London Posts: 8,673	I had a blind association buzz my flat the other day.. I made Rob stand at my door to hear the conversation, basically they were chuggers who wanted you to sign up for £10 a month or something, I said I could give them some money now, but of course they said no. :/ BB x

20-08-2008, 17:08	#6
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Most people won't do that now for fear of getting mugged. That's why on home delivery menus you often see 'our drivers carry less than £xxx change.' - in other words - it isn't worth your while mate, find someone else.