Somebody please HELP!!! I am at a loss now :(

Miss_Moppet

KimYeovil

In the past I’ve seen some very helpful and informative posts from you, but unfortunately this time you appear to have been sucking on a lemon. I really think that you should have a second look at Martin’s notes on forum etiquette and in particular, the concept that there is never a stupid question and posters should be treated with courtesy not sarcasm. I would even go so far as to say that in my opinion your above post constitutes bullying.

Surely if the original poster’s problem irritates you that much perhaps you should consider looking at some other threads instead, where your expertise could be put to much better use.

Woo1406

Cardew, I am sorry and have to disagree with you that it is not EDF's fault. They are as much to blame for this as me. I have been making phonecalls on a regular basis since 2005 to try and sort this out. And by regular I mean every few months and being told that they will sort it out and get back to me. I did not receive a bill since I switched my electric to them in 2004 until the one that appeared in 2007. Surely that is not my fault if I kept asking for one? Yes I may be in the wrong for spending the money set aside to pay my mortgage but at the time I was more concerned about keeping a roof over my childrens heads. I do want to come to some sort of sensible agreement but they keep giving unsensible amounts.

Fortunately and happily I do work and pay my own way. I have spent the last two years training to become qualified in my job so that my wages are increased which will be finished in the next 6 months. I do not claim any benefits off the state as obvioulsy some people believe that is what all single parents do as I presume that is what the sarcastic rude comments from Kim were all about.

I thought this was a forum for advice and not somewhere for people to slag you off for being a single parent??????

Capistan

Well this is my take on it, it seems that they are at fault for not billing you correcly despite your attempts to get them to sort out the matter.
Thus if it does go to court then I doubt he court will look too kindly on them
as essentially they have a lot to answer for.
So I doubt the court would make you pay costs (I am not an expert though that just seems fair to me). I would imagine the court would work our a reasonable ammount to pay given your circumstances.
I think the court will be lot more sympathetic to you then EDF especially as you have children, they are not going to force your children to live in poverty.
Firefox's advice seem pretty sound speak to the professionals dealing with such things like the CAB etc...
Essentially it is EDF's fault in my opinion, they have a lot to answer for, I don't necessarily see why you should have to have a prepayment meter either if the court sets a reasonable amount which I think it will, and you pay it.
I don't think a court would see the internet as a luxury especially as you have children.

Woo1406

Thank you Capistan.

I dont want to go to court but I do not really have any other option as I do not have that amount of money laying around. If I did the bill would have been paid. If I could afford their amount of payment each week/month then I would pay it.
I do feel over the years that I have constantly tried to sort this out and that they have been no help whatsoever. Even by not billing me!
I will try and speak to CAB tomorrow and try and get some legal advice.
And I agree, I do not think the internet is a luxury when you have children. It is an essential tool for them to use for help with their homework.
Thank you for your comments, much appreciated.

mattcanary

Honestly, Woo I think it would be better in this situation to let the case go to court as EDFare being less than helpful. The judge is extremely likely to come down on your side as EDF are not offering realistic payment arrangements. But you must attend court -otherwise your case will just get rubber-stamped by the judge and EDF get what they want. If you attend, you will be able to put across the situation and I am sure the judge will come down on your side.

EDF's offer of setting the debt to be cleared at £48.00 per week through the meter is ludicrous. How do they expect you to be able to afford that plus the usage in the summer months, let alone the winter. £5.00 per week is a realistic level and I would say the EDF employee telling you this was far more accurate. I have never seen a debt set at £48.00 per week on a meter. I don;t even know if it is physically possible to do this!

Oh and you can ignore Kim. She regularly comes up with bullying, judgmental comments. I give her as good as I've got - she doesn't deserve any respect.

mattcanary

I would also start making payments to EDF, if you are not already Woo. That is, regular payments that you can afford. This will look better in front of the judge.

mattcanary

Woo, as you did not receive a bill between 2004 and 2007 after transferring your supply to EDF, then EDF were not compling with the code of guiidance, darwn up in conjuction with most of the other electric suppliers. If they do not bill a customer for more than a set period of time (and this is certainly less than 3 years), and the customer has alerted them to this, then they can only bill you for a maximum of one year before the bill is finally produced.
So don;t let EDF get away with the line that they withdrew £2000 from your bill as a goodwill gesture. It was done because they were not complying with the code of guidance!

dogshome

Hi woo 1406 - Strewth, I've read some heartbreaking posts on this site as to how badly Distributors treat thier customers, but EDF's attitude with this one wins them the " ***** of the Year" award.
OK, an enregy distributor cannot back-bill for more than 12 months when the failure to bill is their own fault and the customer has made efforts to obtain a bill - all of which apply in your case. Look at the bill date on the last bill you recieved prior to the one you recieved at the end of 2006, early 2007 - any time period beween the two bills that is longer than 12 months, EDF cannot bill you for.
With this history, EDF are unlikely to get much sympathy from a court, but, to have the court know your side of the story, you will have to attend the hearing with well organised paper work and be prepared to apply to the court if it is a long way for you to travel to, to have the hearing moved to a local court.
It's possible that you can cut the Court process off at the pass, by immediately writing to EDF, heading the letter Complaint - The written letter headed Complaint is the key to getting the Ombudsman involved - Now if indeed EDF are trying to recover money outside the 12 month back-billing rules, you've got them cold, but even without that the history of this debt is more than enough to interest the Ombudsman
All the very best

Premier_2

Woo1406 wrote: »

...I thought this was a forum for advice ...

It is, and that is what you have been given, but you don't wish to accept it.

Perhaps try here for words of comfort & support.
http://www.samaritans.org/

... and then you may be in a better frame of mind on how to deal with the harsh realities you face.

mattcanary

No, Kim was being out of order. Not the first time either.