EDF SHOCK! Misleading price increase

stepm

Just got my letter from EDF with new prices from 2nd March 2011. They said, and Martin also quotes, 7% increase in energy prices. I am on the Online S@ver v6 Standard tariff and my electricity (no gas) has gone up by 19.4%!!!!!!!!!! Will be ditching EDF ASAP as I feel cheated and misled.
StepM

tuggy12

Yes , it really is shocking.

I also got my letter from EDF and based on my annual gas and electric usage, my total annual bill will be going up by 17.23%.
I'm on Online Saver 6 tariff (until End Jun 2011) and the new increased tariff is exactly the same as their new Online Saver 9 tariff.

EDF claim in their website FAQ's that:

"Does this increase effect both gas and electricity?
Yes, by on average 7.5% for electricity and 6.5% for gas."

In fact my gas units have gone up 15.4% and my electric units have gone up by 26.38%

How do they get away with such bullsh!t in their FAQ's?

Bertone

What u complaining for?? U have had such a cheap price right through th winter, all gud things !!! to an end. The online saver v6 was guaranteed to b at least 2% cheaper than the standard tariff, obviously it was much cheaper than this and now they are increasing it so it is only 2% cheaper than th standard tariff. Why do u feel cheated and misled?? After all u hav been payin a cheap rate through winter and u new it was a variable tarrif and that it wud be at LEAST 2% cheapet, this giving edf th option to have it 22% cheaper but then ramp it up so it runs in line with there t&cs and hav it at only 2%...

KimYeovil

++ what Bertone said. But not in text-speak.

You have not been cheated. You have not been misled.

Premier_2

stepm wrote: »

...Will be ditching EDF ASAP as I feel cheated and misled.
StepM

Yeah, you show 'em. Get yourself moved to that more expensive supplier & tariff :cool:

I've a feeling you'll be switching supplier quite often unless you get to read and understand what a supplier actually says in such price change notifications.

mellwaters100

StepM, you have my sympathy.

I too received the tariff increase letter and am being shown the new charge as 12.36p for electricity, up from 7.68p per KwH!!!

As a counter to the "unsympathetic" views expressed on this thread, I did "enjoy" the reduced rate over winter and switched in November when Scottish Power applied a similar increase.

However, my issue and frustration with all of this, is the way that EDF (and Scottish Power before them), try as hard as possible to hide the facts from you, in order to make an effect comparison.

I switched in November and, because they are upgrading their online system, cannot access my account online. In none of the paperwork EDF sent does it state / confirm the tariff that I signed up to. To date, EDF have not sent me a bill so I have no reference to what the rate should have been.

Luckily, I have a brouchure that they sent with the paperwork that says "If you signed up to Online [EMAIL="S@ver"]S@ver[/EMAIL] version 7", these are the prices. Secondly, I finally found the confirmation email from EDF when I signed up showing that I did, indeed, select the Online Saver v7 tariff.

To top my frustration this Saturday afternoon, now I have finally found all this paperwork in order to call EDF and get the record set straight, they close at 2pm! When I got the letter, I started to wonder whether I had signed up for a standard tariff by mistake, and wanted the facts before "trying" to get through to them.


Just to point out here, I knew what I was signing up for, and made a switch based on a comparison at the time. However, when you get a letter that says: "[we] will need to raise our gas and electricity prices on 2 March 2011.

To give you an idea of how much prices will be changing, a typical customer will, on average, pay approximately £1.90 more per week".


I don't care what a typical customer in a 3 bedroom house, with 2.2 children a Ford Mondeo will be paying a week, i want to know what the price rise increase will mean to me!! I want you to tell me what I am paying now, and what I will be paying in the future and I want to make sure that the company I am dealing with is being opening about the price increase statements.

Hiding the price increase at the top of the reverse of the letter and not confirming what you are currently paying, that is what I object to. Leaving you to try and work out what it is going to be costing is not an open way of doing business.

And, to be open and transparent, this increase will have a massive effect on our household as we consume around 35,000 KwH per annum (having changed to electric heating following massive increase in the cost of LPG from 30p per litre to around the £1 per litre mark).

Is it too much to ask for company's to be clear about their charging?

deanos

Im on V6 but had no letter nor has my father who is on the same tarriff, i presume everyones prices will be going up ?

pstuart

deanos wrote: »

I'm on V6 but had no letter nor has my father who is on the same tariff, i presume everyones prices will be going up ?

In the same boat, so I phoned yesterday and they said that I should have had one.

Yes its going up and they have sent me an example (email) of the savings that V8 would give over V6 in the next 12 months (£38).

The example does not explain whether they are comparing the V6 when it reverts to standard tariff or if the comparison is in real time or after the price rise.

However, we have just received our gas from them for the last quarter - we are retired and have the heating on @15 during the night and 21 throughout the day 24/7, as the children say.

£40.00 DD from last June and we owe them nothing!

12 year old 3 bed semi in Lancashire, new boiler 2 years ago.

PollyBanwell

I thought this was meant to be a community for people to express and share their views? I defend the right for free speach (or in this case free foruming!) however I wish people wouldn't write things that were completely unhelpful and rude. If you don't sympathise or have anything useful to add, don't add anything at all! But then...maybe you haven't really got anything else to do today and it makes you feel better to annoy eveyone who is actually serious about money saving and supporting each other. well if that's the case I hope it has worked and your self esteem has increased -well done you.

Stepm - I read your post with interst as my fixed rate with EDF expires at the end of March. The biggest reason I signed up to it was to get the nectar points but now they have stopped that and britsh gas are offering NP to switch! I have never had a positive view of BG but am going to consider them when I compare companies. We have been enjoying the low rates as well and feel good that there are people who won't just settle for the easiest option - this is how corporates get into such positions of power - because people are lazy and never think to switch. Switch as much as you can I think and always get the best deal - not nessecarily the best price - but the best deal.

P x

Plushchris

Premier wrote: »

Yeah, you show 'em. Get yourself moved to that more expensive supplier & tariff :cool:

I've a feeling you'll be switching supplier quite often unless you get to read and understand what a supplier actually says in such price change notifications.

The OP will also run out of energy suppliers quite rapidly if he ditches them for misleading and cheating!

janninew

I'm also on the online saver v6 tariff and I had my letter yesterday. It isn't very clear and I'm confused about the increases and new pricing. I called and asked about moving to a different tariff with EDF but they said I would have to pay the exit fee, even though I would still be with EDF. They also sent me my annual gas review bill and are increasing my gas direct debit as apparently my account should be at zero now?! No idea why, I joined EDF in October, why should my account be at zero in February?