help and advice please (edf)

SherlockAndSlinky

EDF is currently our supplier for gas and electric. A couple of years ago we were faced with the problem of redundancy and whilst out of work accumulated some gas and electric arrears- We paid £180.00 every month by direct debit to cover arrears and usage. In June of this year I called edf to find out the status of our account because we'd sold our house and moving out within the week. They told me that my account was all up to date, that there were no arrears and I was actually in credit by £180.00, so I asked them to cancel my direct debit and refund the £189.00 to us which they did by sending a cheque. Two months later they send us a bill for £610.00 for electric and gas usage from January to June of this year and said that I had been mis-informed. Can they do this?

victor2

Is the bill for £610 correct? If so, I would think they probably can. If it isn't, you have every right to dispute it.

jalexa

SherlockAndSlinky wrote: »

In June of this year I called edf to find out the status of our account because we'd sold our house and moving out within the week. They told me that my account was all up to date, that there were no arrears and I was actually in credit by £180.00,...

... Two months later they send us a bill for £610.00 for electric and gas usage from January to June of this year and said that I had been mis-informed. Can they do this?

As victor2 suggests, probably yes, but what is your point? That they can't do it because a particular adviser said something else? Or (better) what is required to make (the bill) valid?

BTW I'm not being judgemental or intentionally harsh, but this needs to be dealt with properly.

Can you recall anything of the call when amongst other things you said you were moving out "within the week"? Were you asked for a forwarding address? Were you given guidance about providing final readings? Did you provide final readings? Are the closing readings (and the closing date) on the £610 bill the readings and date you provided? And (harder to answer) were your closing readings "right"?

Without answers to these questions it is not really possible to provide meaningful advice, other than not to place too much reliance on "can't do it", which unfortunately was the tone of your post.

SherlockAndSlinky

jalexa wrote: »

As victor2 suggests, probably yes, but what is your point? That they can't do it because a particular adviser said something else? Or (better) what is required to make (the bill) valid?

BTW I'm not being judgemental or intentionally harsh, but this needs to be dealt with properly.

Can you recall anything of the call when amongst other things you said you were moving out "within the week"? Were you asked for a forwarding address? Were you given guidance about providing final readings? Did you provide final readings? Are the closing readings (and the closing date) on the £610 bill the readings and date you provided? And (harder to answer) were your closing readings "right"?

Without answers to these questions it is not really possible to provide meaningful advice, other than not to place too much reliance on "can't do it", which unfortunately was the tone of your post.

Can you recall anything of the call when amongst other things you said you were moving out "within the week"?
Yes we have a recording

Were you asked for a forwarding address?
No but Royal Mail forward all our correspondence to our new address

Were you given guidance about providing final readings?
Yes and we provided final readings



Are the closing readings (and the closing date) on the £610 bill the readings and date you provided?
Yes

And (harder to answer) were your closing readings "right"?
Yes, they were right -

Initially I wanted an answer to one question - If I call a company and ask for a status update on my account and they tell me I'm in credit and then bill me 2 months later (after giving them up to date meter readings and after moving out of the property), I do not expect to be slapped with a bill for £610, maybe £200, but there is no way we could use electricity and gas during a 1 week period that would justify such a large bill.

What is so unfortunate about the tone of my post??? Actually the tone of your post sounds very judgemental to me.

jalexa

SherlockAndSlinky wrote: »

What is so unfortunate about the tone of my post??? Actually the tone of your post sounds very judgemental to me.

Maybe, but the netiquette of this is that you asked the question asking for "help and advice". Fine, you appear not to be receptive to "tough advice". And proved my point by your follow-up post referring only to the principle of the "surprise" of the bill and not the construction of the bill. Foolishly you are concentrating on the issue you cannot win when it *may* be possible to successfully challenge the construction of the bill.

Good night.

backfoot

I find this a bit confusing.

How much of the final bill is a b/f balance?

As we have a final reading for both gas and electricity,were the opening readings for this bill estimates? If so when the previous actual reading taken? There may be an element of catch up which we all face with estimated accounts.

Are you happy that all payments have been correctly credited?

What have EDF given as the explanation?

My guess is that the payments up to June were not sufficient to meet the previous debt and more importantly the ongoing consumption. Settling up in june will also mean that you will only have had three relatively warmer months to claw back the high winter costs.

There may have been a price rise as well depending on tariff as EDF put most of their prices up in March.

SherlockAndSlinky

jalexa wrote: »

Maybe, but the netiquette of this is that YOU asked the question. And proved my point by your follow-up post referring only to the principal of the "surprise" of the bill and not the construction of the bill. Foolishly you are concentrating on the issue you cannot win when it *may* be possible to challenge the construction of the bill.

Good night.

Challenging the ' constuction' of the bill will be my next step -

I've come here to get some advice, not to be judged or to be told I'm being foolish.... If you can't add anything constructive to this thread then don't bother to participate. You are rude and there is no need for it when all I'm doing is trying to inititate a discussion.

Have a good night.

macman

But was your status of 'no arrears' in June based on actual meter readings at that point in time? If not, and the final billing corresponds to the final meter reading, then it seems fairly clear that what you've got is a big catch up bill for previous usage that your DD did not cover.
They're not billing you £610 for one weeks usage, they're billing you £610 (as you say yourself) from January to June for excess usage.
They can't possibly tell you what your account status is without a current reading.
When were your meters read prior to the final move-out reading?

backfoot

macman wrote: »

But was your status of 'no arrears' in June based on actual meter readings at that point in time? If not, and the final billing corresponds to the final meter reading, then it seems fairly clear that what you've got is a big catch up bill for previous usage that your DD did not cover.
They're not billing you £610 for one weeks usage, they're billing you £610 (as you say yourself) from January to June for excess usage.
They can't possibly tell you what your account status is without a current reading.
When were your meters read prior to the final move-out reading?

Deja vu post 6.:D

jalexa

backfoot wrote: »

Deja vu post 6.:D

You mean Deja vu and still no response?:D

SherlockAndSlinky

Guys, my apologies for not getting back to you - I've been really busy and have to again run out the door but will respond tomorrow at the very lastest. Thanks to all for your input.