Energy Helpline & EDF

scrumpymonkey_2

Hi, my wife and I recently used the Energy Helpline website to search for an alternative supplier of gas and electricity before British Gas bumped up their prices. We were looking for a fixed tariff.
We entered all the details into the website regarding consumption and the current tariffs we were on and were recommended to switch to EDF.
We made the switch and EDF became our supplier from the beginnng of August. Last week we received a letter informing us that our electricity direct debit was increasing by £5 per month.
Has anyone else had this happen to them? Does anyone think like me that we have been deliberately quoted lower figures to get us to transfer or am I being too cynical?

backfoot

Recheck the annual charges for the tariffs quoted on EH. That will tell you if the difference is around £60. Not knowing your exact consumption in KWH and which fixed tariff you have chosen, it difficult to say whether it will be correct.

On the face of it,I would expect your charges to have risen by moving to a fixed rate.

then again EDF are cocking up their DD quotes so it could be a mixture of both.:)

Plushchris

Energyhelpline doesnt quote direct debit figures?

backfoot

Agreed,that's why I said check the annual charges on EH.

backfoot

Thinking about this,the OP is a month into their new supply with EDF. There are numerous reports,including my own,that the EDF system is producing random Direct Debit amounts.

This seems to happen even more if the customer submits a meter reading, when the system generates a review.

This may be one of those cases.

welshee

This happened to me but i think the results output by energyline is based on british gas's new tariff (after price rise) so in turn you would have been paying less based on the new rates.
hence a small rise in thr EDF tariff.

jalexa

scrumpymonkey wrote: »

Does anyone think like me that we have been deliberately quoted lower figures to get us to transfer or am I being too cynical?

That is almost certainly wrong.

Anyway, who "quoted" you the DD figures? *If* you provided annual consumption figures to Energyhelpline these should have been transferred to Edf who should have set the DD (accurately). So is the "increase" an increase on what you were paying BG or already an increase on what Edf said it would be?

scrumpymonkey_2

Thanks for all the feedback, even if some of it is a little dismissive. The annual consumption figures were input and the figures that were produced on the search by Energyhelpline indicated a £15 a month saving. If they didn't produce figures, why would anyone switch?
All resolved now, we finally got hold of someone from EDF and they have changed the DD back to the one quoted.

jalexa

scrumpymonkey wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback, even if some of it is a little dismissive

and previously...

Does anyone think like me that we have been deliberately quoted lower figures to get us to transfer or am I being too cynical?

A Consumer Focus accredited comparison website (such as Energyhelpline) complies with the Consumer Focus Confidence Code.

http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/files/2010/10/Consumer_Focus_Confidence_Code.pdf

Very occasional inadvertant errrors excepted the "headline cost" for any tariff is accurately calculated in accordance with the Code. I just double-checked my own (Edf) tariff on Energyhelpline and the headline cost is accurate to the £ for my annual consumption (and Edf's initial DD calculation).

Given your "a little dismissive":( remark perhaps you have misunderstood how Edf's billing system is currently behaving. You have "got off lightly" with only a £5 increase. Look out for further (random) increases:D. Don't believe me? Submit some customer readings using MyAccount, which is anyway good practice.

There are several threads where this Edf issue is done in detail and had you been more open and expansive in your question and follow-up the same "a little dismissive":( posters would have willingly given of their time to help you (and others) understand the "real" answer to your OP.

Pincher

It's supposed to be a FIXED monthly DD with an ANNUAL review to help you budget with some predictability. Consumption could go up and down, prices could go up and down. You make up the difference over NEXT YEAR.

Changing the FIXED monthly Direct Debit when they feel like it is WRONG. It's their own fault for offering an introductory DD that's too low. The computer should just send an e-mail or letter, giving the customer the option of:

1. Increase now, or
2. Wait till next ANNUAL REVIEW.

They may not want to consider it, but the prices could FALL as well. Are they going to decrease the DD then?

youravinalarrrf

The only fixed part of the tariff is the price per kWh that you pay for the period you signed up for.

An individual user's usage will obviously vary over time and if that differs from the usage given/stated by the customer at the switchover then the Direct Debit/s will need to be adjusted to reflect that difference. Personally I would prefer these minor adjustments to be made each time a meter reading is submitted providing they use a computer system which can accurately calculate these differences.

Having said that EDF currently have a computer system in place which has been programmed by a fekkin eejit who has difficulty adding 1 + 1 and the system should be taken offline until a fix is put in place! :mad: