EDF - who is right, me or them?

AbbieCadabra

starting to think i've lost the plot on this one, so i'd appreciate a little help before my sanity goes!

i switched to EDF in June & had 2 a/c's all open & running OK by mid-July, both set for monthly direct debits.

i've recently requested the switch to a single bill (huge mistake, don't do it! :eek:) & everything has gone a little pear shaped.

this is the shortened version -
i provided readings on the day i requested the change to single bill,
my original 2 a/c's were closed to this date/readings,
'final' charges were billed & the resulting credits of nearly £250 were refunded to me,
my dd's were (eventually) reset for the original payment amount

now, as i see it, sending me a refund will mess up by dd's, when it comes to a review within the next 6 months, my payments will go up - won't they?

my forecast charges should be based on what i said i'd used last year with my old supplier, nothing has changed, only 1 a/c instead of 2. how can i have a refund of over £200 but still be ok to pay the original payment amount??

EDF are adamant that the current payment level is ok, without any real explanation, & i'm sure i need to make a one-off payment equal to the amount i've been refunded...

have i got it all backwards?

p.s. i've just been billed to readings i provided last week & i've got a debit balance of nearly £50. if all was ok, i think i 'should' be in the position of being in credit at this stage of the plan.

thanks

jalexa

AbbieCadabra wrote: »

..EDF are adamant that the current payment level is ok, without any real explanation,..

I describe the new Edf billing system as "dysfunctional", others have their own disparaging description and Edf concede a problem when you call. Allegedly extra staff have been recruited, so adviser competence levels will vary. Put the two together and you get "ok, without any real explanation".

While you are right in nearly everything you say, actually some of the issues you can solve yourself. If you want to pay more monthly simply phone up. To increase the Direct Debit at customer request is an easy adviser workflow. It is also possible to make an extra payment to your account.

BTW, have you a "new" 67 series account number and are you registered on MyAccount? If so the Edf bank account details to make extra payments to are provided.

If you have a 67 series account number and/or are on the new billing system the bad news is that next meter reading what you fear will indeed happen and worse, a huge hike to bring your account into balance by the "annual review" date. I suggest you ask when is your "annual review" and comprehend the implications of it being April (or "spring") and also the impact of a "short first year".

Up to you how to deal with this, but you seem to understand the issues.

Regarding "without any real explanation", currently even experienced advisers are unable or unwilling to provide explanations for Direct Debit review calculations, something that a recent revision to the supply Regulations (SLC27.14) requires of suppliers. Current Edf practice is to restore the previous payment amount (on request/demand) to avoid answering the question.

I would say you are sensible to want to pay the "correct" amount, but unless you understand and have knowledge of the Edf "winter weighting" profile how will you be able to calculate the "correct payment"?:D

dogshome

Hi AbbieCadabra - Of course it's you who is right and EDF who are wrong, but it's you who has to live with the situation.

Obviously the thing to do is tuck that £250 away in readiness for EDF's demand for a D/D increase, but even tho' you pay over the £250 at that time, it's still going to need a letter with the cheque pointing out that the 'Debt' has been created by EDF.

However, there is something about the numbers in your post that worries me:
The combined billing and credit payment took place during the summer, and now on the latest bill you have an account debt of £50.
BUT if your D/D levels were set to pay for a whole years consumption, even with the account balance zeroed, the D/D's payments you have made since should have more than covered your use in late Summer to early Autumn - So how come your account is £50 in the red?

If I've got this right, you need to do a quick check on your annual Kwh consumptions and relate it to your current EDF tariff, (most of which will be going up next month).

AbbieCadabra

thanks for the replies, wise words & useful info from both of you, thanks

i'm a new '67' no. & am registered with 'my account', for all the good it's done up to now! i'll have a look at the details to make an extra payment, thanks. after i'd posted on here, i think i've made my mind up that's what i'll do, no matter what their next reply says...i'll be amazed if they actually agree with the points i've raised.

my a/c's were initially opened 18th & 26th July, dd's taken monthly at an amount i was happy with (based on last years consumption & converted to the EDF fixed tariff i'm on now), a/c's were then closed to 12th Sept when single bill was requested. charges were levied to 12th Sept on readings i supplied & the resulting credit(s) refunded to me. the new dual fuel a/c started with a zero balance & has just been billed to readings i supplied on 11th Oct, hence the debit balance. this seems ok to me dogshome? (it's not ok by any stretch, but you know what i mean! ).

edit: i've just read that back dogshome, well spotted mate! i thought everything was ok, but you're right, it isn't. the dd from 28th Sept isn't showing on the new dual fuel bill, i bet it's sitting as a credit on the original 2 a/c's. flipping nightmare! something else i need to query with them...

we had a few incarnations of new billing systems over the years when i worked at a local water company, teething troubles & a few major faux pas were thrown up, nothing of the scale that EDF seem to be enduring at the moment, it beggers belief really. i wonder how many squillion £'s they paid for it?!

undaunted

I presume that somebody looked at it & decided that as you were £250 in credit your DD was fine as it is - extra consumption in the winter being covered by the amount of your DD & that you'd been paying too much for summer usage.

If you don't spend the £250 on anything else I can't see why it's a problem even if they are wrong myself - just means £250 is sat in your bank not theirs until needed (though interest rates are minimal if anything these days admittedly)

If you're not happy however why don't you just put it in writing & ask in simple terms how with rising prices & no change in consumption since last year you can possibly need to pay less on your DD this year?

AbbieCadabra

i'm a new customer to EDF undaunted so they've only got past consumption info from me, i've used accurate usage & checked i'm using the correct tariff info with EDF.

yes, keeping the refunded £250 set-aside & making a one-off payment when necessary to keep the DD at the current level is fine, it's more the fact that they seem oblivious to their error (plus, i've had 4 emails from them up to now & on each one at least one bit of info was incorrect. ok, it might be easier if i call (if i could get thru), but from past experience with Npower, i prefer to keep a written record of all correspondence).

after realising something was amiss after reading dogshome's comments, i've just gone back thru my billed charges & payments made to see if i can find the discrepancy. until now i had just assumed the charges were correct, but now i've looked at what's been billed less what i've paid, i just can't get anything to tie up to the amounts they're quoting to me now...

it could well be me, but i don't find their bills the easiest to understand - account balance before this statement & closing account balance just don't tie up with any past or subsequent amounts quoted. i've totalled up what i've paid, less actual charged amounts, which should equal the refunds i've received, it doesn't. even if i reduce the total paid as payments don't seem to show any where near the date of the actual direct debit (on one bill it states a DD received 23rd Sept - the closest DD to this date would have been 30th Aug ?), it still doesn't balance.

i have absolutely no idea what is going on, i'll email them for a full breakdown/statement of account(s) as i just don't understand what's happened from the bills i've got.