How far in advance of my contract end date can I switch from EDF without penalty?

BaronRocket

Hi guys,

I am currently with EDF Energy for Dual Fuel on a tariff that ends on the 31st December 2011. Having done the rounds on the comparison sites it looks like my best option is to switch to Npowers Sign Online24 or Go-Fix8 tariff, I am still contemplating which way to hedge my bets. I am keen to switch whilst these tariffs are still available and to also take advantage of a current cash back deal. Saving would be circa £400 a year for me, excluding the cash back!

So I have just called EDF and after holding for 20 mins (they really are consistenly shocking with queue times on the phone) they have advised me that if I start the switching process now I will be charged a £30 per fuel early termination charge even though they will inevitably be supplying my fuel into mid Jan whilst the switch happens!

In essence the lady I spoke to told me that Npower would put the switching request 12 days from now after the 'cooling off' period and to EDF that would constitute early termination, even though as they concede they will still be supplying my utilities beyond the 31st December 2011.

Any view on whether I have been correctly advised? Is this policy consistent amongst all utility providers?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Jason

HappyMJ

The policy is not consistent and well done for checking....So you need to wait until 12 days before the 31st to switch that's quite clear. If you want to switch on the 31st it's quite hard to time it exactly to avoid the penalty so you will have to pay EDF's standard charges for a few weeks. If the Npower deal is very very good it may be worth just paying the charge anyway to avoid missing out.

BaronRocket

Thanks HappyMJ.

Frustrating isn't it, as in reality they are locking you in for longer than your original contract period by stealth. No doubt it was mentioned or referenced in the small print. Ironically I had no real axe to grind with EDF until I have tried to contact them on a couple of occasions over the last few weeks and found their answer times to be really long. That said, when I have got through they have been very pleasant and generally able to provide me with the information that I was looking for.

I need to make some calculations as assuming I am stuck with them for January on their standard tariff it will probably cost me £30.00 ish more, balanced against the £60.00 early termination fees and the risk of the Npower tariff and the cash back being withdrawn.

Decisions, decisions.

backfoot

It is the date of the switch which is key.

You will be ok to switch now without penalty.

As usual EDf have advised incorrectly.

Complain to Consumer Focus as this is deliberate incorrect advice.

BaronRocket

Thanks Backfoot. Just had a quick look at the Consumer Focus website and they appear to be referring me to Consumer Direct to complain at first instance, who in turn appear to want be to exhaust my efforts with EDF first in trying to get this resolved. I will try and muster up the energy to call EDF one more time tomorrow and then I"ll take this path.

I really appreciate your help and guidance.

rockin_plumber

As backfoot says.. EDF are wrong again..

And if you look in the T&C for OS7 >>> http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/documents/product-terms/online-saver-v7.pdf Section 7 will be the one...

It states...

7. You agree to remain on the EDF Energy OSv7 tariff for each account until the OSv7 tariff comes to an end, which, unless we write to you to advise of any extension, shall be 31 December 2011 (the "End Date"). If you change supplier before this date, You acknowledge and agree that We may apply an Early Termination Fee to Your energy account(s) which will be £30 for electricity accounts and £30 for gas accounts (a total of £60 for customers with both gas and electricity accounts). Such fee will become a debt on Your energy account(s) and will be recovered through Our normal billing processes.

So until you ACTUALLY change supplier you are still an EDF customer.

BaronRocket

Thanks Rockin Plumber. So I have submitted a written request for clarification to EDF this morning, quoting the T&C's etc. What a surprise (not) when I got the acknowledgement of my enquiry stating that I should get a reply within 10 days! I guess you only begin to realise how bad some organisations customer services are when you need to utilise them.

So I just need to decide whether to plough on with the switch and argue the toss over the early termination fees if they apply them at at the point I switch or whether to wait for written confirmation from them. My concern about recouping the fee's is that they will take them regardless as I will have a circa £400 credit with them at the point I switch i.e. I won't be able to hold back or refuse to pay that at first instance, I will have to actually recover them from EDF.

backfoot

The beauty of their intransigence would give rise to a claim for compensation. If they did levy the fee, I believe you have a valid compensation claim which ultimately the Energy Ombudsman would award. You should seek an amount for your time and inconvenience.

Generally the Energy Ombudsman makes a higher award than EDF will offer, so don't be afraid to push it.

You can either use Consumer Direct or the Energy Ombudsman route.

This is such a basic simple matter that it can't be a lack of training. I suspect this is a systematic abuse by EDF.

Expect a private message from EDF Customer Services (the secret agent on this Forum) to try and put this to bed. It's your choice, but I would be inclined to let it run to teach EDF a lesson and report your success back here.

p.s. you may wish to amend the thread title to include reference to EDF

snowcat53

backfoot wrote: »

This is such a basic simple matter that it can't be a lack of training. I suspect this is a systematic abuse by EDF.

Expect a private message from EDF Customer Services (the secret agent on this Forum) to try and put this to bed. It's your choice, but I would be inclined to let it run to teach EDF a lesson and report your success back here.

I agree - this, along with the policy of increasing DDs way beyond need and when customers are in credit, shows contempt for customers and regulators

rockin_plumber

BaronRocket wrote: »

Thanks Rockin Plumber. So I have submitted a written request for clarification to EDF this morning, quoting the T&C's etc. What a surprise (not) when I got the acknowledgement of my enquiry stating that I should get a reply within 10 days! I guess you only begin to realise how bad some organisations customer services are when you need to utilise them.

Good luck :rotfl:

I did this last week and WRONGLY got told that my termintaion date is the date that my new supplier contacts them.

I questioned this and then the advisor went and checked and said it is the date I leave EDF and start with my new supplier.

I did originally point out that in the T&C for OS7 that is what it said anyway

So I went for it last Thursday...
So hopefully it wont go through super quick...
I wait patiently & hopefully for both my supply changeover dates...

BaronRocket

Thanks guys, I will keep you updated.

So I have changed the title of the thread to include EDF.

Thinking it through my plan is to write to them again through the contact section on the website in the morning, state that I have not had a response to my urgent enquiry of this morning and state that I don't consider a 10 day (working days at that!) response to be adequate or appropriate in these circumstances. I am going to request that they respond to me in writing (email) with a definitive position within 24 hours i.e. by Saturday morning. Regardless of reply I will then start the switching process on Saturday evening. They need to review and prioritise their enquiries workflow and if they don't have their customer service team suitably resourced to reply in a timely manner I don't see why that should ultimately have a financial impact on me.

If they write back to me an restate their current position, I will simply respond re-itterating my position and stating that I don't agree or accept theirs. As I have lost out on the cashback and invested significant time on this I think I will raise a complaint Consumer Direct regardless, which will possibly be further reinforced if they decide to levy the early termination fees and / or they delay refunding the significant credit on my account.

I'm going to log the time I am having to invest in resolving this and will place a 'fair value' on this in my request for recompense, obviously in addition to the Cashback offer that I have now lost out on.

The irony is I didn't really have any major issues with EDF prior to this, my only reason for switching is a significant saving that they can't match from another provider and at a future date I would gladly have returned to EDF if they proved competitive again. I would now have to think more than twice about this now and it will inevitably impact my opinion if asked by friends, family and colleagues about my experience of being an EDF customer.