EDF electric bill

xs650

I have been so worried over this bill I havent been able to sleep.

We had a new meter fitted last year in February due to the previous one breaking down.

Our reading in the April was 1533, Aug 3456 and Oct 4986, all actual readings... but... Feb, May and Aug was all estimates, readings at 4986, 6216 and 7571. Nov was an actual reading at 13312 then Feb at 15920.

On each of the payments throughout last year were paid as soon as the bill was opened, amounts ranging from £145 - £232.

What I cant understand (and I must be stupid here) is that EDF's final bill has come in at £1213.81 as stated to me that it was a whole year bill.

On ringing up the customer advisor to check if this was correct she stated that due to most of last year being estimates that this was a "catch up" bill and that they were only obligated to have our meters read once every two years, but we've NEVER had a catch up bill this high. Admittingly on this occasion I didnt phone with the actual reading on the meter but we were visited by the meter reader at least twice last year but cant remember when!!!! Besides, I read somewhere that the average household would spend in the region of £1100pa not £1780pa as she states.

My partner has been living in this house for over 20yrs and has been with EDF for most of that time (before and after the takeover) again, he's furious, we've also contacted a neighbour of ours who had the same thing done to him last year with a "catch up" bill of £3000, with constant phone calls back and forth to EDF they reduced his bill by £700 with a monthly repayment plan.

Im so confused, on speaking to the advisor I was explaining to her that nowhere on their bill does it state that these estimates are far too low and warning us of the large bill at the end of the year, it was three bills I didnt see the estimates, ok again I know I should have phoned with the correct reading but there isnt anything different we've had added to the house that would warrant such a high bill and on this occasion I "missed" seeing the "e" besides the readings, I feel this is so unfair.

I suppose on this occasion this has taught me a very hard lesson, even in my time of life.

macman

If it's an estimate, how can the supplier know if it's too low or too high? I'm afraid it's your jobs to check the bills against the meter reading and supply actuals if required. You should be doing this at least every 3 months to avoid catch up bills like this.
Forget the £'s charged,how much did you use in kWh in the last year, and how much in the previous year? These are the figures that matter, not the £'s. You are perhaps forgetting the massive unit cost increases over the last year?
Which EDF tariff are you on? If you've not switched in the last 20 years, then I suspect that you are on the most expensive (Standard) tariff.