EDF huge bill system error

nigelb4873

Hi, I noticed we hadnt had a bill for ages FOR Gas/elect and the meter man came and read the meter, still no bill unusual i thought we used to get one a couple of days after he had been. My husband kept telling me we are in credit with gas and electricity, oh great i thought as each time he called for a balance from the Edf automated system it said we was 53.10 in credit.

Well yesterday i phoned to double check, the lady on the phone said the system hadnt been updated for months and she would have to call me back as she had to manually do it? 15 mins later she called back to say she was very sorry but our bill was high and not in credit WHAT i said, she continued to say it was a whooping 1,300 pounds, i said this was unacceptable and asked to speak to the manager. Who said it was a error as the account had been frozen due to the electric being high months back and it got flagged up on their system. The person it was passed over to in their offices hadnt done anything with it, he would look into it and call back with a yearly plan and a discount. While i was out my husband took a call they have said 25% off and pay yearly each month for the debt. My question is this is their fault a complete muck up of their system and should i take it to a solicitor, why should we be left with a terrible debt we didnt know we had and all due to Edf errors. Please help we are a family with kids and on such a tight budget already.:mad:

jalexa

nigelb4873 wrote: »

should i take it to a solicitor,

Will look at the detail later.

Do not contemplate legal action until you have exhausted the complaints (and Energy Ombudsman) process.

Joyful

How many months have you not been billed? How much have you been paying each month? What was the information including reading and balance on you last bill? Some of this will be down to you but more information is needed to see what the company should have done.

giraffe69

So you hadn't had a bill for ages but you were using gas and electricity. Now EDF have caught up. Yes, there may be a degree of incompetence on their part for which they appear to be giving you 25% of £1300 which IMO is a result. They should permit you to pay back at a reasonable rate but you are only left with a debt because you ignored your usage and did not put the money aside when you knew you were spending it.

nigelb4873

I have to point out that we have been paying 100GB Pounds up to including September 2011, to say that we ignored our usage is a bit off, we haven't. as we supplied them with a customer reading twice last year and they read it at the 6 month interval, so this is down to them surely!!!!!! I can understand what you saying if we didn't pay anything for the whole last year but it is not like that.

jalexa

nigelb4873 wrote: »

she continued to say it was a whooping 1,300 pounds,

First of all stop relying on what you hear on the phone. Get all the bills together, in particular the most recent one. Scrutinise the bill for errors, in particular the most recent reading(s) not being close to what the meter(s) read today. You will get more meaningful help if you post meter readings rather than £££s.

jalexa

nigelb4873 wrote: »

I have to point out that we have been paying 100GB Pounds up to including September 2011,

How much after September?

backfoot

giraffe69 wrote: »

So you hadn't had a bill for ages but you were using gas and electricity. Now EDF have caught up. Yes, there may be a degree of incompetence on their part for which they appear to be giving you 25% of £1300 which IMO is a result. They should permit you to pay back at a reasonable rate but you are only left with a debt because you ignored your usage and did not put the money aside when you knew you were spending it.

There isn't enough information available so far to make such a judgemental response.

Experience shows a very high chance that EDf may have an incorrect billing record. A number of factors should be eliminated first.

My check list would be:

1. Obtain a bill from EDF or print one off from the online system.
2. Check if the £1300 is the account balance before or after any payments.
3. Check that the bill contains opening and closing readings which you can confirm as accurate.
4. Check the tariff they have billed you on is correct.(what is it and have you switched/when?)
5. Check each monthly payment (£100) has been credited.
6. Find the previous bill and note carefully the date.
7. Find the last bill before this which contained an actual firm reading.When is it dated and does the reading tie into current bill?
8. What is your normal annual consumption for gas and electrcity in Kwh. You need to compare this to the payment of £1200 which you have been paying. (did you continue paying £100 after September?).
9. Exactly why did EDF say they were granting 25% off?

Let us know these details and posters will be better able to advise.:) Don't waste money on a solicitor.

nigelb4873

Hi I will look into those things and come back to you, but EDF offered 25% discount as they admitted on the phone that it was their mistake. We didnt pay anything after September so that is our mistake but everytime we phoned up it said that our account was in credit, NOT in DEBIT.

macman

If you weren't paying anything, but using power, how did you think your account could always be in credit?
It certainly is EDF's mistake, but that does not mean that the power used does not have to be paid for.
What you need to do is verify the billing, then start negotiating any discount.

nigelb4873

Hi I know it sounds strange and certainly i am not pleased or happy about the situation, as I have always paid my bills and never had anything like this before, I am certainly not on here to be say i shouldnt pay for the power used but EDF are at fault for some of this and I am for some of it, it is clear from talking to EDF that they have made the mistake, i am certainly going to pay off what I owe. I paid a large amount over 9 months and believed I was in credit, now I know that I wasnt but I was on here for some advice and I am now starting to think I shouldnt have bothered.:(