EDF Bank Theft

markdoc_2

Five times in the last 12months EDF have put my DD up and taken money out of my account for no reason.

I have been about £400 in credit with my account for all that time.
My monthly usage is about £30 but EDF regularly change my direct debit up to £120 without asking me, and I have to phone up to get it put down again

Last time it happened in Feb I was £423 in credit and I went mad and they promised it would never happen again.
The DD was set back to £30.
This month a further £120 has been stolen and Im about £500 in credit. All the interest they are making from me apart from the inconvenience

I guess they just cant be trusted. Can anyone recommend who to switch to? Im in the south East.

dogshome

You have my sympathy - EDF's billing can be a pain in the ar*e

What I have found is that by registering for the 'My Account' online option, and then reporting the meter readings every 90/91 days seems to work quite well.

But, never, never report your readings outside the 90/91 day cycle as it opens the door to EDF's own version of Ragworts Castle

snowcat53

markdoc wrote: »

Five times in the last 12months EDF have put my DD up and taken money out of my account for no reason.

I have been about £400 in credit with my account for all that time.

Last time it happened in Feb I was £423 in credit and I went mad and they promised it would never happen again.
The DD was set back to £30.
This month a further £120 has been stolen and Im about £500 in credit. All the interest they are making from me apart from the inconvenience

You are covered by the Direct Debit guarantee. They must give you notice of changing DD amount or taking a payment and if they do not just tell your bank and they (the bank) must reverse the payment immediately.
However are you sure they did not notfy you?

EDf are well known for unjustifiable increases in DDs and this is the subject of various high level complaints (see other threads qv). I suggest you make a formal written complaint.

Terrylw1

Yes, make a complaint. Its becoming the most common thread on this board!

Probably their poorly built billing system again but this supplier are claiming they don't even have to justify their DD calculations.

There is a long thread about EDF's DD issues and the problem those posters have taken both to the ombudsman and Ofgem.

beefturnmail

I'm just in the process of switching to edf and then read this and other threads on here about their fun and games with direct debits...

DD amount has initially been set at the right level - Am I right in thinking the best way to avoid edf frequently trying to raise the dd is to submit meter readings quarterly (Rather than monthly as I have been doing with Ovo)?

jalexa

beefturnmail wrote: »

DD amount has initially been set at the right level - Am I right in thinking the best way to avoid edf frequently trying to raise the dd is to submit meter readings quarterly ...

Yes, though I would go further. As long as you are confident your payments are adequate, there is no need to submit any readings (though it is good practice to keep your own record of readings). If Edf want you to provide a reading you will be notified. Should you receive a statement using an estimated reading provide a customer read and ask for a replacement statement.

In spite of the above you may still be subject to a direct debit recalculation:( if a meter reader read generates a statement.

To provide some balance to the thread subject, though I experienced numerous "unsubstantiated by explanation", therefore IMO "inaccurate", direct debit recalculations, they were all restored at my request (demand actually:D) and I did not experience any breaches of the Direct Debit payment mechanism.

vuvuzela

beefturnmail wrote: »

I'm just no the process of switching to edf and then read this and other threads on here about their fun and games with direct debits...

DD amount has initially been set at the right level - Am I right in thinking the best way to avoid edf frequently trying to raise the dd is to submit meter readings quarterly (Rather than monthly as I have been doing with Ovo)?

The DD change screwups don't affect everyone. They have only recalculated my DD once in the last 2 years I have been with them and that was to lower it from £56/month to £37/month as we had built up so much credit. I only submit meter readings when I get an estimated bill.

dogshome

Just re-read the original Post - So EDF have taken excessive D/D's five times in 12 months ?

Get your revenge markdoc - send them a bill for your time & trouble - say £15 per incident.
I'm serious, they are a Business and are likely to take a dent in their bottom line more seriously than a phone call from a dis-satisfied customer.

I'm with EDF myself and as Post 2 have, (hopefully), learnt how to deal with them, but now have a dilemma.

At the moment I'm dealing with a BG bill on behalf a family friend that involves a mis-read on a 5 Dial meter - 10,000 Kwh overcharge !
Sorting BG ain't a problem, but with all the bills to hand I can see that this household of a single mother on low income, would be better off Switching to EDF's Blue+
BUT any sudden and unjustified uplift in a D/D payment would drop this family off a financial cliff - Yes they can get the bank to claw it back, but only when they know it's gone out and meanwhile the bank will have bounced other payments and affected their Credit File

It all amounts to me not being able to recommend a supplier who will save this family money, because that supplier cannot be trusted to get the numbers right

jalexa

dogshome wrote: »

It all amounts to me not being able to recommend a supplier who will save this family money, because that supplier cannot be trusted to get the numbers right

Like you I have been able to deal with Edf direct debit but it has taken a lot of effort. And cost Edf time, money:D and effort.

I could not recommend Edf direct debit payment terms where monthly finances are tight. Or for that matter any organisation which collects "catch-up" at 10 days notice, always assuming you notice. Though I did not personally experience any Edf notice failures.:T

However Edf Blue 2013 is currently at the top of the comparison tables for cash/cheque payment terms (because the "deferred discount":eek: merchants are knocked down the table when direct debit "deferred discount":eek: is removed from the comparison).

beefturnmail

Thanks, I will continue to record monthly readings but wil only submit to edf on demand or when they make an estimation (which are bound to be higher than my actual usage since I'm energy efficient and don't keep my house at oven temperatures and lighted up like a christmas tree).

I hate building up surpluses with energy companies, and only pay by direct debit for the lower bills (I trust myself to budget properly for higher winter usage). Therefore could I 'play' their system a bit as follows:

I'm joining them in May, so if I submitted monthly meter reads over the summer would my dd be lowered? I could then cease submitting meter reads in the autumn and try to keep the dd at the lower level (whilst obviously budgeting for my actual usage) until they notice. Are there any drawbacks to doing this?

jalexa

beefturnmail wrote: »

I'm joining them in May, so if I submitted monthly meter reads over the summer would my dd be lowered?

I cannot say if there has been any recent "improvements" to the Edf billing system (except that for the first time in 10 months a recent reading did not generate a review):T, but based on my previous experience what you suggest will not work (well).

The reason for that is that the recalculation was not based on the initial DD assumed consumption but mainly on a much higher:( "undisclosed" projected consumption which was evidently little changed by regular reads.

The "balance" is projected forward to the 'annual review' date. Make sure you find out your date, it may not be when you expect.

IME I cannot recommend submitting reads, however police the accuracy of any recalculation vigorously, if necessary using the complaints process. If you make a reasonable case it is not difficult to get an adviser to restore your original figure if your original figure is correct for your actual consumption.

On "playing the system" however, you are on on your own.