Fixed EDF Tariff has increased by 100 pound per month?

jenks15

I am on a Fixed PriceTariff until 2014

My monthly bill was 71 pound and now its gone up to 178, I phoned them up and they said I need to get accurate readings, which I will when i get in from work, How can they increase my bill though if its a fixed tariff?

R34GTT

It's fixed rate i.e. the price per kilowatt-hour is fixed. Your direct debit amount can be changed if you are using more electricity than initially estimated. Providing an up to date meter reading should make sure you pay an accurate amount which should be averaged over 12 months. If you have gone into arrears because your DD amount is too little per month EDF may increase your DD to compensate. Once out of arrears they should decrease your DD to be your annual usage/cost divided by 12.

victor2

Further to the above, EDF have a DD recalculation system that defies logic, and they know it. Get your actual readings sorted out and from that calculate your own annual usage in kWh. Then work out what it would cost you per month on the fixed rate if the annual cost is divided by 12.
Phone them up and ask them to recalculate the required DD amount and break it down into estimated usage and repayment of any existing debt, if there is any. The usage cost should come close to your calculated figure.

jalexa

jenks15 wrote: »

I am on a Fixed PriceTariff until 2014

My monthly bill was 71 pound and now its gone up to 178, I phoned them up and they said I need to get accurate readings,

What a nerve. They have increased it without accurate readings?:(

You seem a little surprised at your situation so a bigger concern is where is the bill or statement? Are you registered for online access? Do you get email notification of bills?

How long have you been a customer for and how was the original £71 payment set?

jenks15

jalexa wrote: »

What a nerve. They have increased it without accurate readings?:(

You seem a little surprised at your situation so a bigger concern is where is the bill or statement? Are you registered for online access? Do you get email notification of bills?

How long have you been a customer for and how was the original £71 payment set?

The only reason i knew that they increased by DD was that I seen it come out of the account today, I then logged into my edf account (1st time in god knows) and there is a bill on there.

The bill is for 28 May 12 and it says i owed 246.21 (after charges and discounts applied) and my direct debit will change to 178 from 2nd July. My direct debit has still come out of my account for June for 71 pound.

I will get accurate reading tonight when i get in from work

victor2

jenks15 wrote: »

The only reason i knew that they increased by DD was that I seen it come out of the account today, I then logged into my edf account (1st time in god knows) and there is a bill on there.

The bill is for 28 May 12 and it says i owed 246.21 (after charges and discounts applied) and my direct debit will change to 178 from 2nd July. My direct debit has still come out of my account for June for 71 pound.

I will get accurate reading tonight when i get in from work

Given that we've just come through winter, and summer has struggled to start, that is not such a huge debit balance, although it does appear you may have been underpaying. No way does it equate to increasing your DD from £71 to £178 though, unless they are trying to recover the debt in quite a short time.
You will get emails when bills are ready to be viewed online and advance notice of any DD adjustment, so do have to take a little responsibility for not seeing what was coming.
However, it's well worth phoning them up and asking them to recalculate what your DD should be.
If you've not been with EDF for 12 months, you won't have a full year's usage with them yet. Can you find old bills and/or readings from your previous suppler, so that you can work out what your annual usage has been?

jenks15

If I have emails off EDF i dont always open them as I thought that my price was fixed (so I can take some responsibility for that)

According to the Bill that they sent since I started

I had 7 payments of £71 = 497

My electricity usage for 7 months was 330 (47 per month)
My gas usage for 7 months was 427 (61 per month)

so they reckon i owe them 330+427-497- 50 (discount) + 35.39 (VAT). So they say I owe them 246.21.

Says then that I will pay 178 on July 2nd . Do not know where this figure comes from and I also paid 71 pound start of June month.

by the figures above I should be paying 47+61 per month which is 108?

victor2

Much better to work in kWh and not money. Only convert it to what you will pay when you know what your usage is.
Gas usage is particularly seasonal, assuming you use it for heating. Electricity may be more constant through the year, but still increase a little in winter. Therefore, you cannot take 7 months history and calculate an average monthly usage for the year from that.

McKneff

What you need to do when you ring them is have a calclulator handy, ask them (after you have given them the reading) how much fuel you have used in 12 months. Once they give you that figure, divide it by 12 you come up a number that you should be paying each month.
Its pointless using 7 months to measure it.

jalexa

jenks15 wrote: »

so they reckon i owe them 330+427-497- 50 (discount) + 35.39 (VAT). So they say I owe them 246.21.

Says then that I will pay 178 on July 2nd . Do not know where this figure comes from

This is a well known issue in the forum. The first thing you need to do is to ask Edf for the date of your 'annual review'. That defines the remaining number of months the alleged payment inadequacy is recovered over. The next thing you need is the projected annual consumption figures Edf are using for the calculation. Without these it is not possible to comment whether the calculation is "right" or not.

How was the initial £71 payment established?

What you do next is up to you but you are entitled under threat of complaint to be treated in accordance with supply regulations (SLC27.14&15) and the Direct Debit policy http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/direct-debit/direct-debit-existing-direct-debit-customers.shtml

macman

jenks15 wrote: »

If I have emails off EDF i dont always open them as I thought that my price was fixed (so I can take some responsibility for that)

According to the Bill that they sent since I started

I had 7 payments of £71 = 497

My electricity usage for 7 months was 330 (47 per month)
My gas usage for 7 months was 427 (61 per month)

so they reckon i owe them 330+427-497- 50 (discount) + 35.39 (VAT). So they say I owe them 246.21.

Says then that I will pay 178 on July 2nd . Do not know where this figure comes from and I also paid 71 pound start of June month.

by the figures above I should be paying 47+61 per month which is 108?

Your unit rate is fixed, but your bill isn't. If you use more than before, or more than was estimated in originally setting your DD, then your DD will rise. It's not an 'all you can use for £71pm' deal!
It appears that you have built up arrears for this reason. Providing regular meter readings (at least every 3 months) will help avoid this situation. The revised DD should reflect not just recovery of the arrears, but your increased ongoing consumption.