EDF account

stanehyve

I am with EDF Energy and we are in credit of 81.28 on our account and upon phoning them to have the money paid back into our account we have been told that if we want them to return our money they will put up our monthly direct debit payment, has anyone else had this come across this?

Regards Stanehyve

McKneff

That is normal practice.

They will have worked out your dd including the 81.28.

So when they work it out again, excluding the 81.28 the figure is going to be different (more)

How they work it out is

They look at last years consumption and come up with a figure, deduct the credit balance (in your case 81.28) and divide the balance by 12 hence you pay 12 months at that rate.

stanehyve

Thanks for your reply, do all companies do it that way, my mother was £120 in credit phoned up her supplier Scottish Power and got her money back and they reduced her monthly payments.

McKneff

It really depends on what she used last year, her consumption was presumably down from the previous year. Had she left the £120 there, it would have reduced her payments even further,

But it's definitely the way most companies work their DDs out.

jalexa

McKneff wrote: »

They look at last years consumption and come up with a figure, deduct the credit balance (in your case 81.28) and divide the balance by 12 hence you pay 12 months at that rate.

Your description implies a rolling 12 month calculation. I stand to be corrected but I believe the number of payments remaining until the 'annual review' date is used to divide the remaining balance, hence reports of "sudden excessive hike" syndrome.

McKneff

Its usually the way EDF work with mine, Ive been with them quite a number of years.

They don't seem to have an annual review date.

I can only go by my own experience.

backfoot

The obligation, defined by their License,is for EDF to explain their calculation. If they did that there would be no need to speculate how they do it.

The customer is entitled to that explanation in writing. If it isn't provided make a formal complaint and follow it up to a succesful conclusion. If the explanation is provided but doesn't stack up or satisfy you, again formally complain.

Complain in writing only.

The problem with EDF is that for many new customers DD assessments have been illogical and inconsistent. When asked EDF have been reluctant to actually explain where they derived the figures from.

They will generally back down to a figure you, as a customer feel happy with. Alternatively, you can challenge them on the fundamentals with the objective of getting them to eventually comply with their obligations.

The choice is yours.:)

davidgmmafan

"do all companies do it that way"

Yes and no, I believe there is some vague requirement to have a policy regarding reassessments and some process to do some kind of automatic refund but there is some Ofgem guide of infosheet floating around from when they were looking into this showing there differences between suppliers.

Its a bit of a nightmare for customers to be honest, the only nugget of information that helps is it SHOULD tell you on the bill how this is calculated ie six months, twelve months etc etc.

In general terms if they are doing a refund clearly this can't be included. If they weren't doing a refund its likely this is included in the new payment calculation. However I believe there was a thread on here about EDF breaching licence conditions by NOT explaining how the new amount was calculated so I will have to say best of luck!

backfoot

davidgmmafan wrote: »

Yes and no, I believe there is some vague requirement to have a policy regarding reassessments and some process to do some kind of automatic refund but there is some Ofgem guide of infosheet floating around from when they were looking into this showing there differences between suppliers.

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/FactSheets/Documents1/directdebitleaflet.pdf

backfoot

McKneff wrote: »

Its usually the way EDF work with mine, Ive been with them quite a number of years.

They don't seem to have an annual review date.

I can only go by my own experience.

Today, I have received my Annual Review which was 12 months into the contract based on the mid point between the gas and electricity starting dates.

They have used estimated readings and they are close to actuals and I have updated them online for accuracy.

The latest documentation is excellent imho. It contains an Annual Statement for Electricity only. I assume the gas will be completed on the full anniversary date.

There is a Direct Debit Review which makes sense in relation the Annual Energy Statement. There is allowance for the credit on the account which reconciles approximately.

Finally, I have received documentation and data which complies with SLC 27 and the Ofgem Guidance leaflet. It has taken a full year, but this is precisely the process and data which should have operated previously but didn't.

In relation to the OP's query, the information is there to explain their calculations. Why it has taken a year for it to be revealed in my account, is still beyond my comprehension and is why I await the Energy Ombudsman's findings with interest.

jalexa

backfoot wrote: »

There is a Direct Debit Review which makes sense in relation the Annual Energy Statement...

Progress indeed.:T. You are ahead of me because my 'annual statement' didn't require a Direct Debit review. Could you post the general form of calculation for my enlightenment (and McKneff's:D).

Finally, I have received documentation and data which complies with SLC 27 and the Ofgem Guidance leaflet.

Do you mean separately or do you mean the 'annual statement incorporating a direct debit review' complies?

I am still waiting for my first post 'annual review' recalculation in spite of two meter reading submissions. Slightly surprised that a balance temporarily enhanced by a compo payment didn't merit a reduction:(.