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Cautionary Tale: EDF and the New Meter of Doom
Owen_Clark
Posts: 14 Forumite
In December last year we had a fire in our old electricity cabinet, it was a very old steel one supplied ages ago by YEB and although we did not know it, it had rusted right through the back and water got into it and started gushing onto the mains supply causing the fire.
YEB came out and resolved the issue commendably quickly but we had to get our supplier (EDF) to put a new meter in, in the meantime we enjoyed three fabulous weeks of free electricity.
This however seemed to cause EDF all sorts of problems. The first was: they put in an Economy 7 meter when we don't have economy 7. The second problem was, they put us on their standard Tariff, even though we were signed up to the Fix Energy Saver V2.
Duly the bill arrived and I complained about both issues but EDF refused to budge insisting they would have to charge me at Economy 7 rate (which is very disadvantages if you don't use Economy 7) and also that once the billing period was complete (6 months!) that they could not change the tariff until the bill was paid.
Finally after MANY, MANY hours on the phone they agreed to bill us correctly from then on (which I still wasn’t happy about) and to fit another meter that was not Economy 7. Another meter was duly installed; payment plan agreed to cover the shortfall due to their inability to bill us correctly and our tariff would be changed to the correct one.
Except only the meter change happened.
6 months later and again despite much aggravation they were now billing us on their standard tariff (trying to tell me we had requested this, when no sane person would). Finally the end of September arrived and we were free to leave and now, ironically we were now (correctly) on the standard tariff. I went through the switching process and submitted my latest meter reading to find that despite the direct debit being set up for he instalment plan they had not taken any payments and had in fact returned they normal payments as well.
Now committed to switching and TBH quite desperate to get the company to meet its minimum basic obligation to bill me correctly on the correct tariff; which I really never thought would be so hard. I was just about to give up hope, when Saint Sally (I do not know her last name) at EDF answered my call. I am quite convinced she is the only competent, helpful person at EDF, either that or they keep the rest of them locked in a cupboard. She listened to everything I told her spent about 3 hours going through my account to sort it out. She did tell me what happened to me has effected a number (don’t know how many) of other customers that change meters. Unlike all previous correspendants she has called me she said she would, and done things she said she would do.
She has managed to do what EDF have seemed utterly unable to do before which is: credit the previous bills back to December and bill me for the correct amount at the correct tariff on the correct dates. The only downside is because they stopped taking payments for so long I now have a big bill to pay.
Anyway, if you are thinking of changing your meter (for any reason) and are with EDF; I would think twice at least until you have confirmed St. Sally is available!
YEB came out and resolved the issue commendably quickly but we had to get our supplier (EDF) to put a new meter in, in the meantime we enjoyed three fabulous weeks of free electricity.
This however seemed to cause EDF all sorts of problems. The first was: they put in an Economy 7 meter when we don't have economy 7. The second problem was, they put us on their standard Tariff, even though we were signed up to the Fix Energy Saver V2.
Duly the bill arrived and I complained about both issues but EDF refused to budge insisting they would have to charge me at Economy 7 rate (which is very disadvantages if you don't use Economy 7) and also that once the billing period was complete (6 months!) that they could not change the tariff until the bill was paid.
Finally after MANY, MANY hours on the phone they agreed to bill us correctly from then on (which I still wasn’t happy about) and to fit another meter that was not Economy 7. Another meter was duly installed; payment plan agreed to cover the shortfall due to their inability to bill us correctly and our tariff would be changed to the correct one.
Except only the meter change happened.
6 months later and again despite much aggravation they were now billing us on their standard tariff (trying to tell me we had requested this, when no sane person would). Finally the end of September arrived and we were free to leave and now, ironically we were now (correctly) on the standard tariff. I went through the switching process and submitted my latest meter reading to find that despite the direct debit being set up for he instalment plan they had not taken any payments and had in fact returned they normal payments as well.
Now committed to switching and TBH quite desperate to get the company to meet its minimum basic obligation to bill me correctly on the correct tariff; which I really never thought would be so hard. I was just about to give up hope, when Saint Sally (I do not know her last name) at EDF answered my call. I am quite convinced she is the only competent, helpful person at EDF, either that or they keep the rest of them locked in a cupboard. She listened to everything I told her spent about 3 hours going through my account to sort it out. She did tell me what happened to me has effected a number (don’t know how many) of other customers that change meters. Unlike all previous correspendants she has called me she said she would, and done things she said she would do.
She has managed to do what EDF have seemed utterly unable to do before which is: credit the previous bills back to December and bill me for the correct amount at the correct tariff on the correct dates. The only downside is because they stopped taking payments for so long I now have a big bill to pay.
Anyway, if you are thinking of changing your meter (for any reason) and are with EDF; I would think twice at least until you have confirmed St. Sally is available!
0
Comments
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Glad it worked out in the end.
Did the new meter from EDF have a camera in it?
604!0 -
Scottish Power are fitting a new meter for me this month and I am currently with EDF. I have to have it by law so I have no choice.0
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Owen_Clark wrote: »
Anyway, if you are thinking of changing your meter (for any reason) and are with EDF; I would think twice at least until you have confirmed St. Sally is available!
If this lady is based in Exeter it is probably the person who sorted out the shambles of my billing. I had no bill for 14 months, after complaining numerous times they did send me a bill based on (totally incorrect) meter readings that they said I had supplied - except I (and my wife) were actually in Norway when these figures were supposedly supplied !!
If she can do it - why can't the others ??0 -
Toxteth_OGrady: Nope no camera, never heard of anything like that before.
yangptangkipperbang: It could well have been here either that or one of the other useful people escaped from the cupboard briefly.
It still staggers me that they can be so incompetent at doing the only thing they really have to do, which is bill me correctly. As this and listening to people complaining seem to be the main components of their enterprise.0
This discussion has been closed.
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