Advice please - unexpected EDF Bill 1 year later

oskarr

Hi guys

Just after a bit of advice please...

I moved into a rented property on 1st September 2011, and when I moved in I switched the gas & electric supply to NPower which I believe took effect at the end of October 2011. I can't for the life of me remember who the existing supplier was when I moved in, and now I am doubting whether I have paid for any gas or electric when I moved in until it switched to Npower.

Yesterday I recieved a bill from EDF (not addressed to me by name, just my address) for £338 for charges between 1st September and 30th October 2011. I have gone through my bank/credit card statements and can't see that I have ever paid this - probably because I never got a bill.

My question is, can EDF now bill me for this over 1 year later? The bill is dated 29th October 2012 and as far as I was aware the account should have been closed and fully paid.

I have found a few mentions of the Energy Retail Association code of practice - whereby the supplier cannot bill for energy consumed more than a year preceding the date of the bill.

So I am assuming that as the bill is dated 29th October 12 and they are asking for payment for period 1st Sep to 30th Oct 11 they shouldn't be billing me??

Just after a bit of clarification before I go back to EDF.

Also I have no correspondence with EDF since I moved in until now.

cheers

pooch

oskarr wrote: »

Hi guys

Just after a bit of advice please...

I moved into a rented property on 1st September 2011, and when I moved in I switched the gas & electric supply to NPower which I believe took effect at the end of October 2011. I can't for the life of me remember who the existing supplier was when I moved in, and now I am doubting whether I have paid for any gas or electric when I moved in until it switched to Npower.

Yesterday I recieved a bill from EDF (not addressed to me by name, just my address) for £338 for charges between 1st September and 30th October 2011. I have gone through my bank/credit card statements and can't see that I have ever paid this - probably because I never got a bill.

My question is, can EDF now bill me for this over 1 year later? The bill is dated 29th October 2012 and as far as I was aware the account should have been closed and fully paid.

I have found a few mentions of the Energy Retail Association code of practice - whereby the supplier cannot bill for energy consumed more than a year preceding the date of the bill.

So I am assuming that as the bill is dated 29th October 12 and they are asking for payment for period 1st Sep to 30th Oct 11 they shouldn't be billing me??

Just after a bit of clarification before I go back to EDF.

Also I have no correspondence with EDF since I moved in until now.

cheers

They haven't billed you

















.... yet ...

oskarr

pooch wrote: »

They haven't billed you




.... yet ...

True my name is not on the bill, but I don't wan't to get more bills demanding money, and I don't want any problems for my landlord when I eventually move out - as the bill is for energy used when I was living there.

Just wondering where I stand...

I would have paid it had I got it sooner, but I don't think it is acceptable to get a bill over a year later.

Cardew

Unless you registered with EDF, all correspondence will be addressed to 'the occupier'.

The 12 month back-billing provision is when the company are at fault. It is possible that they were chasing the previous occupant for the money as they were unaware of thr change in occupancy??

macman

In order to switch to NPower, you must have first registered with EDF, so why don't they know your name?

MickyJ

Hi, oskarr

Whenever someone moves to a new address, they will automatically inherit whichever energy provider supplies that property. It's always best to find out who your supplier is and then contact them; they'll then update their records accordingly.

Once you've done this, you can change to another supplier at any time -- all you need to do is contact them, and they'll sort everything out for you.

It normally takes between six and eight weeks before your energy supplies are switched over. Once this is done, you'll receive a bill from your old supplier which will cover the date from when you moved in up until the date your new supplier took over. You'll need to pay this bill, and then continue to pay your new supplier from this point on.


What often happens is that, when moving to a new address, customer's often forget (or aren't even aware) that they need to find out who supplies their new home and contact them accordingly. If this happens, the current supplier is unaware that anyone's moved in. If the customer then asks a different supplier to provide their energy, this will trigger the current supplier to send a bill to the address; however, as they won't have any details regarding who lives at the property, it will normally be sent out to 'the occupier'.

The problem is, as their records are not up-to-date, the bill may be inaccurate or delayed (sometimes for a considerable amount of time). In order to rectify this, I would contact your previous supplier and provide them with the details they need.

You're only going to be liable for any energy used since the date you moved in. If you didn't provide your details, the supplier will unlikely take any responsibility for a bill being delayed. However, they must ensure that you're billed correctly, providing you can give them the information they need to do so.

The most important info that they'll need is the date on which you moved in. Once they have this, they will only bill you from this date, and you won't be liable to pay for any energy used beforehand (this then becomes the responsibility of the previous occupier). If you took a meter reading from the date you moved in, this will ensure that you're billed as accurately as possible.