Experience with EDF

dan-_3

I would like to share my experience with EDF over the last year, and find out if anyone else has had similar issues.

I switched to EDF in June 2011 so I could get a 4 year fixed price dual fuel tariff. The switchover from Scottish Power was relatively smooth, but then the problems started.

I have not been able to submit an electricity reading online since I signed up. Their website just throws error messages at me. There is no way that I will hang on the phone for 20 minutes just to submit a reading, so the lack of online service is a real pain.

Any attempt at contacting customer services (and there have been many) has been met with indifference or incompetence. We just go round in circles where they tell me the problem is fixed, then I demonstrate that it isn't. Each time I e-mail, they take between 2 weeks and a month to reply, and in some cases the response has even been "it's been a month since your complaint, so I assume that the situation has been sorted out now" (not their exact words).

A by-product of the inability to submit meter readings is that EDF's direct debit estimations have been all over the place. I'm currently building up a nice big debt on my account, but I prefer that to EDF taking my money in advance.

After 9 months, I had given up complaining about the inability to submit meter readings, but then EDF gave me something else to worry about. In an attempt to solve the meter reading issue, they had decided to merge my electricity and gas under the same account number. On the next bill I received, I had been charged for 1597 units of electricity at their standard rate, all on the single day of the account merge, and zero units at my discounted rate for the remaining three months of the billing period. Anyone with half a brain could see that this was a mistake, and easily calculate the difference in unit cost multiplied by 1597 units. I calculated that the bill was around £12 higher than it should have been. Despite this, the operator I spoke to had to 'investigate' and then sent me a new bill with a £1.24 refund.

After another round of e-mail conversations that went no-where, I decided to get the energy ombudsman involved because I read somewhere in this forum that this was the only way to get a response from EDF. The result was an offer of £50 and an assurance that everything was now fine.

The bill showing the £50 refund arrived today, but I still can't submit readings online and I still haven't received a corrected bill from the time they over-charged me. I wonder how many times I can complain and get £50 'goodwill payments' while they fail to get the billing right.

From my experience, I would recommend that people should steer clear of EDF. At the end of my fixed tariff, EDF will be joining Santander on my blacklist of financial institutions to never deal with again.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had similar issues or contrasting experiences with EDF.

backfoot

Do a Forum search of EDF/ problems and you will get loads.

I also took EDF to the EO.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4126943

Have a look at threads that I have started and you will a lot about different EDF issues.

Keep an eye on the Forum and you will find a regular commentary from current customers also suffering similar problems to yourself.

Retrovertigo

I have just started a thread because for the second time this year EDF has messed up my billing.

However, one thing I would point out, is that to submit readings over the phone, it is automated and requires no waiting at all. At least this has always been my experience unless it has recently changed. I have submitted most of my meter readings (and later checked them via the website) and never taken longer than a few minutes to do it.

jalexa

dan- wrote: »

I switched to EDF in June 2011 so I could get a 4 year fixed price dual fuel tariff.

I can believe everything you are saying but you have a 4 year deal, what's the immediate problem?

Work out for yourself what your energy costs and put the money aside. If Edf doesn't bill you at least annually it is possible you might benefit from backbilling relief.

Prod them from time to time if you feel like it but on an issue which will lead to a £50 ex-gratia payment for customer service failure.

It is a fundamental mistake to believe the advisers you deal with want to fail you. They are victims too. So lower your expectations and chill-out.

GooliesOfFire

I'm a new EDF customer. So far I've had some minor problems with my transfer forcing me to phone them, but half of that probably my fault for not knowing the process as it's my first ever switch. The transfer process is still ongoing and hopefully will be finalized by the end of next week.

I've read many stories about EDF on here. If something goes wrong or cause me more hassle i.e. they start increasing my DD for no reason forcing me to contact them to correct it again and again then probably I won't be their customer ever again.

British Telecom annoyed me in the past with their CS incompetence while dealing with fault (over a month without the internet) so now I'm with Virgin Media and maybe lucky for them no faults so far I will not go back to BT ever again. For me it's that simple with all sorts of service providers. We all have a choice.

macman

Can you not use the automated meter reading line in the absence of online meter reading submissions?

dogshome

As you say, when EDF merged the Gas & Elec billing they changed the account number, and as I found on my own account, I could not then get into the "My Account" feature on their w/site.

I resolved my problem by re-registering as a new customer on "My Account"

The entire billing process at EDF is a shambles and it seems that if a meter reading is entered at any time it will trigger a bill - I've found that by entering meter readings only at Quarter days, and never at any other time, I get four correct bills a year.

However, EDF still come up with lunatic changes to the value of my D/D payments, which requires me to Email them with the correct amount and the figures to support it.

macman

Which they then invariably agree without demur. EDF CS staff know that the IT system is not fit for purpose, and never hasbeen since it was 'upgraded'.

jalexa

dogshome wrote: »

However, EDF still come up with lunatic changes to the value of my D/D payments, which requires me to Email them with the correct amount and the figures to support it.

After a year of experiencing that I am no longer getting recalculations. I speculate (fantasy perhaps) there is a "do not recalculate this troublemaker" flag set. Alternatively accurate consumption has been established by frequent reads and I have insisted on my (correct) calculation of payment being set. In the meantime I continue to submit monthly reads.

Disappointed in a way as I'd like to get my teeth into a dodgy calculation. Trying again in a few days.

joe2cool

Hi looks like nothing as changed, 'am a new customer & having problems putting in new meter readings online & now over the telephone. Online keep getting....
msg saying 'We are unable to successfully process your electricity meter readings. As you have a 2 rate meter your meter readings might be successful if you re-enter them the other way around' This happened when I tried last mth but was corrected & readings input by EDF. So I thought it had been sorted.
The meter we are using is an electronic meter which always displays the charging rate currently in use – Rate 2 during the day and Rate 1 or Economy 7 at night.

buglawton

The "We are unable to successfully process your electricity meter readings. As you have a 2 rate meter" when trying to submit straightforward readings into the 2 boxes for Economy 7 rates 1 & 2 is happening to me. It even suggests I try entering the readings 'the other way around', crazy as they have different rates and this is sure to mess things up.

The online message then says that my readings have been sent to EDF and will be processed later. And I thought the whole point of submitting it online is to save time and avoid calling their call centre.

I thought NPower was the the worst but looks like EDF is now vying for the biggest shambles award. The real root cause though is our lovely government's failure to put a decent energy regulator in place.