EDF Direct Debit Issues

spidereyes

Earlier in the year I signed up to EDF they gave me a price for dual fuel of £65 a month. To be honest this seemed rather high but I knew obviously I would be storing up credit for when the winter came, I ended up with about £175 credit on my account.

I like to keep my meter reading up to date, maybe. I try and submit them monthly, but now I've encountered a rather frustrating problem by doing this.

Obviously my usage is higher now than in the summer, and now every time I update my readings I get a bill generated which then tells me they are increasing my direct debit by something ridiculous.

Last month they "estimated" my new monthly usage would be over £125 an automatically increased my direct debit to this. I contacted them as my monthly usage was still below the amount I actually pay. They agreed to put it back to what it was but told me as soon as my usage for over this they "will review".

Now for this month my meter readings cover a period of 1 month and a week so obviously my bill was calculated for this period. Obviously because my usage was for more than one month the cost of this was a little higher than what I usually pay, I assumed no problem - still in credit £144.

By my own calculations I can easily make it through winter by making my regular £65 payment and using up my credit without having to make any further payments.

Edf have now decided to increase my payments to £99 a month even though even if my usage was this high I would still have my credit to use.


I don't want to be having the same argument with them every single month just because I update my readings.

Apart from just not updating my readings does anyone have any ideas on this as I'm just simply not happy about (nor can I afford to) be paying so much more than I need to

Wywth

spidereyes wrote: »

Earlier in the year I signed up to EDF they gave me a price for dual fuel of £65 a month. To be honest this seemed rather high but I knew obviously I would be storing up credit for when the winter came, I ended up with about £175 credit on my account.

I like to keep my meter reading up to date, maybe. I try and submit them monthly, but now I've encountered a rather frustrating problem by doing this.

Obviously my usage is higher now than in the summer, and now every time I update my readings I get a bill generated which then tells me they are increasing my direct debit by something ridiculous.

Last month they "estimated" my new monthly usage would be over £125 an automatically increased my direct debit to this. I contacted them as my monthly usage was still below the amount I actually pay. They agreed to put it back to what it was but told me as soon as my usage for over this they "will review".

Now for this month my meter readings cover a period of 1 month and a week so obviously my bill was calculated for this period. Obviously because my usage was for more than one month the cost of this was a little higher than what I usually pay, I assumed no problem - still in credit £144.

By my own calculations I can easily make it through winter by making my regular £65 payment and using up my credit without having to make any further payments.

Edf have now decided to increase my payments to £99 a month even though even if my usage was this high I would still have my credit to use.


I don't want to be having the same argument with them every single month just because I update my readings.

Apart from just not updating my readings does anyone have any ideas on this as I'm just simply not happy about (nor can I afford to) be paying so much more than I need to

If you can show a well reasoned, logical and arithmetically correct assumption as to why you think EDF should maintain your monthly DD at just £65 per month, I'm sure they will take that into consideration

JimmyTheWig

The last time EDF recalculated my DD they forgot to factor in the credit on my account. [I have no idea how - surely it is a computer system that does the calculation and surely the computer knows to look at the credit/debit balance on the account?]
I contacted them and they sorted it. Maybe they're doing the same with you. If they're doing it every month I would be most miffed!

backfoot

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

The last time EDF recalculated my DD they forgot to factor in the credit on my account. [I have no idea how - surely it is a computer system that does the calculation and surely the computer knows to look at the credit/debit balance on the account?]
I contacted them and they sorted it. Maybe they're doing the same with you. If they're doing it every month I would be most miffed!

They admitted the same point to another recent poster. They said the computer didn't like that, so wouldn't concede a further £5 per month.....:rotfl:

Beyond help.

dogshome

Forget entering a meter reading once a month because as you have found, each time the Great God Computer gets a reading it re-evaluates the account and will often generate yet another bill

I had the same problem, but now by only giveing them readings every 90-93 days I get a 4 accurate bills a years - Mark you, I still get the occasional lunatic D/Debit change notice, but an Email headed Complaint setting out the figures stops it dead in the water every time

brewerdave

I have absolutely NO intention of giving them meter readings before the annual review -far too many stories of ****** ups - I keep a spreadsheet updated on a monthly basis to just check that my credit balance is still enuf to cover Winter and thru to next Review in June (2013 perhaps??:rotfl:)
The only problem I can forsee is when/if the meter man cometh - no doubt that will trigger a bill and another lunatic recalculation:) - followed by the usual phone call!!!

spidereyes

My issues with EDF unfortunatly are continuing and finally have received a somewhat cryptic email response back from them (ie poor english)
Makes no sense to me whatsoever....asks me to confirm to them (what I dont know!).

Dear. SURNAME

Ref Account number: XXXX

In respond to your query I would like to inform you that direct debit amount is always depend upon your usage. It goes up and down as per your consumption. Even though EDFs own website states "your direct debit payments remain the same over the year" As you said that you have provided us meter readings and after that your Direct Debit amount increased to £99. That means system recalculated your Direct Debit amount based on your actual usage wrong - my actual usage was around £75 so its PREDICTING a usage of even more. If you can confirm us then we can decrease your Direct Debitconfirm what? however by doing this it may happen at the end of the year your account will be in debit when we will review you Direct Debit Er no, Im in credit, even if I do use their wild predictions I still have credit left over. Also as winter is on the way so this time your usage will increase Isnt it winter already? My usage already has increased and thats my point, I wont be using much more than I already am!

I ended up sitting on hold to them for 20 mins but I actually managed to get hold of someone in customer services who said they could see I was in credit on the account and they would put my direct debit back down to normal.

I love the fact though that they completed missed the point in my previous email to them though that they need to fix their automated computer billing system to recognise credit on the account.

brewerdave wrote: »

I have absolutely NO intention of giving them meter readings before the annual review -far too many stories of ****** ups - I keep a spreadsheet updated on a monthly basis to just check that my credit balance is still enuf to cover Winter and thru to next Review in June (2013 perhaps??:rotfl:)
The only problem I can forsee is when/if the meter man cometh - no doubt that will trigger a bill and another lunatic recalculation:) - followed by the usual phone call!!!

Ive set myself up a spreadsheet and think I will take your advice and just update the meter readings a lot less often

brewerdave

I was inspired by this thread, to log on to EDF just to check that nothing untoward had happened to DD value. No changes.
However, out of interest ,I downloaded the latest midata info. Despite no meter readings since August I was amazed to see that the predicted gas usage for 12 months has gone EVEN HIGHER than the nonsense values showing in my Annual review back in May - it is now ~ 2500kwh more than last year's actual ( and 2000kwh more than the last bad Winter of 2010):eek: -however,the electricity figure has stayed virtually unchanged.
God only knows where these predictions are coming from - the Mayan calendar perhaps??:rotfl:

jalexa

brewerdave wrote: »

out of interest ,I downloaded the latest midata info. Despite no meter readings since August I was amazed to see that the predicted gas usage for 12 months has gone EVEN HIGHER than the nonsense values showing in my Annual review back in May - it is now ~ 2500kwh more than last year's actual

Just to clarify something, the statutory annual statement requirement is the previous 12 months actual (or estimated) usage and a cost projection for the next 12 months based on the previous 12 months usage at current (or known) unit prices. When I checked this morning (my) Midata field names continue to comply with that requirement, i.e. it is not a prediction of future usage, it is a running previous 12 months. In my case, for about a year, the Midata projected costs were nonsense (I was informed some customers were incorrectly calculated:rotfl:), however the "costs" have now converged to be accurate for usage and tariff. However this has not resulted in an accurate DD recalculation:(.

If it is misrepresenting your "matter of fact" previous consumption, or inaccurately calculating projected cost, then that sounds to me something to complain about.:D

brewerdave

Nope, gas use is definitely not a "running previous 12 months" and it doesn't equate to the cost shown either (on my current tariff )!! I can only presume that deep within EDF's master computer there is an "assumption" of my current meter readings,which in this case,is FAR higher than actual!!

jalexa

brewerdave wrote: »

I can only presume that deep within EDF's master computer there is an "assumption" of my current meter readings,which in this case,is FAR higher than actual!!

Yes, an unintended consequence of your "smug club" membership.:D

Which I am not criticising since Edf contrived to interpret my accurate monthly reading as a 43% increase. Damned either way it seems.