EDF passing the buck?

Juliebump92

Hi,

I recently posted as EDF sent me an incredibly large bill and it transpired that they had been billing me for a different meter since April and billing me for energy already used as this other meter had lower readings than mine.

I was advised by fellow people of the forum to write an official complaint and push for a D&I payout.

EDF have finally come back to me today and told me that I my meter replaced in April, I told them this wasn't true and sent them a photograph to prove it. They then said it's not their fault and that they'd been told by the "meter board" that we had a new meter installed and its not their policy to double check this information is correct.

Has anyone ever heard of this before or does it sound like EDF are jus trying to pass the blame onto someone else?

Has anyone replaced their meter in which case is it the "meter board" that tells the energy company or is it down to the customer to inform them?

Hope this makes sense!

jalexa

Juliebump92 wrote: »

Has anyone replaced their meter in which case is it the "meter board" that tells the energy company or is it down to the customer to inform them?

It is not your responsibility to inform your supplier.

I remember your previous post. There is more than one strand to where you are, first of all complaint process. If you remain dissatisfied 8 weeks after you first complain you are entitled to refer the issue to the Energy Ombudsman (or earlier if the supplier confirms deadlock). The EO is not currently getting rave reviews here so that may or may not be helpful but it is the process. Make sure you are scrupulously following the Edf complaints process including referring any continuing dissatisfaction to Edf Complaints Resolution.

Next, the "technical" issue, whether the meter was or was not changed. Can you clarify how your photographic proof works?

*If* the meter had been changed, the first Edf bill covering the period of the change should clearly have referred to the meter change, including closing and opening readings and stating both meter serial numbers. The Edf "imagination works" explanation may or may not be true but unless the bill includes the information stated above it is not a correct bill for a meter change. You need to punt that back to Edf Complaints Resolution.

Managing meter change billing, or managing your billing without a meter change, is 100% Edf's responsibility. In contact with you, they cannot "pass the buck". Hold them to that via the complaints process.

One thing I'm slightly confused about, have you left the premises?

[Deleted User]

That does happen quite a lot where National Grid ( or their contractors ) come along and replace the meter and mess it up by not informing the suppliers. This usually results in a 4 dial Imperial meter prices being charged to a 5 dial Metric meter, 2.8 times too much, so not EDFs fault but National Grids who get away with all the complaints they cause. Or , as in your case, book it as a job done, and never even turned up to do it. Your account would then have metric meter serial number attached to it.

Juliebump92

Thanks for your responses.

Jalexa we have left the property, we took a photograph of the meter just last week as we were double checking that it is imperial. It is definitely not a new meter and the serial number confirms that, which is excellent.

I'm just raging about the very nasty attitude I got on the phone from the complaints team. I wanted to have something to say back to him in regards to his point of 'we don't check with the customer if we've been told that the meter has been replaced, we just wait until a third party contacts us to inform us if there's been an error.

I was hoping that I'd be told that the customer informs the energy company if there's a meter change. In which case I could have stated this and therefore proved I certainly didn't tell them that and make them look fools.

In any case they are looking quite foolish as it stands.

I am following e complaints procedure and as it states if I'm not happy with the result of this then I shall take the next step along the procedure, after that is the ombudsman ... Lets hope it doesn't have to come to that though as our baby is due next month and I won't be in the mood for faffing.

Thanks