EDF Energy - Direct Debit Nightmare!!!

charizmo

What is it with EDF??
My dual fuel payments are up-to-date up to December 31st 2012. They have estimated my monthly dual fuel usage to be £94.00 per month (which is fair enough). However, not only are they not issuing any refund to my account, even though I'm £289.66 in credit.(according to their web site they are supposed to do so when this value exceeds £150!) but they now inform me that due to a supposed electricity underpayment of £103.00, they are now increasing my monthly DD payment from £90.00 per month to a whopping £194.00 per month. How can there possibly have been an underpayment when up until this last payment period I was £769.02 in credit? What about the £289.66 credit that I already have left in the account? What twisted mathematical formula could they have used to justify more than doubling my monthly payment like this?
I have changed energy suppliers (this should take effect in 3-4 days) and I am about to cancel the DD to prevent EDF from extracting a new sum of £194.00 from my account on 28th of January and each month thereafter.
Could I end up in trouble by cancelling the Direct Debit? Might it effect my credit rating if they find themselves unable to take the £194.00 from my account on January 28th as proposed? I'm happy of course to pay for the gas/electricity I've used up until the switchover, but surely they can take that from the £289.66 credit that I currently have sitting there in my account? According to their web site EDF are supposed to issue a refund if you are more than £150 in credit. For most of last year the credit level in my account was over 4 times that amount!! Anyone with similar experiences? Any advice/opinion would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks - Charizmo

edwardw

Have you emailed them?
Ive found, out of the suppliers ive been with, EDF seem to be the best in terms of CS.

charizmo

Thanks for you response. I have to say, I've never emailed them but have spoken to them a couple of times in recent months regarding to my account being in credit by over £700. Their response has been that I will need to wait until my review before any account any amount can be refunded. So I've waited and the situation is as described in my post. Perhaps I've been a bit hasty in changing suppliers - only time will tell.- Many thanks - Charizmo

itzmee

Why not call them. My direct debit was increased after my bill last month to cover a gas debt, even though I am in credit. So I contacted EDF and the advisor told me the payment was based on my predicted gas usage until April, which was way higher than my actual usage. The advisor changed my payment back without any issue.

snowcat53

There are many threads here about EDF DDs.
(eg https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4292717
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3787041
)

My advice would be do not cancel your DD as this will cause problems for you; contact them and get them to put it back down.(they usually do this when challenged) . Importantly first work out exactly what you expect to pay over a year using a previous year's usage figures. Then write a letter or email - head it COMPLAINT' state your case succinctly and demand a full explanation of how they calculated their figure. Read the Ofgem leaflet on DDs for info.(google Ofgem Direct debit). Quote SLC27.14 at them re DD
"The licensee must provide to each such Domestic Customer an explanation in clear, plain and intelligible language of the basis upon which a fixed amount (and any variation of that fixed amount) has been determined."

They will not be able to do so, but you may get a goodwill payment
Good luck. Let us know what happens

snowcat53

edwardw wrote: »

Ive found, out of the suppliers ive been with, EDF seem to be the best in terms of CS.

Well you are in a very small minority. Their CS ratings are among the worst if not the worst
eg
http://www.which.co.uk/switch/energy-suppliers/energy-companies-rated

jalexa

charizmo wrote: »

... have spoken to them a couple of times in recent months regarding to my account being in credit by over £700. Their response has been that I will need to wait until my review before any account any amount can be refunded...

Maybe you asked the wrong question, or maybe you are a business customer not a domestic customer?

If you are a domestic customer, for your future benefit and for the benefit of others this is the relevant regulation...

27.16 Where any Credit has accumulated under a Domestic Supply Contract and the relevant Domestic Customer requests that the licensee do so, the licensee must, save where it is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances for the licensee not to do so, refund, in a timely manner, any Credit which has accumulated under that Domestic Supply Contract to the relevant Domestic Customer. Where the licensee considers that it is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances for it not to refund any Credit which has accumulated under a Domestic Supply Contract in accordance with this provision, it must inform the relevant Domestic Customer of its view and of the reasons for holding that view.

chris-j

Years ago when i was with Scottish Power my DD was for a fixed sum and allocated to my fuel bill - didnt separate gas and electricity and showed them both on same bill. When i moved to EOn then npower they estimated gas and electricity separately and allocated part to each fuel. Seems to me that if one fuel underpaid and one overpaid they should offset the amounts, but sounds like they dont.

Stupid accounting if you ask me. Seems that Scottish power treat you as dual fuel customer while EON and npower treat dual fuel customers as electricity and gas customers separately. This might explain why there are so many complaints, crap account management software.

ginnakitty

Had similar problem-they did not take DD payments on elec some months.
Finally got it up to date then they took over £400 out without notice-spoke to them & they suggested I chased it up through DD guarantee system.
Decided enough was enough. Asked them if there would be a charge if I paid bills monthly & cancel the DD with them (overcoming them dipping into my bank account taking out £400 again without agreement). Said I could do that & there would be no charge but I would loose the dual fuel discount of 6%.
Decided to do that as I like being in charge of my bank account. I put in readings at the end of the month and paid the bill monthly.
Needless to say once the contract was finished-I left.
I have a pet peeve of spending my time sorting out other peoples admin systems.