From shocking to outstanding service from EDF

rwalton159

I would appreciate some feedback and comments on the following please:

In 2011, after 30 yrs in a large bedroomed council house my 72yr old mum moved to a smaller 2 bedroomed house.

At her old address she had been with EON for Gas & Electric and so gave them word she would be moving home.

A couple of weeks before moving to her new address, she inspected her new home with council employees who said they would sort out the best gas and electric company for her via a Company who the council worked with. This is something they did for pensioners.

My mum moved into her house on the 31st October 2011. At this stage she had not received any word on which utlilities company she was with. She had no letters or calls from any Company although she did have a gas and electric supply. My mum had a hell of a time in the house as it was nowhere near fit to move in. In fact it took 12mths to get the house sorted and that was due to constant calls to the council and member of our family doing work.

After calling the council and asking which company she was with and getting nowhere, she called EON and in Jan 2012 started her gas and electric supply with them, choosing a single tariff for both utility.

At that time and until a week ago she had not received any correspondance inc bills or calls from any utility company apart from EON.

Last week she received a bill from EDF asking her to pay a gas and electric invoice from 31st October 2011 to 5th Jan 2012. Total amount was £294.07.

This came as a shock as she didn't even know EDF had been supplying her up to changing to EON in Jan 2012. At no stage had she been contacted in the 14mths since moving into the address. She had not been asked what tariff she wanted to sign up to and so had been placed on a tariff which looks expensive, she had not been given any account details, received any bills etc etc. She doesn't even know how they obtained her details to put her name on the bill!

My mum called EDF on Friday and was spoken to by a disrespectful chap who told her she had to pay by the end of February before saying she had a year to pay the amount off. He upset her and the call ended after going nowhere.

I only found out about the above today when visiting my mum. She has always paid her bills and has told me she will pay the total amount.

I am disgusted with EDF in so many ways but I am astounded that they never contacted her at the outset, never allowed her the opportunity to select a tariff, have not billed her until now 14mths from when she moved into the house and are so abusive to any customer albeit a 73yr old one.

I would appreciate some comments from members on the above. Should she just pay or is there a case here that should be sent to some ombudsman etc for review.

Thank you in anticipation.

Richard

macman

But it's the job of the occupier to contact the existing supplier (or in this case a friend/relative who can assist her), with whom she was in a deemed contract from the day she moved in. You can't transfer utility accounts over from one property to another. You have to first register with the existing supplier before you can commence a switch.
EDF aren't psychic, the don't know when people move in or out unless they're informed. In the absence of any contact, the occupier is placed on the default tariff, which is Standard (the most expensive).
Your ire would be better directed at the council staff who told her a load of rubbish about signing her up. for the 'cheapest tariff'.
The back-billing limitations do not appear to apply in this case, as your mother made no attempt to contact the existing supplier. Since you knew that she only started with Eon in Jan 2012, it must have been obvious (though maybe not to her) that she had not been billed for the 1st 3 months of her occupation by anyone.
You have no case for the Ombudsman, but even if you did, you have to exhaust the supplier's procedure first.

rwalton159

macman, either I mistyped or you misread my initial post. The existing occupier must have advised EDF they were moving out so a reading could be made. This will be the reading they gave my mum as her starting one. She did not ask for EON to change supply to her new address at the outset.

macman, as mentioned several times, my mum had no contact with EDF. Where did they get her name from and why no 'welcome letter' i.e. notification of intent to supply, tariff information or bill. It is actually 15mths since she moved in. Why did they leave it so long to ask for payment?

How do you know who you are paying if you don't get a bill? She received no bill for the period 31st Oct 2011 to Jan 2012 until last week. Why did they wait so long to bill her? Here is a lady who has moved at 72yrs old (stressful at any age) and had to contend with some real issues i.e. no heating for weeks in Winter, until the council changed the boiler and an array of problems due to the previous occupiers and the councils' shoddy practice of moving tenants into properties not fit for 'vermin'.

What are back billing limitations?
What is the supplier's procedure?

How was my mum to know who was the existing supplier when she moved in? If she knew she'd contact them.

So, EDF supplied services and waited 15mths before making the 1st contact and that was to bill her - that sucks!

Wyre

How do you know who you are paying if you don't get a bill?

Does this mean your mother has been paying her previous energy supplier all this time?

macman

rwalton159 wrote: »

macman, either I mistyped or you misread my initial post. The existing occupier must have advised EDF they were moving out so a reading could be made. This will be the reading they gave my mum as her starting one. She did not ask for EON to change supply to her new address at the outset.

macman, as mentioned several times, my mum had no contact with EDF. Where did they get her name from and why no 'welcome letter' i.e. notification of intent to supply, tariff information or bill. It is actually 15mths since she moved in. Why did they leave it so long to ask for payment?

How do you know who you are paying if you don't get a bill? She received no bill for the period 31st Oct 2011 to Jan 2012 until last week. Why did they wait so long to bill her? Here is a lady who has moved at 72yrs old (stressful at any age) and had to contend with some real issues i.e. no heating for weeks in Winter, until the council changed the boiler and an array of problems due to the previous occupiers and the councils' shoddy practice of moving tenants into properties not fit for 'vermin'.

What are back billing limitations?
What is the supplier's procedure?

How was my mum to know who was the existing supplier when she moved in? If she knew she'd contact them.

So, EDF supplied services and waited 15mths before making the 1st contact and that was to bill her - that sucks!

They presumably got her name from the electoral roll or another easily available source. This does not alter the fact that it's the occupier's responsibility to register for an account, not the supplier's to track them down. I have no idea why it took 14 months.
If you google 'who is my electricity supplier?' that will tell you how to find them. This is the normal procedure when moving nto a new property, the same as registering for water, council tax, etc.
Your mother clearly had other issues to deal with in the property, but this has nothing to do with EDF. The fact remains that if the reading and billing is correct, the she will have to pay this bill.
Without any attempt by the occupier to contact the supplier, I do not see how the back billing code can apply.

jalexa

macman wrote: »

Without any attempt by the occupier to contact the supplier, I do not see how the back billing code can apply.

Forgive me for coming in on your post (because I don't respond to "scatter-gun rants")

I'm taking a more open view on that, though it's largely a red-herring, at best there would only be two months relief available.

Taking a more consumer-centric view, regardless of the conduct of the householder, nearly all of which are mitigated by circumstance, while your advice regarding registration is technically correct it is alleged supplier(s) conduct which is the issue. To start with Edf, assuming the previous occupier notified a house move this should have generated a "to the occupier" letter. If the previous occupier did a bunk then billing in the name of the previous occupier should have continued. How did the new householder respond to either situation? I can't judge this case without knowing the answers to the above.

Secondly the advice proffered by E.ON when an attempt was made to make a "not sensible process" account transfer.

I therefore disagree that there would be "nothing for the Ombudsman". The two suppliers could both be challenged on their conduct as above via the Complaints' procedures.

For the benefit of the OP, since energy cannot be billed twice the only financial issue is the cost difference between the billed Edf tariff (probably standard) and an assumed E.ON tariff. I would say a year to pay is a good offer.

The OP should learn from the experience and move on.

macman

I largely agree with you. There are errors on both sides, and the fact that the OP's mum has already had 14 months free credit would seem to me to be adequate compensation for any alleged inconvenience.

rwalton159

Spoke to EDF last night on behalf of my mum. Following my call they then spoke to her and waivered the whole bill.

The CS Agent was superb.

So, from shocking to oustanding service

Thanks to those members who took the time to post.