EDF dispute final meter reading.

grayson

I was with EDF energy for 2 years then at the end of september then switched to Scotish power.
I supplied my new supplier my final meter reading and I am in Credit with my old supplier for over £200.

Edf are refusing to refund me the credit as they are disputing the final reading as they say it does not match previous readings and consumption. They say it will take 6-8 weeks to resolve.

The last reading I gave EDF was in July all the rest were estimates by the supplier.

I have thought about my consumption over that period and the 32 inch TV upstairs died so that wasnt used.

We had a new fitted kitchen in May which included more energy efficent Freezer, cooker, hob, microwave, kettle, toaster and dishwasher.

Also we went on holiday for 2 weeks so nothing was consumed then and it was also one of the hottest summers I can remember.

How do I proceed with this now as I dont want EDF to take more than I owe them. Thanks

macman

How many units is the variance?
If EDF were suplied the final eading by SP then that should have ben agreed beween them. So on what basis are SP now billing you?

NittyGritty

if your not happy with their decision and you know your in the right, I would take it to the Ombudsman, and put a claim in for compensation aswell maybe £50-£100 ish, for time and effort you've put in and the distress its caused you etc.

I did this with T-Mobile over their botched rpi hike rate this year, and put in a £50 claim aswell, and won and left free of charge, (abviously its a different Ombudsman and situation,) but the principle is the same, if your not happy COMPLAIN!! they will soon sit up and rethink things

grayson

macman wrote: »

How many unit is the variance?
If EDF were suplied the final eading by SP then that should have ben agreed beween them. So on what basis are SP now billing you?

I gave the final reading to scottish power who is my new supplier.
The letter I have received does not mention how many units it is out.

matelodave

I'd guess that if all your bills subsequent to your reading in July were over estimates and you didn't do anything about it (like reading the meter and getting them corrected) then your final reading that you gave to SP is probably significantly less than the estimate that EDF has on their computer and it can't sort it out - especially if is a fairly large discrepancy.

That's a really good reason to make sure that your meter readings are corrected when you get estimates and estimated bills - all suppliers have a facility whereby you can either phone in or use their website to give up to date accurate readings rather than just letting it drift until it gets out of hand.

You could try sending them a photo of your meter but you might just have to wait until they get round to sending a meter reader to verify that there's not been any fiddling or tampering with the meter.

grayson

Changing your energy supplier
We’re sorry to hear that you have transferred to another energy company.
So that you only pay for the energy you use, your new supplier contacts us to confirm the reading
that they’ll use to open your account and we will use to close your account. However, they’ve
provided a meter reading to close your EDF Energy Electricity account which doesn’t appear to be in
line with your previous energy usage.
What happens next?
You don’t need to do anything; we’ve contacted your new supplier and asked them to agree an
accurate closing meter reading. This process may take between 6 and 8 weeks to complete. We’re
sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.
As soon as your new supplier agrees a meter reading we’ll send you an amended final bill.
If you’ve got any questions, please call us free on 0800 096 9000*.
Yours sincerely

matelodave

As I said it's probably less than your last estimated bill so if you didn't correct it then they will probably wait until there's a meter reader in the area who will be reading it on behalf of Scottish Power who are now your supplier. They will have to agree the reading with EDF. Neither of them will be in any hurry and why should they be, SP are your supplier and will charge you from the reading that you gave them and EDF have your money and as far as they are concerned it will take as long as it takes.

It's what happens if you don't keep on top of your bills and check your readings regularly - make sure it doesn't happen with SP otherwise you could end up with the same problem if you choose to switch again in the future.

Haarlem

I have just the same problem. Supplied closing reading to Scotish Power. EDF say it is not in line with my usual consumption pattern and have upped the final reading.

Problem is the unit charge is less with SP (standing charge more). I will be overcharged by £25, and SP will loose £250 revenue.
I have sent a letter of complaint to SP3 weeks ago, and am awaiting a reply.

matelodave - my final reading is more than my last bill, and there are legitimate reasons for my consumption during the summer being less than in previous years

Be_Happy

I had a similar problem changing from EDF to SP and the difference in customer service when dealing with the problem made me wish I had never left EDF.

I gave SP final reading and had it confirmed by e-mail. When EDF final bill arrived I had expected large refund, but it was a bill to pay. Phoned EDF discover that figure supplied by SP was over 2000 units more than the reading I had supplied. EDF and SP liaised over this. Chased up with EDF and told corrected reading had been received and I was due a refund, but would take up to 2 weeks to work through the system. EDF call agent rang me back 3 hours later to say that because of the amount involved, she had discussed with team dealing with refund and arranged to send cheque out immediately. Took this with a pinch of salt, but cheque arrived 2 days later.

When phoning EDF were answering within 5 minutes while SP took 30 minutes (was offered call back, but I was going out later). EDF agents were knowledgeable and helpful while SP agents sounded exhausted and couldn't care less.

Cardew

The problem companies face is many people do deliberately 'adjust' their meter readings depending if they are moving to a more expensive or cheaper tariff.

Lots of posts on MSE openly advocating fraud as if it is absolutely normal practice; this recently:

If you do fix, over read the meter by a bit, then you've pre-bought on the existing, cheaper tariff. Saved my £80 over just going onto the fix a few years back.

Haarlem

Cardew wrote: »

The problem companies face is many people do deliberately 'adjust' their meter readings depending if they are moving to a more expensive or cheaper tariff.

Lots of posts on MSE openly advocating fraud as if it is absolutely normal practice; this recently:

If their business model relies on customers providing readings between visits then they have to accept the customers word, until "found out" by an actual reading.

Mine was an actual reading, with a valid reason for less consumption but they never contacted me to find out.

It is now a formal complaint against EDF.