price promise set but now owe hundreds

sleepyk

I have been with EDF for two years now... last year I was told that the monthly payment I had been making hadn't been enough and I was told I owed almost £500. I assumed I had done something wrong when I signed up to that "price plan" but couldn't afford to repay the "debt" so they set up a payment program of £50 per month.

When I said that I would be leaving their company I was told that I could go on a different price plan set at £40 per month. I even asked the person on the phone how it could be that low if I was paying more than that the year before but had a 500 debt at the end...I was told it was a different price plan so it was cheaper. This price was THEIR price based on THEIR information from the readings of my year previously. I have now been told that I owe another £500 on top of the debt from last year!!! I would have gone with another cheaper company last year if I had not been lied to about the monthly price of my so called "new plan"

I have spoken to them and I have emailed them to complain and all they have they said is they will let me pay off the debt over two years instead of their usual one year term and my monthly payments will triple in light of the electric usage...can they do this?

Cardew

I find it difficult to understand your post.


You have been with EDF 2 years. You don't say what you were paying in the first year. All we know is that that it must have been about £40 a month too low to run up a £500 debt.


So it makes no sense to be paying only £50 a month in the second year. You should have been paying at least £80 a month more than the first year. i.e. the £40+ a month because it was too low and another £40+ to pay back the £500 debt.(£20 a month if paid back over 2 years)


So your payments should be £80+ on top of the first year's monthly payment. So triple the first year's monthly payment would seem to be about correct.


You cannot leave EDF until you have cleared your debt.

JJ_Egan

EDF have emailed me once to increase the DD and last week to reduce the DD.
Odd that the monthly payment had not been increased or EDF ask for an increase .

If you leave then your debt is still valid as said .

Have you actually checked your EDF usage in the view my bill section . Easy enough from that to work out average years cost .

The price is set and that's what you will have been charged .

Cardew

JJ_Egan wrote: »

If you leave then your debt is still valid as said .


QUOTE]


However he won't be able to leave with that size of debt.


The losing company(EDF in this case) can - and will - prevent a customer switching companies while they have a large debt

sleepyk

That is my point...I questioned the sales person on the fact that I owed them £500 from the year before when paying double the amount she was quoting. She said it was a different plan so the price was correct.

My query is whether they can sell me a contract at a fixed price at a certain price when they are in possession of my usage details for the year before....and it be so wrong, THEN expect me to pay it all back again with a "we are very sorry you were clearly put on the wrong price plan". As I said I would have shopped around for a new deal if they had not priced all the other companies out of the water with a false claim

JJ_Egan

Fixed price which one ???
What was your initial monthly DD.

molerat

I have been with EDF on the same tariff since Sep 12 and am on my 5th DD amount so they do react to information received. I give them a reading on line every month and my account CR/DR status is shown and a bill generated. Taking control of your energy bills is the only way to avoid problems.

Nada666

Whilst there is some foul play by the retentions nutter here there is no way you will receive satisfaction outside a civil court. Complaints to supplier or Ofgem will result in a 'you were offered a cheaper tariff and you were offered a longer period to pay it back (interest free)' judgement.

They did not quote you a price - they quoted you a repayment amount. It is up to you to check the actual prices of what you are using. It is up to you to compare their tariff with competitors'.

You admit yourself you knew the £40 was not enough and the sums were bonkers. It is a little late complaining now.

sleepyk

such aggression!?

If you get told that £50 is the price you are required to pay if they KNOW how much electricity you will use as you are an existing customer because it is a different price plan then surely that is how much it is (clearly with that price they were the cheapest and there was no need to shop around)

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

sleepyk wrote: »

such aggression!?

If you get told that £50 is the price you are required to pay if they KNOW how much electricity you will use as you are an existing customer because it is a different price plan then surely that is how much it is (clearly with that price they were the cheapest and there was no need to shop around)

Wrong.

DD just chips away at your bill. If you don't want the bill to be higher, don't use more than £50 worth of electricity each month.

How can anyone know what you will use in the future?!

insanegloss

Whilst Nada's tone isn't the most soothing, he is ultimately correct I'm afraid.

You cannot put all the responsibility of dealing with paying for the usage solely on any company, you've got to sense check it yourself. After all it's your money you're dealing with.