Huge final bill from EDF Energy

Hobbes8

I moved into my house (a 3 bed bungalow with gas Central heating) 14 months ago and kept the existing supplier, EDF Energy. I've recently come on here and done a comparison and decided to switch to OVO. I got a strange message from EDF saying the final meter reading didn't tally with what was expected and then I got a final bill - for £1298!

I've had a look through my old bills to try and make sense of what has gone on, and I'm struggling to make sense of them. I consider myself quite numerate, but they seem to be deliberately confusing. They also were using estimated readings for a long time after we submitted actual ones, although the estimates and the actual weren't that far adrift so don't account for such a massive bill.

So, in March last year they sent me a gas only bill for £249.
Then in April they credited that back and sent me a new bill for £433 instead for the same period.
Then in December they sent me an electricity bill covering the whole year for £559 and a gas bill covering April-Dec for £235.
Then in January they sent a new bill crediting £794 to my account and charging £955 for electricity and £586 for gas for the same period.

Throughout this period I was paying by direct debit of £70 per month. In March they sent a letter informing me that they were increasing my monthly payment to £238, which is want prompted me to review my bills and switch suppliers. But I can't make head nor tale of the bills.

Do I have to pay this bill or do I have any grounds to challenge it. I can't afford to pay it in one hit - is there anything I can do? I appreciate I should have been paying closer attention to my bills throughout the year, but to be honest I tend to give them a cursory glance once the DD is set up, and then do one-off reviews now and then.

Help!

victor2

Were you on a variable (standard) tariff?
If so, it makes it a bit harder to reconcile compared to a fixed tariff, but from the bills you have, note the kWh rates in use at the time.
You need the kWh used on each rate over the entire period covered to work it out. What was their explanation for the revised gas bill they issued in April?

You could phone their customer services and ask them to explain it all, which I doubt they'd be able to do over the phone, but they might just send you something by post - or might not!

If you are handy with a spreadsheet, you could check what they've billed you and try to make some sense out of it. You can only use the same estimated readings they used to do that, but if they weren't too far our, that should work.

If the bill does eventually make sense, then you do owe the money for what you have used, and if there is a significant debt on the account, they could block your switch. If you speak to them, they might offer you a repayment scheme so that you don't get hit by one big bill. Their latest fixed price tariff isn't that bad actually, so it might help if you agree to stay with them on a new tariff. It has no exit penalty, so if you decide to switch later, you can do that at no additional cost.

matelodave

It shouldn't be everso hard to work it out assuming that you've still got your initial meter readings.

Take the initial reading away from your current reading to give the amount of energy that you've used. Multiply that by the tariff which should give you the cost of the energy that you've used.

Add on the cost of the standing charges (no of days times the s/c tariff) and that will be how much you should have paid since you joined.

Add up all your direct debits and if they come to less than you've should have paid then you owe EDF, if they add up to more then EDF owe you.

It's a reminder that in future you need to stay on top of your bills and make sure that they are correct and that your dd cover your consumption.

Keeping your own records makes it a lot easier to sort it out if the supplier does start mucking about.

dogshome

For a 'Broad' answer as to what your Gas & Elec should have cost over 14 months, subtract the Meter readings you gave to EDF when moving in, from the Switch meter readings you gave to Ovo

The Elec meter reading is easy because it measures in Kwh

The gas is a bit more complex as the meter read units have to be converted into Kwh - If your meter is marked m3, each meter unit is worth close to 11.2 Kwh - If the meter is marked ft3 each meter unit is worth close to 31.5 Kwh.

You should check an EDF Gas bill by dividing the kwh charged by the meter units used, to see if they are charging you for the right type of meter

Hobbes8

Ok thanks everyone. I saved the original meter readings so I'll set a spreadsheet up and try and figure out what we owe. I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't spot the growing debit earlier, but you live and learn. We can find the money, but if my energy bills are actually that high id rather spend it on upgrading the boiler or something.

Annoying.

matelodave

It's really easy to have hindsight but it's worth keeping a close eye on your bills. I never let them get away with any sort of estimate, however close it is. If they request a reading or I send them one then that's the one they should be using. Make sure you get bills corrected, keep your own records and save your bills as it's not always easy to get duplicates.

At least you've kept your original meter readings, most people don't and it makes it much harder to sort it all out. You should also retain your final bill & evidence of it being paid for at least six years, because that's how long they got to keep chasing you.

System

Hobbes8 wrote: »

Ok thanks everyone. I saved the original meter readings so I'll set a spreadsheet up and try and figure out what we owe. I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't spot the growing debit earlier, but you live and learn. We can find the money, but if my energy bills are actually that high id rather spend it on upgrading the boiler or something.

Annoying.

Check the opening readings with your new supplier to make sure that they agree with the closing readings from EDF.

Nada666

Rather than counting and adding up lots of individual things you just need a reading from two or three years ago and a reading today. That'll give you a good enough idea of if their figures are correct.

From the change in debit the balance seems feasible - it suggests an underpayment of £1008 being paid back over twelve months. So £1298 could well be the final balance.

But, as I started with suggesting, concentrate first on doing a single sum over a long period before worrying about trying to parse bills and rebillings and adding up quarterly usages etc.

SoletraderSteve

Unfortunately it does not sound like you have ever knows your true account balance until the switch. If you have dual fuel with one account number and are paying Direct Debit, and receive a single fuel invoice the account balance will include both your gas and electricity payments, but only have the charges for the single fuel deducted.

For example, say you have been at a property with a supplier for 3 months, dual fuel paying £100 per month in total, and your dual fuel charges for 3 months were £150, you would therefore have a credit balance of £150. But, say the 3 months statement was for gas only and your charges for gas alone were £75, your account balance would read £225 in credit, therefore not giving you a true balance overall, resulting in a catch up bill at a later date. Why a single fuel statement was issued when you had dual fuel will have to be asked. Likely a 'billing block' on one of the fuels for whatever reason.


I would raise a complaint and have it investigated. Likely hood is you may get compensation around £50-£100 max and time to pay the bill.