EDF Taking Direct Debit - Rip Off

[Deleted User]

Can anyone advise me of what I should do.


I owed EDF around £500, from a historical bill. So was paying £30 per month.


I recently increased payments and received a small grant.


The bills still seemed high and I still had debt which surprised me as I was sure that the amount of money paid would cover the debt and usage.


Today I realised that my payments exceeded both, and in fact I had paid them everything owed.


This happened a few months back and I have since paid twice more for the instalment plan.


I asked for an updated balance and was told around £400. So I questioned this and was told I was wrong, I challenged it again quoting the bills, and this time was told I was right.


I was asked if I'd like them to stop taking the unnecessary payment. Of course I confirmed.


What concerns me is that EDF were going to take the balance of the instalment plan they state was still outstanding (when it had been paid) and would never have told me, and because the payments do not hit the main bill, I would never have known.


Did EDF really just want my £400, and I expect many others would not have realised and simply paid.


I have submitted a complaint but feel like they were trying to fool me and basically rip me off.

SoletraderSteve

On going usage and arrears are treated separately. However, sometimes you can catch up on arrears through on going usage. For example if you set a Direct Debit up for the coming 12 months at a predicted £1200, you would therefore start paying £100 per month, and say at the time you set this up you owe £240 so, you agree to pay +£10 per month over 24 months to pay this off in instalments and in total pay £110 per month. Fast forward 12 months and you give a meter reading for your annual review, and you have only used £1100 instead of the predicted £1200, you would get a refund of the over payments for your on going usage (£100) but the instalment plan would continue to be paid off at the agreed £10 until paid off, despite you effectively not owing it anymore, and any other payments will continue you go towards on going bills.

Autumnella

This makes no sense. Was the £30 for your instalment plan only, how much were you paying towards your ongoing usage? When was the last time you were billef and what was the balance at that time?

matelodave

Did you monitor your bills, readings and payment regularly to make sure that your readings and bills were correct or did you just let it get on with it.

As Steve says the arrears would be treated separately from your current consumption and billing and that agreement should run until it was finished.

If you managed to ramp up a big arrears by not keep an eye on it and the supplier has given you £500 of free credit at £30 a month he might feel it appropriate to make sure that you've got a bit of a buffer just in case you do it again.

It's your money so you should take responsibilty to monitor it.