EDF Energy 'Deemed Gas/Electricity' Tariff'...

swindled

In my last rental, I was on an 'all bills included' rent price. Have recently moved elsewhere and the new landlord has obviously informed their energy supplier (EDF) of the new occupier.

I have now received a letter asking me to submit gas and electric meter readings and telling me I'm on something I've never heard of before called a 'Deemed Gas' and 'Deemed Standard Electricity' tariff.

Whatever it is, I'm not staying on it, the costs are significantly higher than what I was expecting, at 18.39p per kWh for electricity and 4.029p per kWh for gas, and that's on top of the daily standing charges of 23.28p and 26.25p for each meter respectively, which seem like ridiculously high prices.

There appear to be 'Smart Meters' installed (a Landis & Gyr E470 for electricity and a Libra 310P for gas) but I'm guessing they have gone into dumb mode because a previous occupier changed suppliers - there appears to be no smart functionality available other than a report of the units used and the price per unit, which at 23.63p/kWh on the electric one bears no resemblance to anything on any bill I've found.

What's the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to tell EDF I'm not paying those prices and move to a better supplier? And does anyone have any recommendations? I'm a single occupier in a 2 bedroom terraced house if anyone would like to suggest a supplier/tariff to move to. I tried using uswitch website but I couldn't find the EDF 'Deemed Gas' or Deemed Standard Electricity' tariffs on there.

All advice is appreciated. Thanks.

D_M_E

Just go on any comparison site, select your supplier then select that supplier's standard tariff - ignore the word "deemed" as it just means they put you on the standard tariff when you take occupation.

You will get a bill for your energy use on your current supplier's standard tariff which could be expensive.

You need to switch to a supplier of your choice ASAP

Look at dual fuel tariffs and also look at separate suppliers for gas and electricity - choose which option would be cheapest for you.

You DID read the meters when you moved in, yes?

Flt._Lt._Biggles

swindled wrote: »

In my last rental, I was on an 'all bills included' rent price. Have recently moved elsewhere and the new landlord has obviously informed their energy supplier (EDF) of the new occupier.

I have now received a letter asking me to submit gas and electric meter readings and telling me I'm on something I've never heard of before called a 'Deemed Gas' and 'Deemed Standard Electricity' tariff.

Whatever it is, I'm not staying on it, the costs are significantly higher than what I was expecting, at 18.39p per kWh for electricity and 4.029p per kWh for gas, and that's on top of the daily standing charges of 23.28p and 26.25p for each meter respectively, which seem like ridiculously high prices.

There appear to be 'Smart Meters' installed (a Landis & Gyr E470 for electricity and a Libra 310P for gas) but I'm guessing they have gone into dumb mode because a previous occupier changed suppliers - there appears to be no smart functionality available other than a report of the units used and the price per unit, which at 23.63p/kWh on the electric one bears no resemblance to anything on any bill I've found.

What's the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to tell EDF I'm not paying those prices and move to a better supplier? And does anyone have any recommendations? I'm a single occupier in a 2 bedroom terraced house if anyone would like to suggest a supplier/tariff to move to. I tried using uswitch website but I couldn't find the EDF 'Deemed Gas' or Deemed Standard Electricity' tariffs on there.

All advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Doesn't the letter you have received have any contact details?

Have you checked the EDF website? Energy suppliers usually have their contact details listed on there.

macman

It's your job to read the meters and register for an account as soon as you move in. Never allow an LL or LA to do this for you-that's why you are on the default tariff. Once registered, you can switch, but it typically takes 5 weeks.
No one can suggest the cheapest, because we don't know your usage or region. Just use these on any comp site to find the best tariff.

Cardew

Every new occupant of a property is placed on a 'deemed tariff' regardless of their supplier. It is their most expensive tariff - Standard Tariff. The only advantage is that the new occupant can switch supplier without penalty.

If you ring EDF they will often allow you to switch to a cheaper tariff and backdate it until you moved into the property.

Failing that simply enter any tariff into a comparison website and it will give you details of all other tariffs

swindled

Well, I gave it a bash on uswitch and it came out as Bulb's Vari-Fair being the best deal I could switch to, but then I clicked through to the 'allow switching directly' option and Eversmart came up as the cheapest deal.

Reading reviews on the web it seems they (Eversmart) are a bit of an amateurish outfit and although mostly good reviews, there are enough bad ones to make it an issue. Does anyone have any experience with them?

swindled

Well, I have made the switch, but it won't happen for a few weeks yet. Meter readings were made on the inventory and I guess the landlord handed over the numbers to EDF so they get the final bill for their period of responsibility and it transfers over to me.

What will happen regarding the meter readings when the switch happens, will they estimate them or send a meter reader to check them out?

What can I do in the mean time except sit in a dark cold house to minimise the usage

matelodave

You should get an e-mail asking you to submit meter readings to your new supplier. They should then notify and agree these with your old supplier and you will then get a bill from your old supplier for the energy that you've used already. You new supplier should bill from the this reading as well.

You should check your old bill carefully to make sure that the readings that they use at the close of the account is the same as the one that the new suppliers uses to open the new account to avoid you paying twice for the same energy.

It's down to YOU to keep an eye on your energy bills and readings, so learn to check the meter once a month and send the readings into your supplier. Check your on-line account to make sure that they use you readings and haventt use estimates.

Do not pay an estimated bill get in corrected immediately to save yourself any hassle in the future. Never rely on others to read your meter - do it yourself.