Is there anything I can do about a £6000 catch up bill for charity from EDF

alison_marriott

Our Guide group has just received a catch up bill of £6000 from EDF for the Guide Hall as the meter had not been read for 3 years and had only been estimated by EDF in the meantime. We had been paying by direct debit each month but clearly not enough. Letters had been sent but EDF so they say to the hall asking for a reading but there is no letterbox so the Guides didn't receive them. EDF say they tried to read the meter but their notes say insufficient address or just failure to obtain meter read. The last actual reading was 3 years ago and we have just provided one which accounts now for the large catch up bill. I wasn't involved previously. But now the Guides who are a charity with only income from the girls subs of about £5000 per year which all goes on activities and other maintenance are now faced with this bill. I thought there were rules that meant the energy companies couldn't spring a large unexpected bill. I have spoken to EDF and tried to ask for some leniency but they say it all has to be paid in a lump sum or instalments. I appreciate that both sides should not have let the situation get out of hand but it has. Is there anything I can do to get the amount reduced at all? Help gratefully received.

superlative

Firstly, in case you haven't already done this, as a charity you are might be entitled to reduced VAT on energy bills. If you aren't VAT registered, and you are being charged 20% rather than 5% VAT on your bills, claiming this should help reduce the bill. I think you should be able to get it backdated. It's a question of filling out a declaration and EDF can then adjust the VAT due on your bill. (If you are VAT registered it won't make much difference as you'll be claiming the VAT back anyway).

https://www.edfenergy.com/sme-business/help-advice/sme-vat-faq


There are rules and guidelines about backbilling, but it's different for businesses than domestic customers - as a charity you must be a business customer?. I imagine you count as a micro-business. The trade body Energy UK, may have some useful information (EDF are a member).

https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/policy/microbusiness/back-billing.html

The first stage is almost certainly going to be to make a formal complaint about the bill to EDF. You might have a good point that they haven't tried hard enough to read the meter.

This page might help. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/business-gas-and-electricity-guide/complain-about-your-gas-or-electricity-bill-or-supplier

System

If your Guide Group is part of a Charity then you need to take advice from the Charity's Trustees. They carry the responsibility in Law for the Financial Governance of the charity. I would assume, like most charities, operational procedures will have been produced to cover the running cost of buildings used in support of the Charity's activities.

If EDF agrees to apply the Back Billing Code, then you will still be faced with a significant bill. The money already paid by Direct Debit could be used to offset Years 1 and 2 of the bill with the rest of the Year 1 and 2 bill being written off. You would still be liable for the past 12 months of usage; ie, c.£1660.

This is really one for your Treasurer to grasp. I suggest that he starts with a read of the following link before he/she takes advice from 'Head Office' on the best way forward:

https://www.backofthesofa.com/news/back-billing-alarm-call-for-charity-rebates

[Deleted User]

i work for EDF meter reading. They definitely do not try hard enough to access some meters..The reason is that to escalate a meter to "must inspect " status costs them a lot more than a basic 6 monthly or annual meter reading visit. "Must Inspects "require out of hours visits and Saturdays as well.
It is always rare to receive from EDF what is coded as a"SLC must inspect ". Scottish Power are also similar.Only British Gas do a good number of must inspects.
I think that the OP should highlight this and find out from EDF if they have ever elevated your meter which has nt been accessed in a full 3 years, to must read/inspect status .
It might be worth an Energy Ombudsman claim.
EDF will not want that to happen and have to admit they had nt got in the property in 3 years. They may well reduce the back bill to a lower amount .

wavelets

alison_marriott wrote: »

Our Guide group has just received a catch up bill of £6000 from EDF for the Guide Hall as the meter had not been read for 3 years and had only been estimated by EDF in the meantime. We had been paying by direct debit each month but clearly not enough. Letters had been sent but EDF so they say to the hall asking for a reading but there is no letterbox so the Guides didn't receive them. EDF say they tried to read the meter but their notes say insufficient address or just failure to obtain meter read. The last actual reading was 3 years ago and we have just provided one which accounts now for the large catch up bill. I wasn't involved previously. But now the Guides who are a charity with only income from the girls subs of about £5000 per year which all goes on activities and other maintenance are now faced with this bill. I thought there were rules that meant the energy companies couldn't spring a large unexpected bill. I have spoken to EDF and tried to ask for some leniency but they say it all has to be paid in a lump sum or instalments. I appreciate that both sides should not have let the situation get out of hand but it has. Is there anything I can do to get the amount reduced at all? Help gratefully received.

I'm afraid that you may be confusing protection consumers may currently be afforded, with rules that apply otherwise

Where was the £6k bill sent to? :huh:
One would hope any correspondence was sent to that same mailing address.

matelodave

I'm always slightly surprised at the naivety of some people who gaily pay a direct debit for months or even years and not really be sure what their paying for, whether it's enough or too much and then get upset when a big bill come through the letterbox.

One would have thought that the treasurer, or whoever controls the money, would have noticed money trotting out of the account every month but never looked or asked for a bill to justify it.

Don't the accounts ever get audited.

mac.d

Houbara wrote: »

EDF will not want that to happen and have to admit they had nt got in the property in 3 years. They may well reduce the back bill to a lower amount .

Isn't there some onus on the customer to provide readings though? I always remember scout huts/guide halls as being an all but certain no-read for meter readers.

superlative

matelodave wrote: »

Don't the accounts ever get audited.

The charities I've worked for, the auditors have never checked whether energy bills were based on actual or estimated meter readings.

badmemory

Unfortunately many small charities have treasurers who are just the last to "run out of the room" before the vote is taken & get landed with the job because no one else will. I'm going to be of no help other than to wish OP good luck with their challenge. There is a reason treasurers usually stand unopposed, it is a thankless task.

alison_marriott

wavelets wrote: »

I'm afraid that you may be confusing protection consumers may currently be afforded, with rules that apply otherwise

Where was the £6k bill sent to? :huh:
One would hope any correspondence was sent to that same mailing address.

The meter reading requests were sent to the hut where there is no letter box so I have no idea where they ended up. The new treasurer a few months ago phoned EDF to ask for a bill and gave her home address and then they sent her a request to read the meter which she did and that is how the bill has materialised. So it was the charities action that has prevented it from being even worse and I have no idea how long EDF would have let it go on. Obviously the previous treasurer should have provided a home address but I think he thought naively that as the direct debits were being paid each month nothing was amiss.I agree you would have thought that there ought to be a bill to support all payments in the accounts. It is too small for an audit but I shall suggest a financial review is done by someone each year from now on. I will ask EDF why the meter reading issue wasn't escalated if for 3 years they didn't manage to access/find the property. All suggestions greatly appreciated.

wakeupalarm

Have you checked that the meter reading given by the previous treasurer is correct?