EDF No Bill for over a year

MoneymadMe

Hi all,
I got talked into switching Elecky suppliers in June2006
I telephoned to give my Direct Debit details and give the first reading.
August a man comes to read the meter which is outside and unlocked ( I make a note for myself)
October I telephone to change Bank details she says she has no meter reading I give it, she says she does not want the bank details.
Spring 2007 No Bill April Man comes round to read the meter I make a note.
August same thing happens
October I telephone same thing does not want my bank details as she is not sure what type of meter I have so she is sending someone out .
I don’t know if he turned up I was out .
Today I get an estimated Bill for over £1000 with a £200 goodwill deduction.
I have a few questions as to who these meter readers are and why she wouldn’t take my Direct Debit details .
I read the meter at the same time he did, yet all the numbers on the Bill are estimates completely different from what I have.

Anyone got any ideas.
Ta

Pixie28

Hi,

So you rang them up to change your bank details but they refused them? I would have insisted.....after all you must have been changing them for a reason?

If you have now received an estimated bill, you can ring them up, provide an actual reading, and ask them to issue the accurate bill. Have they been taking a direct debit from your original account or have you went a year without paying for your usage?

Did they give you a reason for knocking £200 off of your estimated bill? That seems really strange as a "goodwill payment" is not actioned without reason.

MoneymadMe

Hi Pixie 28
Yeah rang them with the correct meter reading 2 or 3 times.
Nothing but goodwill

Pixie28

Well £200 off of a £1000 bill sounds like a good deal to me if you havent paid anything towards your usage for a year, but it all still seems rather strange. Was the £200 offered after you made a complaint? If so surely the person who dealt with your complaint had made sure that the goodwill would be actioned on an accurate bill.

Terrylw1

Hi,

Meter readers are part of an Agent that Suppliers have a contract with. They take readings per a schedule they have. This can vary depending where you live e.g. city addresses are read more than rural.

Suppliers only use these readings if you are due to receive a bill. Otherwise, they just keep a record of them for X months before archiving them.

The meter readings are only there for that reason and then it is sent back to the Supplier via a data flow. Thats it. It's up to your Supplier from there.

You've never had a bill until now by the sounds of it.

So, I reckon there was a problem with your registration to EDF. An example would be a suspicious change of supply reading or a missing/rejected appointment of the agent etc.

This is extremely common and goes on behind the scenes so most customers never know there is a problem. However, whatever your problem was, it went on for a long time.

So, during this time EDF had not even set you an account up on their billing system. There is no excuse for the DD not being changed though. I'll bet you that the customer service people you rang didn't know how to do it because they couldn't find your fulltime account. All that may have been required would be a change to your original DD data to start off your account on the new one.

The compensation is somewhat strange. I have never EVER seen a Supplier give that out unless their was a press office complaint or a very serious complaint of some kind. Energywatch customers don't get that without a massive complaint.

I reckon that this goodwill gesture is a deduction off the bill because they cannot bil you further back tha 12 months now. So, they are writing off part of your bill and detailed as a goodwill gesture - although it's not, it's an obligation now!

Maybe there is some cash on top of that to compensate. However, it's pretty rare a Supplier compensates without you complaining at them.

So, I suggest you get a proper reading off your meter onto the bill. Insist on it since they have taken this long to sort it.

They have no data to estimate on except the readings taken but a lot f Suppliers don't use such record only readings in their estimate calculations.

Then get them to explain the GOGW.

Cardew

As Terry staes, they can now only go back a year for accounts where no bill has been raised.

Now as you went to EDF in June 2006 and have today(7 Nov) got a bill, then the period from June 2006 to Nov 2006 they cannot charge for. I also think this is their £200 goodwill payment???