EDF ongoing issue

Saceiu

I moved in a new home with top up meter in march2019. Topping up was very expensive and after a long search and using comparisons website I decided to maybe call some companies and speak to them over the phone.
edf customer services lady offered what it sounded a very good deal for a 3 bedroom home and 4 people in the household. 

I asked repeatedly if the price would have ever changed through the year or if it was fixed! She assured that was the price and wasn’t going to change! Asked 100s time if she was sure about it and assured me of so. Now few months in to the contract I noticed, after checking my bank account the edf direct debit tripled! I called them and I was told after the reading they realised I was underpaying! Imagine how
shock I was! I can understand there is contract where the price can fluctuate but I was told it was FIXED price ! Long story short I asked to listen to the phone call they confirmed that the customer service advisor did say that and offer £50
good will gesture!!! Joke! If I knew
that was going to happen I would have gone for a company who was charging me more but made me
aware of what contract I was actually signing ! I contacted the ombudsmen and after looking at my case they said to be happy with the info give by edf (since they can’t listen to the call) I am now £800 in debts 😔 . I am always on top
with my bills this is unfair! I have replied withy screenshots taken from
this website showing why edf is in the wrong and I am now waiting !

can I please have some advice? 

Thank you

Ectophile

The price of the electricity isn't fluctuating.  The direct debit is.  The direct debit is initially set based on the amount of electricity they think you will use over a year.  This will be either what you used the previous year if you're an existing customer, or what you told them you use if you are a new customer.  If you use more than that, you have to pay more.

Supermarket analogy...

Suppose you buy a tin of beans a week. A tin of beans costs 50p, and there's a "price lock" sticker on the shelf saying the price isn't going to go up.  Your weekly spend on beans is 50p.

Then the kids come back from college and start eating lots of beans.  You now have to buy 3 tins of beans a week.  Your supermarket till receipt shows that your weekly spend on beans is now £1.50.  Do you complain to the store manager that they are over-charging you for beans because the price was supposed to be locked?

Gerry1

You don't understand direct debits.

On a fixed tariff the daily standing charge and cost of a kiloWatt hour are both fixed.  But it's not an All You Can Eat tariff, if you use more than expected, you'll pay more than expected.  It's as simple as that.

Only compare the annual cost based on annual kWh from actual meter readings, never estimates, and ignore all claimed savings and projections.

EDF are unlikely to be the cheapest.  Do full market searches with Citizens Advice, Switch with Which? and if you have gas, remember that separate suppliers can be cheaper.

Saceiu said:

If I knew that was going to happen I would have gone for a company who was charging me more but made me aware of what contract I was actually signing !

EDF will have sent you their Ts &Cs.  Did you read them?  The harsh reality is that you've found out the hard way what meters are for.

MWT

Just so we are all clear, you believed that you had been offered a fixed price deal regardless of how much energy you actually used?

Saceiu

MWT said:

Just so we are all clear, you believed that you had been offered a fixed price deal regardless of how much energy you actually used?

Yes I asked if the price was going to stay the same through out the whole year!thats why I asked for the call to be listened to! And they agreed that what the customer service advisor said it wouldn’t change regardless 

MWT

Saceiu said:

MWT said:

Just so we are all clear, you believed that you had been offered a fixed price deal regardless of how much energy you actually used?

Yes I asked if the price was going to stay the same through out the whole year!thats why I asked for the call to be listened to! And they agreed that what the customer service advisor said it wouldn’t change regardless 

I see where the confusion came from, the 'price' didn't change as you were most likely on a fixed 12 month contract so in that regard the rep was correct, the price per kWh wouldn't change.

If you interpreted that as what you would pay would never change then I really can't offer any help as you seem to believe you had the ability to use any amount of energy and pay a flat rate which is not reasonable, or credible...

Saceiu

MWT said:

Saceiu said:

MWT said:

Just so we are all clear, you believed that you had been offered a fixed price deal regardless of how much energy you actually used?

Yes I asked if the price was going to stay the same through out the whole year!thats why I asked for the call to be listened to! And they agreed that what the customer service advisor said it wouldn’t change regardless 

I see where the confusion came from, the 'price' didn't change as you were most likely on a fixed 12 month contract so in that regard the rep was correct, the price per kWh wouldn't change.

If you interpreted that as what you would pay would never change then I really can't offer any help as you seem to believe you had the ability to use any amount of energy and pay a flat rate which is not reasonable, or credible...

The funny thing is i wasn’t even on a fixed 12 month price contract 

Gerry1

If you were on a variable tariff, the price per kWh and the daily standing charge can both increase, so your complaint is even more unreasonable.

Saceiu

Gerry1 said:

If you were on a variable tariff, the price per kWh and the daily standing charge can both increase, so your complaint is even more unreasonable.

She never advised me so that’s what I’m trying to argue ! She told
me
i was going to
sign for a contract where the price would have not changed regardless my usage that my dd wasn’t going to change! Edf agreed that what she said and apologised on her behalf and offered £50 good will gesture. 

The only reason why ombudsman can’t do anything is because they can’t listen to the call and edf provided with a copy of a letter that they supposedly sent 

Robin9

Please tell us exactly what tariff you were on - it will be on the first page of your bill.

MWT

Saceiu said:

The funny thing is i wasn’t even on a fixed 12 month price contract 

The more you explain things, the more this feels less like you being 'misled' by the phone rep and more like you knew from your research that what was being said was not plausible but you went ahead anyway, ignored the written material sent to you which has been reviewed positively by the Ombudsman,  and let the bill run up, but would now like to get some sort of compensation... ?