Green Energy to EDF - First Bill is massive!!!! Help Please!

TooTrusting_2

Hi guys, my brother-in-law was with Green Energy and when they went bust was moved over recently to EDF. He was paying £45 a month DD with Green Energy which was the payment stipulated by them and has a smart meter. The first bill with EDF showed massive arrears (£656) and a huge increase in his DD to £257 per month which he can't afford on his pension. He was totally unaware of this and at no point had ever been informed by Green Energy that he was in arrears. They controlled the DD and had his usage via the smart meter. 

Reading between the lines, having spend a good while looking through his statements, I think what has happened is that for some reason Green Energy may never have taken any readings but only used estimates and then when EDF has taken over his account they have taken a "real" reading and then there was this huge discrepancy. He is a pensioner and doesn't really understand all this, all he knows was that when they fitted the smart meter, they told him that it would do everything for him and he wouldn't have to give readings anymore. He setup a DD trusting that they would take the right amount.

What I am wondering is, where does he stand with this? It seems a real injustice, because he now suddenly has these huge arrears to pay off, on top of the price of electricity that's soaring, so his current usage cost is also increasing by a substantial amount anyway. It seems wrong that he should be in this position of huge debit for nothing that he has done wrong, but for bad practice by the electricity company. He is now worried to death about this and it is beginning to effect his health.

The_Fat_Controller

You'll have to dig out all the old Green Energy bills and see how the readings have been coded to see if estimates have been used, assume nothing until you have the paperwork.

£45 seems a low DD for a pensioner who is likely to be at home a lot.

Is the contract for both gas and electricity ?

How is the house heated ? 

[Deleted User]

This is a tricky one. Smart meters are not 'fit and forget'. Had your BiL checked his statements he would have noticed that the readings used would be annotated with an 'E' not an 'A' or 'S'. In effect, what your BiL has now is a 'catch up' bill. The tricky bit is that Green Energy is no longer trading so Ofgem regulations relating to possible Back Billing; potential mis-selling (£45 a month should have set alarm bells ringing as it is very low), and for poor customer service do not apply as Green Energy no longer holds a Supply Licence. Green Energy, as was, is now run by a Receiver whose mandate is to the maximise the recovery of all monies owed to the failed company. The Energy Ombudsman will not get involved as it has no jurisdiction over a failed supplier.

All that I can suggest is that your BiL needs to talk to EDF.  EDF may be willing to allow him to pay off the money owed to Green Energy over time; however, I suspect that this would be in addition to a monthly DD amount that covers the energy that EDF will now supply. The other option is that he asks to speak to a Citizens Advice Energy Adviser who may be in a better position to speak to EDF on his behalf.

TooTrusting_2

The contract is for electricity only.   

His house (and water) is heated by oil fired central heating but he mostly uses an open fire in his living room. Electricity is really only for his lighting, TV (and the like), cooking and washing clothes. There is no heating done with electricity.

QrizB

His GNE / EDF bill will look something like mine did (link). It should show what his balance was when EDF took over from GNE and how much he's been paying since then.

I'm surprised that it's taken this long for the shortfall to be recognised. Is there any chance he could speak with EDF and convince them to make up the arrears over a longer period?

TooTrusting_2

I am going to make a call to EDF for him tomorrow and see what we can organise. The poor fellow really is in a tizzy and it just seems unfair that someone can find themselves in a position like this. Not everyone is capable of working out these statements, and I must admit that it took me a while to work out what the first EDF statement was actually saying. It had one set of calculations that were then refunded and recalculated and then it was reconciled, so not particularly easy to read. He really looks lost with the whole thing, it totally over his head.

I have got to get to the bottom of his Green Energy statements as I can find nothing. I am hoping that my hunch that it was all online is incorrect, because his online account no longer works.

Neil_Jones

TooTrusting_2 said:

Hi guys, my brother-in-law was with Green Energy and when they went bust was moved over recently to EDF. He was paying £45 a month DD with Green Energy which was the payment stipulated by them and has a smart meter. The first bill with EDF showed massive arrears (£656) and a huge increase in his DD to £257 per month which he can't afford on his pension. He was totally unaware of this and at no point had ever been informed by Green Energy that he was in arrears. They controlled the DD and had his usage via the smart meter. 

Reading between the lines, having spend a good while looking through his statements, I think what has happened is that for some reason Green Energy may never have taken any readings but only used estimates and then when EDF has taken over his account they have taken a "real" reading and then there was this huge discrepancy. He is a pensioner and doesn't really understand all this, all he knows was that when they fitted the smart meter, they told him that it would do everything for him and he wouldn't have to give readings anymore. He setup a DD trusting that they would take the right amount.

What I am wondering is, where does he stand with this? It seems a real injustice, because he now suddenly has these huge arrears to pay off, on top of the price of electricity that's soaring, so his current usage cost is also increasing by a substantial amount anyway. It seems wrong that he should be in this position of huge debit for nothing that he has done wrong, but for bad practice by the electricity company. He is now worried to death about this and it is beginning to effect his health.

Well if all the bills were generated by estimated reading, that's your BiL's fault for not submitting/checking meters.  Just because it is smart doesn't mean it can communicate with the supplier and doesn't negate the need to take and submit your own readings on occasion.

This is a very common situation and unfortunately its always the same outcome.  Meters not read for months on end, an actual reading turns up from somewhere, oh crap I owe a fortune.  Injustice or not, if the readings weren't estimated the problem wouldn't have occurred.

TooTrusting_2 said:

I am going to make a call to EDF for him tomorrow and see what we can organise. The poor fellow really is in a tizzy and it just seems unfair that someone can find themselves in a position like this. Not everyone is capable of working out these statements, and I must admit that it took me a while to work out what the first EDF statement was actually saying. It had one set of calculations that were then refunded and recalculated and then it was reconciled, so not particularly easy to read. He really looks lost with the whole thing, it totally over his head.

I have got to get to the bottom of his Green Energy statements as I can find nothing. I am hoping that my hunch that it was all online is incorrect, because his online account no longer works.

As above.  Unfair or not, its a situation of your BiL's making unfortunately.

doodling

Hi,

The way through this is agree with EDF:
1. That the arrears can be paid off over several years rather than just over a year.
2. A new direct debit which reflects the actual consumption, plus an agreed amount to pay off the arrears.

This will probably take some work to arrange as EDF, quite reasonably, will want their money ASAP.  You will need to emphasise the difficult financial circumstances. Ultimately, providing that EDF is getting more money each month than is being spent on electricity then they may be flexible.

t0rt0ise

Do make sure the bill is correct. I have, in the past, had a completely made up bill from the new provider. Luckily I could tell them what it should be and they took my word for it. It just depends what the old supplier's records are like.

ItsComingRome

TooTrusting_2 said:

I am going to make a call to EDF for him tomorrow and see what we can organise. The poor fellow really is in a tizzy and it just seems unfair that someone can find themselves in a position like this. Not everyone is capable of working out these statements, and I must admit that it took me a while to work out what the first EDF statement was actually saying. It had one set of calculations that were then refunded and recalculated and then it was reconciled, so not particularly easy to read. He really looks lost with the whole thing, it totally over his head.

I have got to get to the bottom of his Green Energy statements as I can find nothing. I am hoping that my hunch that it was all online is incorrect, because his online account no longer works.

No, but most people are capable of reading the meter and submitting it to their energy provider.

They don't need to have any understanding of what the numbers mean.

It's an interesting definition of "unfair" for someone to pay for the energy they use.

MWT

Make sure your brother-in-law is on the 'Priority Services Register' at his current supplier and if he switches make sure he registers each time.

It won't fix this problem now, but it will give his provider the chance to know that he may need a little extra help with things like meter readings.