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

MWT

mattojgb said:

Be aware of Ofgem's 12 month back-billing rule. You can't be billed for energy used more than a year ago - provided you haven't deliberately concealed its use or been obstructive - and that would hardly seem to apply to a smart meter..

To the extent that the debt relates to the period under the control of the failed supplier, the back-billing rules do not apply.

They are enforced under the supply licence conditions and that was terminated by Ofgem when they appointed the SoLR.

In the same way that any Ombusman cases in progress are terminate and any penalties due for late switching, late final bills etc. can no longer be claimed if they have not already been applied to your account.

[Deleted User]

mattojgb said:

Be aware of Ofgem's 12 month back-billing rule. You can't be billed for energy used more than a year ago - provided you haven't deliberately concealed its use or been obstructive - and that would hardly seem to apply to a smart meter.

So the maximum amount of arrears you can be required to pay is 12 months worth.

BackBilling rules do not apply to a failed supplier. The failed supplier is now run by a Receiver and the company’s Supply Licence has been revoked so Ofgem’s oversight and regulations no longer apply. Similarly, The Energy Ombudsman will not take forward any complaints against the failed supplier. 

mattojgb

Ofgem:

"When dealing with the customers of a failed supplier, particularly when seeking to

recover debt, the insolvency practitioner must bear in mind the fact that the failed

energy supplier cannot recover money for any unbilled energy that was incurred

more than 12 months previously. Energy customers should not be pursued for

unbilled usage older than 12 months."

[Deleted User]

mattojgb said:

Ofgem:

"When dealing with the customers of a failed supplier, particularly when seeking to

recover debt, the insolvency practitioner must bear in mind the fact that the failed

energy supplier cannot recover money for any unbilled energy that was incurred

more than 12 months previously. Energy customers should not be pursued for

unbilled usage older than 12 months."

Citizens Advice has already commented on the fact that insolvency practitioners work to Regulations overseen by the FCA - not Ofgem. ‘Bear in mind’ is not a statutory requirement. If a Receiver decides not to invoke BackBilling, then the consumer has no method of redress other than defending the claim via a Court. Similarly, such things as EO compensation or payments for missed meter appointments may not be paid out by a Receiver.

Have a look at page 7:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/CitizensAdvice/Energy/SoLR%20report%20FINAL_v2.pdf

FWiW, I doubt that the OP’s situation would be a BackBilling case.

MWT

mattojgb said:

Ofgem:

"When dealing with the customers of a failed supplier, particularly when seeking to

recover debt, the insolvency practitioner must bear in mind the fact that the failed

energy supplier cannot recover money for any unbilled energy that was incurred

more than 12 months previously. Energy customers should not be pursued for

unbilled usage older than 12 months."

More helpful to read the whole letter...

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2019/11/open_letter_to_insolvency_practitioners_appointed_to_failed_energy_supply_companies_.pdf

It is full of hope and expectation but no obligations or enforcement, which means the administrators must follow their own obligations to recover as much as possible from the customers to satisfy any debts of the company.

[Deleted User]

MWT said:

mattojgb said:

Ofgem:

"When dealing with the customers of a failed supplier, particularly when seeking to

recover debt, the insolvency practitioner must bear in mind the fact that the failed

energy supplier cannot recover money for any unbilled energy that was incurred

more than 12 months previously. Energy customers should not be pursued for

unbilled usage older than 12 months."

More helpful to read the whole letter...

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2019/11/open_letter_to_insolvency_practitioners_appointed_to_failed_energy_supply_companies_.pdf

It is full of hope and expectation but no obligations or enforcement, which means the administrators must follow their own obligations to recover as much as possible from the customers to satisfy any debts of the company.

And the most telling statement is:

Quote: Some practices have been very good and some have been extremely disappointing, and we believe some poor practices have led to avoidable consumer harm. Quote

 In the OP's case. it would seem that debit balance has not be treated as debt which in many ways is the best outcome possible.

Xbigman

[Deleted User] said:

Xbigman said:

I'm retired and my usage went from £38 a month to £41 a month when I retired, but thats for Electric and Gas. Given your BiL is heating the house from other means his electric bill should be around £30 a month. If he's paying £45 a month with a few hundred pounds arrears but he's inefficient with his electric usage then that looks about right to me. An increase to £3000 a year is clearly wrong. What may have happened is that his data was incomplete on transfer so his new provider has simply taken a generic figure for the size of house he lives in, worked out that he is underpaying because of the arrears and lumped him with a massive direct debit. 

I'd phone up and dispute this as a matter of some urgency.

Darren

 The OP has said that the arrears (ie; the debit balance) came from the failed supplier. A DD of £275 does not mean that EDF is assuming energy usage of £3000 per year. It is a monthly payment that EDF has set to clear the debit balance and to cover future usage. What we do not know is the end of contract date that EDF has used to come up with this figure. Clearly, if it was using 12 months from today, then the DD amount would be adjusted to cover the calculated annual cost supplier by EDF plus £50 a month to repay the debit balance. My guess is that EDF is using a much shorter repayment period. EDF could of course re-classify the debit balance as a debt and demand repayment in full within 28 days.

Just to clarify. I gave my figures to demonstrate that retiring does not massively increase your bills, not as a comparison with the OPs figures. 
My comment about how the new higher payment has been calculated is from personal experience. I live alone in a 3 bed house and once transferred energy providers with a small negative balance. They tried to more than triple my DD on the basis of the debt meaning I was an above average user in a 3 bed property. A phone call sorted it out. 
With an increase as big as the OP's BiL is seeing there are multiple factors causing the issue, this could be one of them.


Darren