EDF Direct Debit Scam

Swipe

I'm £900 in credit with EDF but will be break even or a little in debit by the end of winter

Luvvaduck

Maybe I need to clarify point 2 on my original post
IF
I have £150 of credit from the summer and my expected bill for the next 6 months is £950
THEN
The correct Direct Debit for the next six months should be (950-150)/6  = 133/month
BUT
EDF ignored the £150 and just calculated 950/6 = 158
THUS
EDF would be charging £25 per month too much for no reason other than they think they can get away with it

emmajones1976

Somebody let me know when the scam gets posted please 

MattMattMattUK

Luvvaduck said:

Maybe I need to clarify point 2 on my original post
IF
I have £150 of credit from the summer and my expected bill for the next 6 months is £950
THEN
The correct Direct Debit for the next six months should be (950-150)/6  = 133/month
BUT
EDF ignored the £150 and just calculated 950/6 = 158
THUS
EDF would be charging £25 per month too much for no reason other than they think they can get away with it

Where is the "expected bill" figure coming from? If this is from your old supplier then it would have not taken into account the rise by moving to the price capped tariff. Is it based on actual usage figures from previous winters? Does it take into account predicted weather patterns for the next six months?

rp1974

Luvvaduck said:

The dishonesty is in the calculation
They say you need to pay x to cover your expected bills when they have deliberately altered the calculation so that x is too high if you have credit on your account (which most people who pay by direct debit should have at this time of year)

They didn't need to do it this way, someone at EDF deliberately decided this was a good idea to boost their bank account by probably £millions and that to me makes it a scam

Switch supplier then,if it bothers you that much.
This is a standard way of operation for many suppliers.


Yes you will get the money back eventually but that doesn't matter if you don't have the money or need it for other things right now.
That's your,my,whoevers responsibility and lookout though,not an energy suppliers which is a business,not a charity.

Luvvaduck

Didn't move suppliers, just moved from EDF fixed rate to EDF variable rate at precisely the wrong time lol
Expected bill was from EDF based on new rates and it roughly agrees with my own personal calculation of around £900

Anyway the expected bill makes no difference to the point I am making - EDF should have included the credit I have on my account in the Direct Debit calculation and they didn't

Gerry1

When things (hopefully) settle down in the spring or whenever, your best bet would be to switch to a supplier that offers Variable Direct Debit.  They include British Gas, E.On, Shell Energy, SSE and Ecotricity.

Curiousgirl1

Gerry1 said:

When things (hopefully) settle down in the spring or whenever, your best bet would be to switch to a supplier that offers Variable Direct Debit.  They include British Gas, E.On, Shell Energy, SSE and Ecotricity

EDF do variable direct debits. 

OP, is this an annual review or an interim review, if it’s interim, when is your annual review due & how many payments are due before then? 

Sometimes depending on the dates of the bill & the date you pay your direct debit, it could be only 5 payments are due rather than 6 

Verdigris

By my calculation, 6 months takes us past the next cap fix, which will be significantly higher. Has the OP taken that into account?

The_Fat_Controller

Just change to Direct Debit Whole Amount (Monthly) then you'll pay monthly in arrears and never be boosting their bank account at all.

You only pay for what you have actually used and the DD date is always around 15 days after the billing date so the money stays with me even longer.

You will have to be disciplined if finances are tight.