Elderly parents changed tariff unnecessarily - what can we do?

bertha73

My parents were on a fixed deal with EDF for dual fuel, monthly budget DD. They fixed in July 2021 and the fix ran until July 2023.

For reasons I do not yet understand, they were convinced in January this year to change to another fixed tariff that fixes until January 2024. But of course the unit price is around double for electricity and almost treble for gas.

Clearly there was no reason for them to change as they had 18 months left on their fixed tariff at that point. I've only just found out now as they told me that EDF were putting up their DD by £200 per month. They're both generally quite switched on so I struggle to believe that they would have done this if they had realised the price rise, but since the 14 day cooling off period has long expired I don't know what they can do. Is there a case to argue that they've been mis-sold the new fixed tariff given they had 18 months left on their existing fix?

BeerSavesMoney

How did they agree to switch? If they agreed to switch as a result of a phone call then they might be able to request a copy of the call recording.

Hopefully if they can get this then you’ll be able to listen to this to see if there are grounds for a complaint.

https://www.callcentrehelper.com/data-protection-act-and-call-recording-57146.htm

Ultrasonic

In the first instance I'd say you need to get a better understanding of exactly what happened from your parents.

The_Fat_Controller

In all the years (over 10) I have been with EDF I have never had an unsolicited call from an agent offering a different tariff.

Prior to the bonkers energy situation we are currently experiencing there were occasional email offers but it was always possible to compare new and old offerings easily.

More information required.

Mstty

@bertha73

Sounds like you need to get the full story from mum and dad then present the issue as a complaint to EDF of you think there has been any wrong doing.

Reed_Richards

Your parents have swapped one fixed tariff for another that ends only six months later.  They are paying a lot more now but possibly less in their final six months.  Look at how much energy they typically use from August to January and how expensive gas and electricity would have to be during that period in 2023 for them to be better off overall on the new tariff.  If the numbers you calculate are ridiculously high then you have a strong complaint for mis-selling.

MWT

Reed_Richards said:

If the numbers you calculate are ridiculously high then you have a strong complaint for mis-selling.

Still need to determine if there really was any 'selling' involved at all...

bertha73 said:

They're both generally quite switched on so I struggle to believe that they would have done this if they had realised the price rise, but since the 14 day cooling off period has long expired I don't know what they can do.

If they want your help then they will have to explain exactly what happened, if they do not want to explain then there isn't much you can do...

bertha73

It appears my dad made the change himself via the website, with no prompting or personal interaction from EDF. His previous tariff ("Easy Online Renewal Feb22v4") before switching to "Fix Total Service Jul23" in July 2021 was up for renewal in Feb this year, so it's possible he had put that in his diary and forgotten that he had already fixed in July, though to be fair to EDF it should have been pretty evident what tariff he was on. From comments by my mum about his more recent state of confusion generally it looks like my "switched on" analysis was optimistic.

I've asked them what they want to do about it - either stick with what they have now on the basis that it buys them an extra 6 months of protection, or possibly move to the standard rate for the short to medium term. If they do that I would try to get EDF to waive the exit fees (£150 per fuel for leaving his current "Fix Total Service Jan24v10", compared with £37 per fuel when he switched from the "Fix Total Service Jul23" in January) on the basis that the change in tariff in January was an expensive and unnecessary mistake and he's been confused. For comparison, the exit fees on the fixed tariffs they're offering him now (fixing until April 24) are £200 per fuel!

One thing I remain unsure about is the fact that the "Account Activity" timeline in their EDF account online shows no evidence of the switch from Jul23 to Jan24v10. I was expecting to see copies of letters confirming the change and T&C as there was when he changed from Easy Online Renewal Feb22v4 to Fix Total Service Jul23 last July, but there is no correspondence at all between invoices in September 2021 and April 2022.

Mstty

Well to decide you will need the last year's kWh usage for each energy and work out the old rates costs and the new rates costs and how better/worse off they will e with the associated exit fees.

Then decide if you want to go to EDF and have it changed.

The_Fat_Controller

I am with EDF and there is nothing in my timeline either regarding tariff switches.

However, I have years of emails and every tariff change has generated an email confirmation.

Getting a waiver of exit fees may be an issue so late in the day especially as all changes were made voluntarily by the customer.

Some of the Total Service packages offered also included a period of free boiler care, could that have been a reason why the offer was appealing ?

Gerry1

Are your parents on the Priority Services Register?