EDF how is this right?

MattMattMattUK

liddyloo said:

pochase said:

Mstty said:

If EDF did not give notice of the direct debit increase of £229 they are in the wrong and you need to raise a complaint with them.

Advise them of all bank fees and make sure you get a complaint reference.

Check all emails/snail mail just incase before doing the above.

It seems they have send a new invoice with the changed amount on 3rd of June into her account. 

 It would seem "the system" generated another bill of the extra amount on 3rd June. Mum (unwisely) is paperless so they put the letter on her account but she didn't know to look as thought it was all arranged. 

and this would be valid notification. Another question is if they can just go back on payment agreement they made.

@liddyloo have you checked if the direct debit is correct? I assume it is SVT? What was her usage over the last 12 months? Does she submit regular meter readings or have a smart meter? Are the billed amounts estimates or real readings?

There will the £400 grant everybody gets, but you say she is on benefits. What type of benefits? Will she also get the £650?

Also the amount taken seems to be wrong. You are saying with £16 payments it will take 13 months, that means she still owed £208. If they have taken £229 and the normal DD amount is £134, only £95 of this debt is paid of and she still owes £113. What does the bill say in this regard.

Usually EDF will take outstanding debt over the next 6 month after the direct debit review, so an agreement for 13 months seems strange on its own. Might be that the agent tried to do something that their system does not allow.

I'm sorry I don't know what SVT is. 

Standard Variable Tariff, the "Price Cap" tariff. 

liddyloo said:

The direct debit amount was agreed for £150 (it's actually been agreed twice now but that's another story!) £134 for future usage and £16 towards the outstanding debt. It's been confirmed that the direct debit is set for £150 so the extra 70 odd was a one off charge but that never came up in conversation when making the DD. She asked multiple times if it included everything and was told yes so I can understand why she didn't sign into her account. We were told when we called that the system generated the new bill triggered by the DD set up. I fail to understand why and how the amount wasn't flagged when the advisor went through all the figures. Mum had the phone on speaker so I heard the conversation and the advisor was really clear that £150 covered everything. I've suggested she opt out of paperless to avoid this happening in the future. I'm surprised there aren't email notifications to let people know there's a letter on their account like with other systems but I guess that's asking a bit much. Mums on benefits due to her mental health and because of her mental health I can also understand why she didn't think to check her account for a letter too. 

I wonder if there was some confusion in all this, but it is very rare (almost unheard of) to have a supplier allow a debt repayment to take longer than six months, let alone a year. As you say she has mental health issues, are any of them severe enough that they would qualify her to be on the Priority Services Register? It will not help much now, but it might in the future.

liddyloo said:

She will get the £400, I believe she will get the £650 too but it's unclear as they keep saying "per household" and both of us in the house are on benefits.  She's on old style ESA (income based) She's applied for PIP but is still waiting for a result.

The payments are per household, so the £400 is applied to the electricity bill of each household connected to the electricity grid with an account, so if you both live in the house only the account holder will get the £400, it will only happen once. The same with the £650, it is per household, current best guess is that it would be split between any claimants, but it might be give to one to divide up.

This however might also make sense as to why she gets so little, if you both live together then there will be amounts which are split between the two of you rather than paid to both, especially related to housing costs etc. That said, still double and triple check any entitlement. Remember that PIP, if successful, will be backdated to the start of the claim.

pochase

SVT is the standard variable tariff, the rate that is protected by the cap, and you will be on if you don't have a fixed tariff.

I understand that you live together with your mum but the energy account is in her name?

Do you have information how much energy you used in the last 12 months so we can check if the direct debit amount is ok?

You are aware that another increase for the SVT is coming up in October, and is currently predicted to be 51%? Have you been offered a fixed tariff? There were some EDF tariffs that were "good" You will need to check the online account what they are offering you. You can post the offer here and somebody will have a look if it worthwhile. 

When is your mom born? She might qualify for the winter fuel payment, and there is an additional payment on top this year as part of the energy crisis messures.

You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:

• you were born on or before 25 September 1956
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 - this is called the ‘qualifying week’

liddyloo

MattMattMattUK said:

liddyloo said:

MattMattMattUK said:

liddyloo said:

Has anyone had a similar issue and got any where with it please?

My mum is 65, on benefits and gets £400 a month. (Old ESA, not entitled to pension credit)

On 1st June she called EDF to reset her direct debit. An agreement was made for £150 a month which was £134 to cover on going costs (gas and elec for a 2 bed bungalow) and £16 towards paying off debt which would take 13 months. It was confirmed by email on 2nd June.

The first amount was due to come out yesterday and she got a shock when they took £229 - which also took her overdrawn and somehow the bank have allowed it. 

We called 3 tines to try and sort it out and were cut off every time at some point in the conversation. We've used Whatsapp and tried the online app. It would seem "the system" generated another bill of the extra amount on 3rd June. Mum (unwisely) is paperless so they put the letter on her account but she didn't know to look as thought it was all arranged. 

We keep going around in circles with them asking how this is right. She now has £5.64 to last her another two weeks until her next benefits payment. They say yes the direct debit is set for £150 then we query the extra and suddenly "oh yes, that has to be paid" but we made an agreement, "yes but The System..." 

How can you make an agreement and then have money added on?? How is this right? I'm quite frankly at my wits end with it today as I am also on benefits but now have to somehow find the extra money to cover our outgoings for the next two weeks. It just all feels so wrong 

It does depend exactly how/what was agreed, it does not help that your mother ignored the email as they could have probably prevented the issue if she read the email before it occurred, but not after. I cannot see this being covered by the Direct Debit guarantee unfortunately. 

Are you sure your mum is only getting £400 pcm? Based on UC she would be entitled to more than that if she has no other income or savings. She would not be entitled to Pension Credit as she is not old enough to claim the State Pension, however it may well be worth running her through a benefits calculator to see what she should be receiving. 

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/

Going forward make sure she/you submit regular meter readings and also take account of the future energy price rises to make sure there is not additional debt as the £134 will likely not be enough to cover usage over the winter with increased usage and unit rates. 

Yes, she is on the old ESA in the not fit to work category. We've looked before (as I'm on UC and get more than her) but she's always been on the maximum she is entitled to. She's waiting on a PIP decision currently which would be a huge help. 

I really would advise you to check again and perhaps get your mother to speak to Citizens Advice. As far as I understand it someone who is unfit for work and with no assets would get more than £400 pcm. The only reason she would not is if she has assets/savings she refuses to use, she is classed as now able to work but is not seeking, or she is not claiming everything she should be. 

liddyloo said:

She didn't ignore an email as such. The letter was added to her account and as she had the agreement email wasn't aware/didn't think she would need to check her account for anything. I've suggested she opt out of paperless to stop this kind of thing happening in the future. 

liddyloo said:

Mstty said:

If EDF did not give notice of the direct debit increase of £229 they are in the wrong and you need to raise a complaint with them.

Advise them of all bank fees and make sure you get a complaint reference.

Check all emails/snail mail just incase before doing the above.

The added a letter to her account the day after she had the confirmation email. She had no reason to sign into her account so didn't see it. It seems to be a one off charge rather than a change of direct debit and I just can't understand how that's allowed.  

I am with EDF and when you get one of those messages in your account they also email you to tell you that you have a message/letter waiting for you. Paper or paperless makes little difference if one does not read the correspondence and snail mail is far more likely to go missing. 

She only gets £103.85 per week (paid every two weeks) minus £15 a fortnight due to an overpayment from when she started to receive her council pension. Her pension is only £75 per month. So just over £450 (I hadn't done the sums and relied on her saying £400) There's no savings. She had a small lump sum when she got her pension last year but that didn't last long. I know it doesn't seem right but I have checked repeatedly and it's all she's entitled to.

She's finally applied for PIP, if she can get that then she can then apply for attendance allowance and is apparently entitled to more housing benefit etc but just being on ESA that's all she can get.

The government website says ESA is "up to" £117 per week. She's never had £117 to my knowledge. It doesn't make sense at all as I'm on UC and also considered not fit for work yet I get more a month than she does. We didn't dare move her to UC as it's been incredibly hard to get everything set up as it is (housing benefit etc) and we didn't want to rock the boat again - her last renewal ended up at tribunal which was the second tribunal she's had to endure. (Both ruled in her favour with the last judge saying they weren't to reassess her for at least two years)

I'm guessing she missed the notification email then sadly, she doesn't check her emails regularly. The joys of wobbly mental health. 

liddyloo

We've spoken to citizens advice regarding the extra amount and they have drafted a letter for mum to send requesting a refund of the money so they must think it's wrong. She was also told to contact her bank and ask for the money to be recalled. I don't know how hopeful I feel about either being successful though 

liddyloo

pochase said:

SVT is the standard variable tariff, the rate that is protected by the cap, and you will be on if you don't have a fixed tariff.

I understand that you live together with your mum but the energy account is in her name?

Do you have information how much energy you used in the last 12 months so we can check if the direct debit amount is ok?

You are aware that another increase for the SVT is coming up in October, and is currently predicted to be 51%? Have you been offered a fixed tariff? There were some EDF tariffs that were "good" You will need to check the online account what they are offering you. You can post the offer here and somebody will have a look if it worthwhile. 

When is your mom born? She might qualify for the winter fuel payment, and there is an additional payment on top this year as part of the energy crisis messures.

You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both the following apply:

• you were born on or before 25 September 1956
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022 - this is called the ‘qualifying week’

Thank you. 

Yes I live with mum and yes it's all in her name. I will ask her for access to her account to get the energy usage. I'd appreciate someone else looking at it because it all seems too much in my mind. (As in too high usage) Mum has just said she thinks the tariff were on is the only one we can be on because of the outstanding debt. 

Yes, I feel some what sick about the upcoming rises. Especially as I have Raynaud's and the cold is not my friend. She's not been offered a fixed tariff. (Possibly due to arrears)

She's just within the qualifying dates for the winter fuel allowance. My dad who is a year older (doesn't live with us) says she has to apply for the first payment? He got pension credit and couldn't understand why she didn't qualify - trying to explain the age difference and changes has made me want to bang my head against the wall! 

I found a local "surviving winter" fund yesterday so we are applying for that too. Mum is 66 in August so will start to get the state pension which will help a bit too. I am dreading the winter rises. 

pochase

When you go into her account you will see in the menu structure a point "Change Tariff".


 Click it and go through the steps. You will get to a page what tariffs are available to you.

Even being in debt should not a problem changing to a fixed tariff if offered. When I fixed in February my account was also in debt and there was no problem and nobody asked to pay up first.

liddyloo

pochase said:

When you go into her account you will see in the menu structure a point "Change Tariff".


 Click it and go through the steps. You will get to a page what tariffs are available to you.

Even being in debt should not a problem changing to a fixed tariff if offered. When I fixed in February my account was also in debt and there was no problem and nobody asked to pay up first.

Thank you. I will ask her for access to her account to check. 

EssexHebridean

One thing that occurs to me - did your Mum get ANY correspondence from EDF confirming the amount they subsequently took by DD? It's not totally clear from what you've said whether the phone call confirmed £150 but that was then superceded by the letter on the account that she didn't say telling her the increased amount.

Carrera74

I just wanted to add that I was in a debt plan when I fixed with EDF and my payment plan was over 28 months.  I was really behind and they let me pay £40 a month and were happy with that amount as long as it was affordable to me which it was at the time.  They never mentioned only being able to pay it over 6 months. I'd never have been able to afford to pay it back!  I fixed a few weeks ago with 10 months still left on my payment plan via the app. 

Mobtr

When EDF set up a new payment scheme the account bills up to the date it was agreed. It could be that the instalment plan was for the debt previously on the account, the account then billed and the monthly payment was taken along with the amount of the usage from the last bill to direct debit set up. 

There is possibly a bill on her online account showing the amount that was to be taken on a particular date, usually about 2 weeks after the bill date. If she didn’t contact them to query it because she didn’t read her bill then it would just go ahead.  If that’s the case, I don’t think an indemnity claim would be accepted as she was informed on the bill of the amount and when it would be taken