EDF Simply Online Jul23

Vernsie

I am on a fixed deal until July 2023 but they’ve said they have to increase my DD from £55 to £80. They tried to explain it to me but I didn’t understand. Can anyone help me get my head round it?
I did however successfully request a £100 refund from them as my account was £220 in credit. 

QrizB

Welcome to the "other fuels" section of the forum.

A fixed-rate energy deal isn't an all-you-can-eat arrangement. While the price per unit and price per day are both fixed, the amount you pay will depend on how much you use.

It sounds as though EDF set your DD based on your predicted energy use, but you've been using more than this and so they need to increase your DD to cover it.

Regarding the refund, you would expect your account to have a large credit balance at this time of year (you'll eat through the credit in winter when your energy use is higher). Taking a refund might result in your DD rising again.

Vernsie

Thanks. 

I understand what you mean but my usage hasn’t been too mad over summer months at all. Is that the only reason my DD would go up?

I know I’ll need the credit as a buffer for winter but I just wanted it in my own bank account for now. 

smallblueplanet

That's a fair amount to still be in credit. If you've been with them a while you should be able to work out your monthly useage. Ring again and say you're not likely to use more than you have been doing and as you're on a fixed deal why should you pay more when you are already in credit. Me I'd try for my £120 credit now, especially as soon there will be the Govt rebate into your account?

dunstonh

I am on a fixed deal until July 2023 but they’ve said they have to increase my DD from £55 to £80.

To understand how much you should be paying, you need to understand your usage in kWh.

You use around 15% of your annual energy in the warm months and 85% in the colder months.  If you were paying it as you used it (as people on oil do) then you would pay virtually nothing from late Spring to early Autumn and pay significantly more in Winter.

They estimate your annual use with electricity and try to average it out over the year.   Being an estimate means it is statistically more likely to be wrong than right, but you hope that it is in the ballpark.    Hence, if you know what you use by keeping a record of monthly readings, you should be able to work it out for yourself.

So, was that increase down to you underestimating your usage? 
When you switched to the new deal, did you give them your kWh use or did you give them a monetary amount in pounds that you wanted to pay?

I did however successfully request a £100 refund from them as my account was £220 in credit. 

Leaving yourself with just £120 in credit in the Summer months isn't giving you much protection.   Its a small amount to be in credit at this time.

The reduction in your credit balance could also lead to an increase in the monthly payment as you have just removed some of the money that was taken into account when setting the monthly payment.

That's a fair amount to still be in credit. If you've been with them a while you should be able to work out your monthly useage. Ring again and say you're not likely to use more than you have been doing and as you're on a fixed deal why should you pay more when you are already in credit. Me I'd try for my £120 credit now, especially as soon there will be the Govt rebate into your account?

I disagree with that response. 
a) we have no data from the OP in terms of their usage 
b) we have no information from the OP as to the reasons why it increased to £80 (was it arrears, was it that the monthly payment was too low to begin with, was it because there was insufficient Summer credit due to the withdrawal).
c) drawing the remaining summer credit, which already appears to be too low relative to the monthly payment, will likely see them want to increase the direct debit further.

Vernsie

Thanks for all the info and explanations - I will try and go and digest now. 

I do have a smart meter but I never look at it. 

I know the refund of credit could leave me a bit short for Winter but I’ve budgeted for when it is increased again no doubt. 

I still don’t understand why DD should go up based on usage when nothing has changed and I’m on a fixed rate. 

newatc

In my experience the Energy companies will always try to get you to overpay, better for them if the money is in their bank. I usually argue when they put it up significantly and there tends to be a compromise. Can't remember ever being in debit with them though this winter might break that record!

GingerTim

Vernsie said:

I still don’t understand why DD should go up based on usage when nothing has changed and I’m on a fixed rate. 

You need to check whether your usage has changed - try logging in to your EDF account and taking a look at your energy hub, it should show your usage in kwh to as far back as your smart meter was installed. If your usage in kwh has increased then that will help explain why your direct debit payment is increasing.

dunstonh

I still don’t understand why DD should go up based on usage when nothing has changed and I’m on a fixed rate. 

Fixed rate is not an "all you can eat" deal.  It is a fixed price for the units you use.   

If you didn't see the monthly payment at the right level when you started, it will go up
If you use more energy than you told them then it will go up
If you didn't know how much energy you would use and they had to estimate then it could go up.

As mentioned higher up, it is all about looking at your usage.

It is a really good idea to do a meter reading every month on the same date and log it.   I do it on a spreadsheet.  Some do it on a logbook.   It can also help you identify if you can reduce your usage.  For example, because I log my electric use, I was able to see that summer use was coming out of 18kWh a day pretty consistently over the years.     Because of rising prices, I looked at why I was using 18 kWh and identified multiple devices in standby that were drawing a lot and some inefficient devices that I have now replaced.    Last week I had it down to 12kWh a day and following the installation of a new fridge/freezer (which is on day 2), it is looking like it will fall below 10kWh a day.    For the first time ever, I am background use (everything off apart from things that need to remain on) at around 90w.       In other words, by knowing my usage, I not only able to tell you how much I use over a year and the cost of that, I have used that information to reduce our electric use by nearly half.