Elderly relative charged £3000 by EDF for utilities for first month in sheltered accommodation

plumpplop

I just found out yesterday that this has been going on for sometime (over a year!) and they keep insisting it is correct. She is refusing to pay. I think debt collectors may be involved now.
They are calling her back today and I am scooting over there to be there when they call.
She changed suppliers after she moved in so EDF are no longer her suppliers.  The bill is apparently based on the reading on completion of the purchase and the reading when she changed suppliers. It's a two bed room apartment she wasn't even living in at the time.
It is all so ridiculous and I think she thought they would sort it out.  Now they are harassing her for payment.
I am planning to check all the paperwork, make sure a formal complaint has been raised and if that has been done Energy Ombudsman.  Anything I've missed?
Thanks for you help.

elsien

Did she give them the readings herself when she completed and has she checked that the readings recorded on the bill are accurate? Checked that the meter numbers match up and she’s not paying for the whole block, for example? 

[Deleted User]

There's zero actual information in your post.

You need to find out what readings have been used, at what time, and where they came from.

Simply saying "it is all so ridiculous" when the only details appear to be that she has refused to pay a bill for over a year doesn't help us to help you.

plumpplop

She only disclosed this over lunch yesterday at ours.
I'm going over there now to review all the paperwork, she says she has everything.  I think she just thought that they would see sense.  When I get over there I'll try to post more.  Will be on my phone so apologies in advance for any typos.
Wrong meter may be the answer. Will look into that.

MWT

plumpplop said:

...  Anything I've missed?

Pretty much everything that would help resolve this dispute..

If she is being billed £3,000 for the difference in meter readings over a month then the odds are pretty good that one or both of those readings is incorrect.

Start there, rather than reaching for the complaints and Ombudsman before you know what the problem actually is...

elsien

You haven't said what the various timescales were between completing, moving in and changing supplier. Just that the bill was for the first month? 
It may well be that the figures are wrong. But if (for example) someone left electric heating on full blast and she didn't notice because she didn't move in straight away on completion, then she'd still be responsible for those bills. So the proper amount may be between what they think it should be and what she thinks it should be.
That's where having the full picture is necessary to try to work out what is going on. 

Robin9

If you need to contact EDF do not bother with customer services go to ComplaintResolution@edfenergy.com

You may need a letter from the relative giving you permission to speak on your behalf

Read the meter when you get there  -  take care some can be difficult to read - some you have to press 9

stewie_griffin

When you’ve checked the paperwork please can you provide the date and meter reading when they moved in, the same for when they changed supplier, the reading used in the first bill from the new supplier and also a current meter reading.

macman

As above, almost certainly a meter misread.

Robin9

Are the meter reads / bills with the new supplier all OK ?

wild666

elsien said:

You haven't said what the various timescales were between completing, moving in and changing supplier. Just that the bill was for the first month? 
It may well be that the figures are wrong. But if (for example) someone left electric heating on full blast and she didn't notice because she didn't move in straight away on completion, then she'd still be responsible for those bills. So the proper amount may be between what they think it should be and what she thinks it should be.
That's where having the full picture is necessary to try to work out what is going on. 

A few years ago I was in hospital and my son put the heating on and just turned down the thermostat, or soo he thought he turned it down, but actually turned it up to 30 degrees in winter and over a month in my 2 bedroom flat it cost £120 for the gas bill alone in 1 month. When I noticed this I turned the heating down to 18 degrees. 
It's possible that the previous tenant whacked the heating up to 30 degrees and left it on 24/7 and the new tenant didn't notice the temperature was so high.

Another option is that the person moving out gave the supplier false readings from the meter when they moved out and the person moving in has been hit with a large bill  that is mainly from the other person saying their final bill is less than the reading on the meter to try and pay less and the new tenant is lumped with paying a chunk of their usage.

When moving into a new property always take meter readings ASAP on the completion date and take a photo of the readings that includes the meter number.