Here we go again with EDF

brightondave

When my gas and electric went up in April to my agreed price of £120 per month i then the other day got a revised DD to start Nov 1st of, wait for it ...................................£336 !!!!!!!
So my calculations so far with my smart meter readings over the last nearly 5 months equate to 
Electric used = approx £960 per year
      Gas used = approx £288 per year
So those two figures =£1248 per year.
So I'll ring those lovely people tomorrow to tell them if my electric usage increases from £960 to £1500
and my gas increases £288 to £600
per year in my estimation (£2100)
that comes out at £175 per month (leaving room for price increases etc) and they can swing for their £336 per month.
Basically as the man says (ML)
do your calculations and TELL THEM what you'll be paying.
If some little old lady received this revised monthly DD she'll either pay it and worry or keel over?   BEWARE.

chris_n

Your gas usage over the last 5 months bears no relevance to the next 7 months. 

pochase

Are you not using gas for heating?

Seems you think that your usage during winter will be the same as during summer for gas.

Robin9

@brightondave  If you rerun your calculations using  the  consumption the period Sept 1 2021 to Aug 31 2022 (and add an extra 20% to the gas because it was a very mild winter) what do you get as a DD ?

[Deleted User]

This is getting like the Freeman on the Land nonsense.  People read a quarter of the useful information, combine it with something they heard down the pub, and then reckon they've found some loophole to stick it to The Powers That Be.

It is true that suppliers overestimate, because they got their knuckles rapped by OFGEM for letting customers get into debt, and so many like to be sure that you don't go negative balance over winter (even if it's a very cold one).  That doesn't mean that they're being shifty, or stealing your money, or any of the other things that people like to claim.

OP - have you actually got yearly usage figures that you can multiply by your new tariff, or did you just take a few months in the summer and add a bit?

daveyjp

Assuming you don't go away for a long period and expect to be comfy warm in December the consumption over 5 months of summer will be far lower than the next 7 months of Autumn/winter.

33% of consumption the 6 months from May-October. 66% 6 months November to April.

Assume you have used 33% now gives an annual guesstimate of 1248*3 = 3744

 3744/12 = £312 

Jyana

pochase said:

Are you not using gas for heating?

Seems you think that your usage during winter will be the same as during summer for gas.

According to their last post on this subject, EDF informed them that they used £1,175 of gas per year, as of the April price change from what I can tell.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79018871/#Comment_79018871

However, as you can see, the electricity figure they provided for them back in February appears to have been underestimated by quite some margin when compared with the one in the OP. Hopefully the they will have a firmer grip on how many gas units they will use over the next 7 months if they want to keep within their direct debt budget.

Edit: grammar

[Deleted User]

‘Doing a ML’ as the OP puts it might work in the short-term. I suspect that most CS staff will agree anything at the moment to get some consumers off the phone.

However, they will take this decision secure in the knowledge that the consumer will still be charged for the energy used at the agreed tariff rate. It just means that the size of the Piggy Bank used to pay off these charges will fall very quickly which, in turn, will result in a DD calculation greater than the £336/month and, no doubt, another conversation with CS. 

Just to reinforce the point already made. All estimations of cost going forward need to be based on 12 months of actual usage (plus/minus 10 to 20%) for warm and cold Winter differences. From the Total Cost, deduct your present credit/ debit balance and then divide what comes out by 12. Looking back 6 months fits into the GIGO category when it comes to estimating usage and costs.

jimjames

brightondave said:

do your calculations and TELL THEM what you'll be paying.
If some little old lady received this revised monthly DD she'll either pay it and worry or keel over?   BEWARE.

Good luck with that. If you TELL THEM an amount that doesn't match your usage they'll then be chasing you for the debt that you owe for energy used but not paid for.

in_my_bumble_opinion

If you open your EDF account there is a link to change your dd (up or down). 

I've found that if you put in a new amount of no more than approx 20% (+ or -) from the current dd, it's automatically accepted. You can play around with it to see the maximum change allowed.

Any bigger change then use the web 'chat' option. Via chat I've never been refused any new amount I've suggested and it holds at that rate till your next dd review (every 6 months). That's my experience anyway.

molerat

in_my_bumble_opinion said:

If you open your EDF account there is a link to change your dd (up or down). 

I've found that if you put in a new amount of no more than approx 20% (+ or -) from the current dd, it's automatically accepted. You can play around with it to see the maximum change allowed.

Any bigger change then use the web 'chat' option. Via chat I've never been refused any new amount I've suggested and it holds at that rate till your next dd review (every 6 months). That's my experience anyway.

Not in mine or my daughter's.