EDF mistakes at account closure - should I keep calling them, or sit tight and wait it out?

MWT

You would like to be told it is OK to take something you know you are not entitled to...

... I'm not going to do that.

Be guided by your own moral compass, and deal with the consequences accordingly.

[Deleted User]

I agree that the situation is bizarre but the Licence Conditions were drafted by a 5 year old. The supplier has to issue a Final Bill within 6 weeks from the transfer date. It then has to issue a revised bill as soon as new information comes to light.

The supplier should offer some compensation for poor customer service but it can still issue an amended bill:  it cannot claim payment after 6 years.

FWiW, I feel your pain. When I switched from EDF last January my Final Bill was 39p out. I provided them with a simple spreadsheet (countersigned by a FCA accountant: my daughter)  but they refused to budge so I raised a complaint. This eventually went to The Energy Ombudsman who found in my favour. EDF’s failure to budge cost them £500+ in Ombudsman fees plus compensation for poor customer service. A charity is now a few £s better off.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] said:

I agree that the situation is bizarre but the Licence Conditions were drafted by a 5 year old. The supplier has to issue a Final Bill within 6 weeks from the transfer date. It then has to issue a revised bill as soon as new information comes to light.

The supplier should offer some compensation for poor customer service but it can still issue an amended bill:  it cannot claim payment after 6 years.

FWiW, I feel your pain. When I switched from EDF last January my Final Bill was 39p out. I provided them with a simple spreadsheet (countersigned by a FCA accountant: my daughter)  but they refused to budge so I raised a complaint. This eventually went to The Energy Ombudsman who found in my favour. EDF’s failure to budge cost them £500+ in Ombudsman fees plus compensation for poor customer service. A charity is now a few £s better off.

I'm not surprised they didn't budge when you provided them with a spreadsheet signed by a family member.

Doesn't change the fact that they should have got it right in the first place though.  And the 'must produce and chase a final bill so quickly' clause is a sledgehammer cracking the wrong nut.

On-the-coast

"it shows as a credit due to me of about £400! In reality, I owe them about £300."

I also feel your pain (having spent 18 months waiting for a credit to arrive)
Like you i was confident in my calculations, but i was happy to wait knowing that things would either result in a favourable complaint outcome (i never actually got to the formal complaint stage), or the money arriving.
Provided you have evidence of the opening and closing readings somewhere all should resolve itself. 

It's essential you put any credited money received safely to one side. I'd recomend you add £300 to it so that you have £700 sitting in a savings account waiting for them to catch up. if you receive a cheque for £400 it's probably best to bank it (it would be frustrating for them to come asking for a refund of a cheque that you were unable to bank because it had expired!)
Separately you can relax and raise a complaint if you wish.... it might make you feel better, and you might even get a small amount of recompense, but it seems you've wasted a lot of your time on this already (which is not a criticism of your actions)
Best wishes...

Mobtr

If you’ve changed suppliers then EDF have to close your account down to the readings they receive from the new supplier, an agent can’t /shouldn’t just change it doesn’t matter how many times you give them the readings. Ring the complaints team & they should sort it for you 

QrizB

What_time_is_it said:

Do I call them again to try and resolve this? Or do I just sit tight now and wait for them to realise their mistake?

Personally I'd accept the £400 refund but keep in mind that I really owe them £700 and they are likely to realise this some time in the next 6 years.

in_my_bumble_opinion

Natwest have a 5% savings account for amounts up to 1k....just sayin'.

On a more serious note, EDF have the responsibility to bill you correctly. You have spent time trying to help them correct their mistake and they have failed to rectify it. Let the ombudsman have at it.

Mobtr

in_my_bumble_opinion said:

Natwest have a 5% savings account for amounts up to 1k....just sayin'.

On a more serious note, EDF have the responsibility to bill you correctly. You have spent time trying to help them correct their mistake and they have failed to rectify it. Let the ombudsman have at it.

You can’t go to the ombudsman without raising a complaint first & allowing them 8 weeks to resolve it 

in_my_bumble_opinion

Mobtr said:

in_my_bumble_opinion said:

Natwest have a 5% savings account for amounts up to 1k....just sayin'.

On a more serious note, EDF have the responsibility to bill you correctly. You have spent time trying to help them correct their mistake and they have failed to rectify it. Let the ombudsman have at it.

You can’t go to the ombudsman without raising a complaint first & allowing them 8 weeks to resolve it 

Yes, I know. Yet more work/time the customer has to find, though at least there is a process to follow if they choose that road. 

Aylesbury_Duck

What_time_is_it said:

MWT said:

What_time_is_it said:

Frankly, I'm sick of ringing them. And each time I ring it seems to make the problem worse!

Do I call them again to try and resolve this? Or do I just sit tight now and wait for them to realise their mistake?

Annoying as it is, there isn't really any justification for deciding to stop ringing the first time a mistake is in your favour instead of theirs...

You know what you should do, up to you what you actually do...

There is only one correct bill, personally I wouldn't stop until we got there.

But I have spent hours and hours on this already. And some of the people I've spoken to have been very rude to me too.
Why should I spend any more time on this? I've explained to them carefully and patiently what the situation is. I have given them our final gas meter readings many times now. Our new supplier has the correct readings and it's all working fine with them.
Why on earth should it be on me to fix this now? They have all the information they need.

It's like if a supermarket were insisting on giving me more change than I was due. I'd point it out, explain that it was incorrect. and tell them what the correct amount should be. But, if I did this 2 or 3 times and they were still trying to force a fiver into my hand and taking up my time, I would eventually walk away and leave it with them to sort out.

Because it's the right thing to do and if you don't, you might find you are billed for the £700 at any point in the next six years.  If you're happy with that stance and that possibility, don't do anything more.

The other thing to remember is that you're on a forum where everyone gives up their time to advise and help others, and on a board where there are lots of people genuinely fearful about the coming winter and the very real choices they'll have to make.  Expecting people to continue to help and advise you (and you've had a LOT of advice on various topics) after you seem happy to hold onto a load of money you aren't entitled to, might be a little ambitious.