EDF have set my new DD based on my usage from 30 Sep to April 2023 - huge DD increase!

SarahB16

I have received a statement from EDF (dated 30th September 2022) and despite being in credit of £580 and currently paying £191 a month (my typical annual usage is 3,000kWh of electricity and 18,000 kWh of gas however I do intend to reduce my gas usage this winter) they have estimated my new DD will be £349.

What I don't understand is why they have based this on my usage from now until April 2023?  I was requested to give them an up to date reading before 8th October 2022 which I have done (but I provide monthly reading anyway so my bills are always up to date I am never in arrears).  

They say my annual billing period is 30 Sep 2022 to 8 April 2023.  Surely as I pay by monthly DD this should be calculated over 12 months and not 6 months? 

I know EDF are refunding the £67/£66 per month (re the £400 we are all receiving) directly into my bank account so it will not reduce my DD but surely EDF can't calculate my monthly DD over the six months where my usage is the highest?  

I'm hoping this can be resolved with a phone call on Monday morning (probably with an extremely long wait to get through to them though).  

Any thoughts regarding why they have based my DD payments over 6 months to April 2023?  

Thank you    

Neil_Jones

The key word here is "estimate".

Also it's autumn time, temperatures will drop and you will use more energy.  The only reason you're £580 in credit is because we've just come out of summer - where you used significantly less energy.

Also a lot depends on your house.  You will use far more in a four bedroom detached Victorian property with high ceilings and cavity gaps than you would in a modern one bedroom mid-terraced apartment.  So in other words that £580 may not go very far.

SarahB16

Neil_Jones said:

The key word here is "estimate".

Also it's autumn time, temperatures will drop and you will use more energy.  The only reason you're £580 in credit is because we've just come out of summer - where you used significantly less energy.

Also a lot depends on your house.  You will use far more in a four bedroom detached Victorian property with high ceilings and cavity gaps than you would in a modern one bedroom mid-terraced apartment.  So in other words that £580 may not go very far.

I understand all that and that was not my question.  

What I don't understand is why they have calculated my DD over 6 months rather than the usual 12 months.  

Mobtr

If your direct debit has only been calculated for 6 months then this must be your interim review & your annual review will be in April 23. The way they will have done it is to estimate what you will use between now & April, minus your credit & divide the remainder between the remaining payments. That way you should get to around a zero balance by April. I think the bills give an explanation of this now. Bear in mind you will use the majority of your usage in the next 6 months

QrizB

SarahB16 said:

I have received a statement from EDF (dated 30th September 2022) and despite being in credit of £580 and currently paying £191 a month (my typical annual usage is 3,000kWh of electricity and 18,000 kWh of gas however I do intend to reduce my gas usage this winter) they have estimated my new DD will be £349.

On the EPG-capped SVT, 3000kWh of electricity plus 12000kWh of gas will cost around £3100, or £260 per month. The now-superseded October Ofgem cap, however, would have cost considerably more and I suspect EDF have used that tariff for their calculations. You might get a further update from them in due course with a revised DD.

They say my annual billing period is 30 Sep 2022 to 8 April 2023. 

Thst seems unlikely, an annual billing period is 12 months. However EDF only bill every 6 months, which puts your next bill data at the end of March or beginning of April; is that where the confusion is?

SarahB16

QrizB said:

SarahB16 said:

I have received a statement from EDF (dated 30th September 2022) and despite being in credit of £580 and currently paying £191 a month (my typical annual usage is 3,000kWh of electricity and 18,000 kWh of gas however I do intend to reduce my gas usage this winter) they have estimated my new DD will be £349.

On the EPG-capped SVT, 3000kWh of electricity plus 12000kWh of gas will cost around £3100, or £260 per month. The now-superseded October Ofgem cap, however, would have cost considerably more and I suspect EDF have used that tariff for their calculations. You might get a further update from them in due course with a revised DD.

They say my annual billing period is 30 Sep 2022 to 8 April 2023. 

Thst seems unlikely, an annual billing period is 12 months. However EDF only bill every 6 months, which puts your next bill data at the end of March or beginning of April; is that where the confusion is?

That's all really helpful, thank you.  Any chance you could run the forecast again with gas usage at 18,000 kWh please.  

chris_n

That would be another £900 ish(at EPG rates) so £330 per month.

QrizB

In the screenshot, it does look as though EDF are working on a 6-month billing period. That's not something I've seen before, has anyone else seen it?

Apodemus

How can an annual billing period be six months? 

MWT

I wouldn't get hung up on the word 'annual', the partial image shows a calculated total of £2,285 which is entirely plausible for the next 6 months given the previous 18,000kWh of gas used.

Despite the words used it looks like they are using an estimated cost over the next 6 months only and have calculated the monthly payment correctly at £349 after deducting the October payment of £191.

The only part that isn't clear is the balance on the account of £580 which doesn't seem to have been factored in from what we can see...