Deleted

Mobtr

Deleted_User said:

Mobtr said:

They open at 8am. Ring then, you’ll get through quickly with minimum wait 

I can cancel my direct debit via my bank online for free. No wait. No hassle. No risk of running up a big phone bill and getting the run around.- or stress levels though the roof.

Is there any benefit to me in getting in touch with a company that's stripped all info from their site to make it damn difficult for you to avoid paying a whopping direct debit for energy that you're simply not going to use?

What's the penalty for doing it the easy way and just cancelling via my bank?

No penalty, you’ll just get a letter saying the direct debit has been cancelled & you’ll go onto monthly cash/cheque. No problems, you’ll get a letter each month asking for readings, give them, get a bill & pay it 

cmgurney

I was switched to EDF when UP failed last year. I initially opted not to set up a DD with them because I thought I might be moving away again quickly. Then I realised that they were likely to take massive sums in advance. I wanted to set up a 'whole amount' DD but couldn't find how to do that on their website. Now I'm concerned by what I've read here about them taking estimated amounts under that method, not the actual usage. As the OP says, with interest rates now so much better, it's possible to offset some part of the higher tariff from the interest on savings. After all, that's why they want us to pay by DD, so that they can earn interest on the money we've paid in advance. I also pay my EDF bills from my Chase bank account, which earns me 1% cashback each time. 

ariarnia

cmgurney said:

I was switched to EDF when UP failed last year. I initially opted not to set up a DD with them because I thought I might be moving away again quickly. Then I realised that they were likely to take massive sums in advance. I wanted to set up a 'whole amount' DD but couldn't find how to do that on their website. Now I'm concerned by what I've read here about them taking estimated amounts under that method, not the actual usage. As the OP says, with interest rates now so much better, it's possible to offset some part of the higher tariff from the interest on savings. After all, that's why they want us to pay by DD, so that they can earn interest on the money we've paid in advance. I also pay my EDF bills from my Chase bank account, which earns me 1% cashback each time. 

the problem happened when the bill generation and meter reading were out of time. the order should be meter reading. bill generation. dd. 

if you have a smart meter then you dont need to worry about when they get the reading. it will send a reading at the right time. but if your bill is generated in the middle of the month but you pay your dd on the last day of the month then thats to long between a reading and payment for the computer to know what the payment should be for that month so they take the 'default' amount (which is basically the same as the monthly average dd).

if that happens to you the easy way to fix it seems to be to contact them and move your dd so that its a few days after your bill is generated. 

Jyana

Deleted_User said:

cmgurney said:

I was switched to EDF when UP failed last year. I initially opted not to set up a DD with them because I thought I might be moving away again quickly. Then I realised that they were likely to take massive sums in advance. I wanted to set up a 'whole amount' DD but couldn't find how to do that on their website. Now I'm concerned by what I've read here about them taking estimated amounts under that method, not the actual usage. As the OP says, with interest rates now so much better, it's possible to offset some part of the higher tariff from the interest on savings. After all, that's why they want us to pay by DD, so that they can earn interest on the money we've paid in advance. I also pay my EDF bills from my Chase bank account, which earns me 1% cashback each time. 

So are you on their higher tariff? Do you know offhand what the standing charges are? 

The link to the prices was popped in a post for you on the first page by ariarnia.

cmgurney

Deleted_User said:

cmgurney said:

I was switched to EDF when UP failed last year. I initially opted not to set up a DD with them because I thought I might be moving away again quickly. Then I realised that they were likely to take massive sums in advance. I wanted to set up a 'whole amount' DD but couldn't find how to do that on their website. Now I'm concerned by what I've read here about them taking estimated amounts under that method, not the actual usage. As the OP says, with interest rates now so much better, it's possible to offset some part of the higher tariff from the interest on savings. After all, that's why they want us to pay by DD, so that they can earn interest on the money we've paid in advance. I also pay my EDF bills from my Chase bank account, which earns me 1% cashback each time. 

So are you on their higher tariff? Do you know offhand what the standing charges are? 

Yes.

Standing charges (South West region):

Electricity: 59.03p per day

Gas: 33.53p per day

Mobtr

ariarnia said:

cmgurney said:

I was switched to EDF when UP failed last year. I initially opted not to set up a DD with them because I thought I might be moving away again quickly. Then I realised that they were likely to take massive sums in advance. I wanted to set up a 'whole amount' DD but couldn't find how to do that on their website. Now I'm concerned by what I've read here about them taking estimated amounts under that method, not the actual usage. As the OP says, with interest rates now so much better, it's possible to offset some part of the higher tariff from the interest on savings. After all, that's why they want us to pay by DD, so that they can earn interest on the money we've paid in advance. I also pay my EDF bills from my Chase bank account, which earns me 1% cashback each time. 

the problem happened when the bill generation and meter reading were out of time. the order should be meter reading. bill generation. dd. 

if you have a smart meter then you dont need to worry about when they get the reading. it will send a reading at the right time. but if your bill is generated in the middle of the month but you pay your dd on the last day of the month then thats to long between a reading and payment for the computer to know what the payment should be for that month so they take the 'default' amount (which is basically the same as the monthly average dd).

if that happens to you the easy way to fix it seems to be to contact them and move your dd so that its a few days after your bill is generated. 

If you pay by direct debit whole amount monthly you can’t change the date if the direct debit, you can only do that on the fixed version. The way a whole amount works is you give them a reading, they produce a bill & 14 days later the full amount is taken from your bank account so depending on the date of the bill, depends on when it’s taken. You also need to give the reading when they request it, not when you want to give it to make it work effectively. If its set up for middle of the month, no good giving reads at the beginning just because you want to, you’ll only get the basic amount taken

peter3hg

Deleted_User said:

ariarnia said:

Deleted_User said:

ter3hg said:

Their £185 can't be based on the figures you've quoted as they would lead to a DD of nearly £300.
I would estimate based on your previous usage you would be looking at around £162 a month so they aren't stupidly over. Energy companies aren't likely to take your word that you will reduce usage so I can understand why they wouldn't accept £126 a month, especially heading in to winter where usually you would be using a lot anyway.

Which is why I want to switch to paying for what I actually use. It's not the energy company's place to decide whether or not they will take my word for what energy I intend to use. I want to pay for what I use - not for what an energy company that has no clue about my circumstances THINKS I will use. 

They don't need to take my word about anything. Just as I don't need to pay them £185 a month simply because they demand it (although if I don't cancel my direct debit they actually CAN just help themselves to whatever they want). 

I really just need to know if there's any drawback (other than higher tariff) if I just cut them out of the loop (on the grounds that they are too difficult to contact) and tell my bank to cancel the direct debit. If they don't give me a bill for amount actually used by the 27th Nov (my direct debit date) I can calculate the amount I owe based upon actual usage and send them a payment (with a bit extra to cover the cost of a higher tariff). I don't see how this can lead to any problems as I won't be behind on payments at any time?

if you just cancel your dd then as far as they know the dd will just fail. that will trigger problems on there end and probably letters and trying to set the dd back up. much better to either try and get hold of them to switch to paying directly or if you just dont trust them anymore then switch suppliers and start with a new supplier paying by variable or cash (some places dont do variable but i think all of them have to offer cash or card on recept of a bill thanks to ofgem requiring them to offer payment methods for people who dont have bank accounts). 

I contacted them and asked them to reduce my direct debit explaining why it was too high. They essentially told me that I was too thick to manage my finances so they were taking the £185 for my own good (OK, paraphrasing, but that truly is how it came across). 

I then spent two days picking through their website trying to work out how to change to full amount DD - all the relevant info has been removed from their site. I've tried to get through on chat and whatsap. Paying for phone calls will add insult to injury - and it seems you can't switch supplier without phone calls.

So quite frankly, at this point I don't care if it triggers problems on their end. They made their bed. They shouldn't make it so damn difficult/expensive to contact them. I just want to stop them from taking money from my bank account that they aren't entitled to. I have tried very hard to do it through them. 

So, if it triggers problems at their end - can they penalize me in any way?

I've explained why from their point of view the direct debit isn't too high based on the information they have.
You know your circumstances have changed so it is logical to move to whole amount direct debit, at least until they have a full year of your revised usage.

Don't just cancel your direct debit though as they will move you to a more expensive tariff (7-10% more).


The variable direct debit is described as Whole Amount Direct Debit on their website so asking directly for that should get you that you want.

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-support/ways-to-pay

Dobbibill

My DD was changed from budget DD to variable monthly over their chat function in minutes. 
They do say if they don't receive a meter reading then they will take the monthly DD they set but I have a smart meter so they receive the reading without me doing anything. 
I've now moved the difference between what they estimated per month vs what I've paid when each month into a savings account ready for the higher winter bills.
This avoids a higher tariff as it's not the quarterly 'receipt of bill' payment but means I only pay what I use. 

bristolleedsfan

Deleted_User said:

peter3hg said:

Deleted_User said:

ariarnia said:

Deleted_User said:

ter3hg said:

Their £185 can't be based on the figures you've quoted as they would lead to a DD of nearly £300.
I would estimate based on your previous usage you would be looking at around £162 a month so they aren't stupidly over. Energy companies aren't likely to take your word that you will reduce usage so I can understand why they wouldn't accept £126 a month, especially heading in to winter where usually you would be using a lot anyway.

Which is why I want to switch to paying for what I actually use. It's not the energy company's place to decide whether or not they will take my word for what energy I intend to use. I want to pay for what I use - not for what an energy company that has no clue about my circumstances THINKS I will use. 

They don't need to take my word about anything. Just as I don't need to pay them £185 a month simply because they demand it (although if I don't cancel my direct debit they actually CAN just help themselves to whatever they want). 

I really just need to know if there's any drawback (other than higher tariff) if I just cut them out of the loop (on the grounds that they are too difficult to contact) and tell my bank to cancel the direct debit. If they don't give me a bill for amount actually used by the 27th Nov (my direct debit date) I can calculate the amount I owe based upon actual usage and send them a payment (with a bit extra to cover the cost of a higher tariff). I don't see how this can lead to any problems as I won't be behind on payments at any time?

if you just cancel your dd then as far as they know the dd will just fail. that will trigger problems on there end and probably letters and trying to set the dd back up. much better to either try and get hold of them to switch to paying directly or if you just dont trust them anymore then switch suppliers and start with a new supplier paying by variable or cash (some places dont do variable but i think all of them have to offer cash or card on recept of a bill thanks to ofgem requiring them to offer payment methods for people who dont have bank accounts). 

I contacted them and asked them to reduce my direct debit explaining why it was too high. They essentially told me that I was too thick to manage my finances so they were taking the £185 for my own good (OK, paraphrasing, but that truly is how it came across). 

I then spent two days picking through their website trying to work out how to change to full amount DD - all the relevant info has been removed from their site. I've tried to get through on chat and whatsap. Paying for phone calls will add insult to injury - and it seems you can't switch supplier without phone calls.

So quite frankly, at this point I don't care if it triggers problems on their end. They made their bed. They shouldn't make it so damn difficult/expensive to contact them. I just want to stop them from taking money from my bank account that they aren't entitled to. I have tried very hard to do it through them. 

So, if it triggers problems at their end - can they penalize me in any way?

I've explained why from their point of view the direct debit isn't too high based on the information they have.
You know your circumstances have changed so it is logical to move to whole amount direct debit, at least until they have a full year of your revised usage.

Don't just cancel your direct debit though as they will move you to a more expensive tariff (7-10% more).


The variable direct debit is described as Whole Amount Direct Debit on their website so asking directly for that should get you that you want.

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-support/ways-to-pay

Thank you, but I know all this. 

The problem is, they have removed all information from their website about how you switch to whole amount direct debit. 

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-centre/faq/i-pay-direct-debit?steps=23147-23136#chapter-23133-3

pochase

And here is the site with the links to their rate tables. Nothing has been removed.

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/latest-price-cap-rate-cards

This is btw the same table @ariarnia has linked already on the first page of this thread.

EDF never had the possibility to change to variable direct debit online, so nothing has been removed.