Trying to get a reduction in DD with EDF. Best way forward?

Robbie64

I had my 6 monthly review with EDF at the start of December. The outcome was:

1. My Direct Debit was increased from £125 to £141 per month

2. I am in credit with EDF by £103.94. As this is less than £150 EDF have a policy of not paying a refund (it's in the FAQ's).

I don't have a problem with either my DD increasing to £141 or EDF holding on to the credit but not both. I have twice sent them a request to reduce my DD back down to £125 but haven't heard a thing. I can't find an option to have the credit refunded.

Has anyone else had any joy getting EDF to reduce the DD and if so, how did you manage to get them to do it? I've tried several times to use the Chat facility but I keep getting a message that no customer service agent is available. I tried phoning them before Christmas but got nowhere, I was on hold for ages and had to hang up.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do to get them to reply. I realise that all energy companies are busy at present handling calls from people who are in a far worse position than me but as a long term (15+ years) customer of EDF i'm disappointed that the first time for many years I want to speak to them urgently I'm getting nowhere.

Had I known that they won't refund credit balances for under £150 I would have paid an extra amount to trigger a refund. However if EDF reduce my DD back to £125, the credit on my account will make up the extra amount I will be paying for fuel consumption.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

MattMattMattUK

Robbie64 said:

I had my 6 monthly review with EDF at the start of December. The outcome was:

1. My Direct Debit was increased from £125 to £141 per month

2. I am in credit with EDF by £103.94. As this is less than £150 EDF have a policy of not paying a refund (it's in the FAQ's).

I don't have a problem with either my DD increasing to £141 or EDF holding on to the credit but not both. I have twice sent them a request to reduce my DD back down to £125 but haven't heard a thing. I can't find an option to have the credit refunded.

Has anyone else had any joy getting EDF to reduce the DD and if so, how did you manage to get them to do it? I've tried several times to use the Chat facility but I keep getting a message that no customer service agent is available. I tried phoning them before Christmas but got nowhere, I was on hold for ages and had to hang up.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do to get them to reply. I realise that all energy companies are busy at present handling calls from people who are in a far worse position than me but as a long term (15+ years) customer of EDF i'm disappointed that the first time for many years I want to speak to them urgently I'm getting nowhere.

Had I known that they won't refund credit balances for under £150 I would have paid an extra amount to trigger a refund. However if EDF reduce my DD back to £125, the credit on my account will make up the extra amount I will be paying for fuel consumption.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Have you calculated you annual energy costs based on annual usage and accounting for the April increases then come to the position where you think you will still be in credit in twelve months time? Their calculations could be out, but at this time of year a credit of £103 is likely to be very inadequate and £16 pcm is well within and margin of error in either their or your calculations.

Robbie64

I'd forgotten about the imminent increases. Based on my current consumption levels and a £103 credit balance I had worked out that my monthly DD based over a year would  could have remained at £125 (the projected £141 that EDF calculated is actually correct but does not take into account the credit balance from what I can see. Adding the credit balance would have reduced the DD back down to £125). I'll next have my DD reviewed in June so I'll see what my credit is then (the last 2 weeks will have eaten into the credit anyway as it's been so cold).

MalMonroe

Hi, you say "I am in credit with EDF by £103.94. As this is less than £150 EDF have a policy of not paying a refund (it's in the FAQ's)." but the energy company has to give you a good reason for not returning your money.  

This is what Citizens Advice says - 

"Contact your supplier and tell them how much credit you’d like them to refund you. Their contact details should be on your bill or online account.

**You’ll need to give them an up-to-date meter reading. 

Your supplier might not give you a refund if they have a good reason. For example, they might not give you a refund if you only have a small amount of credit on your account during summer. This is because you’re likely to need the credit for your higher bills during autumn and winter.

If your supplier says they won’t give you a refund, they must explain their decision".

Citizens Advice link - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/  - search for 'refund from energy company'.

**When you give them an up-to-date meter reading, your credit balance will obviously be lower and you may decide you want to leave it as it is.  

I'm with Octopus and I DID have a problem with them raising my direct debit amount to a ridiculous sum which meant I was in credit every month and I prefer not to be. Because there is no advantage to paying by direct debit with them (i.e. no bonus for doing so) and no penalty either, I sent an email to let them know I'd be cancelling my DD and sending regular readings at the end of every month going forward and paying when they issued the bill. It suits me better. I'm paying for exactly what I use and I don't have a build up of credit in my energy account - I'd rather that money be in my own account. I was starting to feel that I had no choice. Some folk don't mind an energy company holding on to their money but I do.

In my experience, energy companies are reluctant to reduce a monthly direct debit amount once they've calculated annual usage. 

ariarnia

MalMonroe said:

In my experience, energy companies are reluctant to reduce a monthly direct debit amount once they've calculated annual usage. 

in our experience there quite happy to. but only if you can show them in kwh (not £) why your number is the right number. 

op. do you take regular meter readings? if you do then do you have two readings about 12 months apart for your gas and electric (or just electric). its better if its like last december and this december but any 12 months is fine as it will cover both summer and winter periods. 

if you do then you can work out your annual kwh. then use the forecast rates from jan (or the a bit more gestimated rates some on here have for the next 12 months based on longer term forecasts from when the cap goes up to an average of 3000 in april) and work out roughly what your next 12 month of bills should be. then you can work out what your dd should be. 

once you have those numbers you can go to edf with a proposed alternative number and have a much better chance of getting the rate set to the level you think it should be. 

if you have trouble with any of those steps you can post your readings here and someone will be happy to do the math for you if that helps. 

Spoonie_Turtle

MalMonroe said:

I'm with Octopus … Because there is no advantage to paying by direct debit with them (i.e. no bonus for doing so) and no penalty either

That's not the case any more.
https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/some-tariffs-cheaper-direct-debit/

https://octopus.energy/blog/energy-price-cap-oct-2022/

lohr500

I am also trying to get EDF's proposed increase in DD adjusted. Our consumption is broadly flat month on month and a comparison of the latest bill and previous from 6 months ago confirms this. My own monthly meter reading checks also support this. Our DD is covering the monthly consumption and standing charge, leaving around £10 surplus each month building as credit. Our 2 year tariff is fixed until the end of August 2023, so the monthly cost will remain broadly the same until then.

I tried calling them yesterday but forgot it was a Bank Holiday, so I will try again today. I also started a Whatsapp chat yesterday, so I may get a response today.

There would appear to be no logical reason for them to propose a 21% increase unless they are projecting the expected cost beyond the end of the fixed price tariff. 

I am more than happy to adjust the DD if I stick with EDF after the fixed tariff ends, once I know what the new rates will be. But I see no reason o build up a significant credit with EDF until then when the cash could be sat in my own account earning interest.

Mobtr

It sounds like this is your interim review rather than your annual review as any credit regardless of the amount is refunded at the annual review. Does it say on your summary page the dates of your annual billing period? Credit is refunded once a year, not every 6 months. 

The_Green_Hornet

One option would be to wait until the winter is over and then switch to Direct Debit Whole Amount Monthly. Following the switch, EDF will run down any credit balance you have before taking the actual amount for the energy you use each month. It will mean that you pay less each month in the summer and more in the winter but as you are starting in the spring you will be able to put money to one side in preparation for those higher winter bills. Better the money is in your account than theirs.

Robbie64

Here's the Help and Support page at EDF about refunds when the credit is less than £150

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-centre/faq/i-want-refund-my-account-credit

I've just noticed my annual billing period is 1 June 2022 to 24 June 2023 and I did get a £160.31 refund back in June this year so as Mobtr's post above this is most likely an interim review.

The usage in kwh for both electricity and gas as calculated by EDF is correct (based on the past 12 months usage and the current kwh tariffs and standing charges) and it does work out as being £141 per month for the rest of the billing period (I've got an excel spreadsheet so can track my usage and how much it costs). I was just slightly annoyed that iI didn't get a refund as I was looking forward to getting one before Christmas!

I'll just leave it until June 2023 and see what happens then.

ariarnia

lohr500 said:

I am more than happy to adjust the DD if I stick with EDF after the fixed tariff ends, once I know what the new rates will be. But I see no reason o build up a significant credit with EDF until then when the cash could be sat in my own account earning interest.

if it helps you work out a quick back f the envelope. if the government keep the cap at £3000 from april thru winter then the forums best guess is about 45p/kWh for electricity and 12.5p/kWh for gas

if they scrap the cap then the industry best guess for q3 and 4 (august onward) is here; https://www.cornwall-insight.com/press/cornwall-insight-forecasts-a-fall-in-the-april-2023-price-cap-but-prices-remain-significantly-above-the-energy-price-guarantee/