EDF - utterly confusing bill.

Thoraherdscows

Hi folks - Some advice required as a starting point if possible please.

Long story short - I had a direct debit set up that covered usage and an amount on top to cover some debt that had accrued on my account.
This month, I was debited £420 which was around £90 more than the previous DD. I have had a frustrating morning calling EDF trying to get to the bottom of why this has been increased. I have also been informed that the debt has been cleared and I'm actually £1381 in credit !. I have requested a call back from a manager, as the lady I spoke to provided insufficient information regarding direct debit amounts, and any call backs I have attempted have resulted in me being cut off.

I want to go armed with facts, as I intend to launch a complaint and request my credit back. Any assistance would be gratefully received. Thank you

MattMattMattUK

Thoraherdscows said:

Hi folks - Some advice required as a starting point if possible please.

Long story short - I had a direct debit set up that covered usage and an amount on top to cover some debt that had accrued on my account.
This month, I was debited £420 which was around £90 more than the previous DD. I have had a frustrating morning calling EDF trying to get to the bottom of why this has been increased. I have also been informed that the debt has been cleared and I'm actually £1381 in credit !. I have requested a call back from a manager, as the lady I spoke to provided insufficient information regarding direct debit amounts, and any call backs I have attempted have resulted in me being cut off.

I want to go armed with facts, as I intend to launch a complaint and request my credit back. Any assistance would be gratefully received. Thank you

What does your online account show under the billing section?

dunstonh

The key to dealing with suppliers is being aware of the facts, not feelings.  i..e I feel this is wrong or too much won't get you far.

You should be able to see exactly what you have used with actual meter readings.  Use the actual readings and talk in kWh.  Not the direct debit amount you pay.      You can work out the amount you should be paying by looking at 12 months of actual readings and add on about 15% (2022 was a very mild year) and multiplying that by your current tariff. 

Once you know what your use is, then you can query amounts paid and your credit balances etc from a position of knowledge and it leaves the supplier little room to argue otherwise.

Robin9

As above - do your own sums. £1381 is a very high credit and suspicious to me -  EDF's billing system is a mystery at times, very easy for the consumer to mis-understand and - I suspect -  also to the customer service staff.

Go back to your last statement.   What is the bottom line credit / debit ?   What is the meter reading ? Is it estimated or actual ?

Now read your meter - work out your consumption and hence your costs. What have you paid in DD's in the meantime? (Has EDF actually collected them ) 

Get an up to date statement !       EDF are not keen - I managed yesterday by initiating a Chat via the QR text -  and eventually an operator conceded.

johnb2

Log on to your online account, and download the PDFs of all bills there. EDF have a Stalinist tendency to issue new bills that superceed old bills, then delete the latter so you can't use them in evidence. Print-screen all the pages too.

Do everything in writing, never use the telephone. There is an email address on their complaints , which is easier to use than chat. If you find your customer service rep is useless, as most are, state that you've lost trust in their ability to resolve the mistake, and ask for the matter to be escalated. You might find a competent one, though I haven't.

Ask them to provide a table of all meter readings on your account, and all payments, yours and the governments that have been applied to it. They are likely get this wrong.

They say you can contact their CEO. This will be ignored.

They will break the direct debit rules by taking payments without giving you the statutory 10 working days notice.

Basically you have to prepare ask if you were going to court.

pochase

When was your last bill?

EDF will show the increasing Credit, but not the energy used in your online account until a bill is raised.

On-the-coast

Don't forget that many energy companies invoice quarterly even though they take your DD monthly - which i feel adds a lot of confusion.   For example if you're a few weeks away from your quarterly invoice being released, then a credit of £1300 with 3 more cold months coming wouldn't be unreasonable for some, so do check that as well.

Mobtr

How much was your instalment plan for each month? If it was, say £100 per month, the last payment will be the £100 + whatever is left over under £100 if that makes sense. 

EssexHebridean

Surely in that instance they should take the £100, then the balance the following month, not just decide to add the last two months together like that? 

ToomanyPies

On-the-coast said:

Don't forget that many energy companies invoice quarterly even though they take your DD monthly - which i feel adds a lot of confusion.   For example if you're a few weeks away from your quarterly invoice being released, then a credit of £1300 with 3 more cold months coming wouldn't be unreasonable for some, so do check that as well.

When I was with EDF they only billed every 6 months which made it extremely difficult to budget. I used to enter monthly meter readings into a spreadsheet to know where I was with it.

pochase

That is still the case, EDF only bills every 6 months if you are on a fixed DD.