EDF replaced my readings with wildly inaccurate estimates

calhawes

Morning all

I'm struggling with EDF at the moment....  

Every month I submit readings.  On Dec 4th I submitted as usual and on Dec 6th received a bill on which I was slightly in credit.  All good so far.

By Dec 14th, EDF had cancelled all my bills back to 2012 and refunded nearly £2k to my account.  I queried this and a few days later received an emailed breakdown of refunds given on the grounds that my tariff had been wrong.

On Jan 1st I went to submit new readings and found that the previous readings on my account were estimates dated to 2015.  I called and was told someone would call me back.  They didn't.

On Jan 9th I checked again and the readings were updated to new estimated readings, dated Jan 6th 2023 - and which are wildly inaccurate.  Again I called and, again, no one has called me back.

Obviously I don't want to submit new readings until the Dec 4th readings (up to which point I have paid my bills) have been reinstated.  I have no desire to pay a bill based on the difference between their fantasy-figures and my accurate readings!

This morning I've emailed complaintresolution@edfenergy.com to see if I can get a response that way.


Has anyone else experienced the same or similar and, if so, how did you get it resolved?

Many thanks
Cal

PS Tariff is Standard Warmwise

EssexHebridean

Email them the December 4th actual reading, AND the current actual reading would be my suggestion.  with EDF, putting thigs is writing is a good plan - their customer service on the telephone is frequently woeful! 

molerat

I have found that EDF customer service is abysmal.  The only route to get anything sorted is via a formal complaint as that is dealt with away from the normal CS.

Yorkshire_Pud

Take a screenshot of the meter reading(s) dated and send to edf. They can’t really argue with that can they!?

Brie

do you have copies of previous bills or correspondence which show the actual, not estimated, readings?  Even if you just have the one from Nov/Dec that would be enough for you to do your own calculation to ensure you continue to pay the correct amount while this is sorted.

Meanwhile set aside the £2k as I would guess that was an error and they will request it back.

AllanInness

I had a similar experience with EDF.. 10th of every month i put the meter readings on their website.. (I also track  it in a spreadsheet). on 31st dec 2021 I submitted my reading (as my deal was ending) and they sent me a bill with estimates on.. and they were wildly different !!!  - thus they raised my DD....   I complained, so they reissued a bill, again with estimated usage (despite me giving them the actual readings again).. so I complained... so they deleted all my reading off my account !!!  going back to 2017.   And issued me a totally fictional bill !!!   So off to the ombudsman I went...   I gave EDF and the ombudsman my spreadsheet, and copies of the bills...  showing that I was correct..  3 months later.. i get a correct bill and £100 off EDF...  and they are not allowed to touch my DD without my agreement.    I still submit my readings on the 10th of every month, despite now having a smart meter...  

calhawes

Brie said:

do you have copies of previous bills or correspondence which show the actual, not estimated, readings?  Even if you just have the one from Nov/Dec that would be enough for you to do your own calculation to ensure you continue to pay the correct amount while this is sorted.

Meanwhile set aside the £2k as I would guess that was an error and they will request it back.

I used to download all my bills but, stupidly, stopped doing so.  The most recent I have is 2018 so is probably too far back to be of any use.
I do, however, have a spreadsheet of all readings submitted dating back to June 2020.

I also have most, but not all, of the emails from EDF telling me there is a new bill and how much is due.  I can also, obviously, relate these amounts to sums paid from my bank account.  Readings are not shown on these emails.  

Re the £2k, I agree!  

Thanks
Cal

calhawes

AllanInness said:

I had a similar experience with EDF.. 10th of every month i put the meter readings on their website.. (I also track  it in a spreadsheet). on 31st dec 2021 I submitted my reading (as my deal was ending) and they sent me a bill with estimates on.. and they were wildly different !!!  - thus they raised my DD....   I complained, so they reissued a bill, again with estimated usage (despite me giving them the actual readings again).. so I complained... so they deleted all my reading off my account !!!  going back to 2017.   And issued me a totally fictional bill !!!   So off to the ombudsman I went...   I gave EDF and the ombudsman my spreadsheet, and copies of the bills...  showing that I was correct..  3 months later.. i get a correct bill and £100 off EDF...  and they are not allowed to touch my DD without my agreement.    I still submit my readings on the 10th of every month, despite now having a smart meter...  

I'm anticipating having to go to the ombudsman eventually too...  Good to know you got it sorted!

Thanks

calhawes

Update:

EDF and I have now agreed my current readings.  They are unable to explain why they cancelled the last 10 years of bills and are now trying to rebill me for the period.  However...

I'm being told that at points during the last 10 years they have billed me wrongly, either by omitting to charge me for my heating tariff or for omitting to charge me for my 'other' tariffs.  If they bill me correctly for the period it comes to 'considerably more' (their words) than the £2200 which they have credited to my account after cancelling my bills.

They are still trying to sort the mess out and have said they should have it sorted by Monday.  Rightly or wrongly I haven't asked how much 'considerably more' is, as the individual suggested that EDF might waive the charges.  My question is, if they try to get me to pay the outstanding charges - which are outstanding simply due to their own error - am I obliged by law to pay?

If they do try to get me to pay, I intend to ask for copies of all the bills dating back to 2012 which they have removed from the system and will get them to show my exactly where I was wrongly billed.  I have some downloaded bills from the period but not many, and they all look fine to me!

Thanks
Cal

pochase

If they can still charge you after more than 6 years is more than unlikely. It might even be the case that back billing rules are kicking in, but that is more complicated than is sounds in cases like this.

I doubt hat they need to show you where they billed you wrong. It would be enough if they create new bills, and you can of course dispute the bills if you believe there is something wrong.

nicetea

Not sure if this helps but has been mentioned in other posts

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-energy-back-billing-rules