EDF - getting out a fixed contract without penalties

SteveCooper

brewerdave said:

brewerdave said:

HOWEVER , it says that I could save over £410 by moving to PAYG with Standard variable and doesn't mention the exit fees. I didn't get a bung from EDF to move to the fix last year (altho I tried!) so I'm hoping that the previous poster @SteveCooper is correct about no exit fees!

Had yet another surreal Whatsapp chat yesterday where the agent told me she understood my issue - but she clearly didn't as she told me I would be charged the exit fee for changing to SVT but then said ,but don't worry ,I can confirm your charges will remain the same after July 1st !
 At that point she wanted feedback on her success in answering my query !

Two posters have contacted the same EDF supervisor and have had a positive response this is after numerous attempts from other  EDF staff members who simply said it couldn’t happen 

michaels

brewerdave said:

I'm on a fix ending June24 for gas only. Had my "annual review" letter today, via online account. That gives my expected spend for the next 12 months as the same as this ie assuming I stay on the now expensive fix .This is incorrect as I'll actually pay ~ £100 more as the Govt. EPG discount vanishes
HOWEVER , it says that I could save over £410 by moving to PAYG with Standard variable and doesn't mention the exit fees. I didn't get a bung from EDF to move to the fix last year (altho I tried!) so I'm hoping that the previous poster @SteveCooper is correct about no exit fees!

I got the annual review letter and it did mention the £150 (no cash incentive on way in). It only covered the gas though which is odd as I am on a dual fuel tariff.

brewerdave said:

brewerdave said:

HOWEVER , it says that I could save over £410 by moving to PAYG with Standard variable and doesn't mention the exit fees. I didn't get a bung from EDF to move to the fix last year (altho I tried!) so I'm hoping that the previous poster @SteveCooper is correct about no exit fees!

Had yet another surreal Whatsapp chat yesterday where the agent told me she understood my issue - but she clearly didn't as she told me I would be charged the exit fee for changing to SVT but then said ,but don't worry ,I can confirm your charges will remain the same after July 1st !
 At that point she wanted feedback on her success in answering my query !

All my documentation seems to suggest that my gas rate will stay at 10.3p in July rather than reverting to 13p of the fix by I suspect at some point they will correct this.

brewerdave

michaels said:

brewerdave said:

I'm on a fix ending June24 for gas only. Had my "annual review" letter today, via online account. That gives my expected spend for the next 12 months as the same as this ie assuming I stay on the now expensive fix .This is incorrect as I'll actually pay ~ £100 more as the Govt. EPG discount vanishes
HOWEVER , it says that I could save over £410 by moving to PAYG with Standard variable and doesn't mention the exit fees. I didn't get a bung from EDF to move to the fix last year (altho I tried!) so I'm hoping that the previous poster @SteveCooper is correct about no exit fees!

All my documentation seems to suggest that my gas rate will stay at 10.3p in July rather than reverting to 13p of the fix by I suspect at some point they will correct this.

I suspect that you are correct - ie the agent is looking at the rates (still) shown on the EDF webpage ,that include the EPG discount . One of the many problems that occur by having Customer Services based ex UK who quite clearly don't understand the practical ,day to issues of the UK market.

littleteapot

when I chose to ditch the EDF E7 2 year fix April 2024v2 in January this year it was clear from their communication that the offer of a fee-free exit only applied until end November 2022. So when I did switch to their SVR in January I paid the £150 exit fee via their automated switching process. It never occurred to me to try other methods of contact in the hope I might get the fee waived.

I was well aware that I could have switched sooner, but like some others I was very concerned about potential volatility over the winter. But when the night rate was 7p rather than the 20p I was paying on the 'amended' fix, I decided the savings to be made in Jan-March far outweighed the risks and the exit fee.

Also I don't see the EPG adjustment to the fixed tariff as a contract amendment, but more as a benefit provided by the government (and equally the cost could have increased if say the government decided to put an additional tax on energy). If it was a contract amendment I would have expected to have received a document to agree to the new terms, or leave with no penalty. But I can understand why some people may have viewed it as a contract amendment.

As it happened we were given the option to switch to SVR fee-free until a certain date which I think was more than fair on EDF's part, even though they were not contractually obliged to do this. 

PParka

I was on the Fix Total Service May24v3 tariff, so contacted EDF via WhatsApp to ask about exit fees.
The agent told me there were no exit fees if I remained with EDF.

I switched to the SVR tariff and £300 was immediately deducted from my account balance!
Emailed a complaint, and within minutes the £300 had been credited.
I can't believe they had time to even read the email, so I think it was credited automatically.

MoneySaver16

Interesting thread - is anyone able to share contact details for advisors who waived the fees? I have tried general WhatsApp support without success so far but the exchange is taking quite a while.

casjen

The contact on twitter has yesterday insisted all exit fees are being enforced with no exceptions...so who knows...

brewerdave

@SteveCooper - any updates ? Has the exit fee appeared ?

jrawle

To sort of summarise the posts above, has anyone who received a cash incentive to sign up for a fixed tariff had their exit fee waived? Or did everyone who successfully had the fee refunded not receive the bonus in the first place?

I would try my luck with an online chat if EDF provided one on their website, but I discovered they only offer WhatsApp, which I don't use...

MrBlack8

I have failed in two WhatsApp chats to have it confirmed I could avoid the exit fees. 

For reference, I did receive the £150 incentive on taking on the fixed contract (July24v6) so no idea if this is impacting their reluctance to waive the fees, but could well be. I'd be happy to pay that back to avoid the £300 exit fee of course.

Don't recall seeing the option to switch to variable fee free back in November, so annoyed with myself about that, but still hopeful they'll do something.