EDF account in credit

queline

Our EDf energy account is in credit by £1299. 

We had a smart meter installed on 8 April, therefore 3 months ago.  This is for electricity only.  We pay by monthly direct debit - £224.77. 

I've had numerous contact by email with EDF as we could not see any information on the energy hub on the app (this part has recently been sorted by the app developers as it seems our smart meter was not registered on our account, although accessible on the website).

I've been asking how we are to be billed as prior to having the smart meter I diligently sent a meter reading every month as soon as this was requested, which was followed by an up to date bill.  I've not been able to get any sensible answers from EDF, they ignore my question about how billing works with a smart meter, and at one time they suggested a refund would be forthcoming, asking me to confirm that I would like this, which of course I did, but that was weeks ago, and despite asking about it several times since, they've ignored that also. 

After emailing yet again yesterday to ask the same old questions, I received a response to say my account has been billed, and then in a separate email I received it stated that my 'bill' was ready to view.  It's not a bill but a statement, which just lists the monthly payments we have made for the last 3 months , plus that the account is in credit by £1299.  It was already in credit before the smart meter was installed. 

The emails I receive are from 'Barbara' with no second name, no job title , and no other information as to which department they are from.  The emails are written very badly, with bad grammar and no punctuation.  I honestly believe that this person does not understand my questions.

I've repeatedly asked to raise a formal complaint and how to do this, and am unable to find a copy of EDF's complaint procedure anywhere on their website. They ignore this too. I'm sticking to emails so that I have everything in writing as I'm seriously considering taking this up with Often.

Has anybody got any other suggestions or friendly advice please? 

Thanks for reading 😊 

Brie

Do your statements now show that a reading is being received?  If not and it says "estimated" then continue to send in your readings on a regular basis.  Quite a few meters don't seem to work as smartly as one would hope.  

Check if there's anything online that allows you to lower your DD.  If that is done at least the credit shouldn't get too much bigger.  And don't let them say they are keeping the credit to keep your account "safe" or some other tosh.  It's your money so better if it's in your own bank account!!  

Also check if you can be switched to a flexible DD - that way you will only pay what you are using for and so will never have a credit on your account.  Again - if this is possible then it would mean that you wouldn't pay anything for a few months while the credit gets used up.

QrizB

If all else fails, you can read your smart meter yourself and submit readings like you used to.

It's worth reading the smart meter manually now and again anyway, just so you can spot any faults or errors if they occur.

pseudodox

Have you checked that the new meter reference is on your account?  Mine took a month of me chasing them to update & meanwhile I got an estimated bill based on a fictitious estimated reading from the meter that had gone off to the scrap heap but was still on my account.  I got annoyed.  And I got compensation.

I got my SMs set up to not send readings so I just submit them myself 1st of the month & get an accurate bill of what I have actually used, just as I did with the old meters.

NorthEastLight

Only emailed EDF a couple of times but the quality of responses is very variable. I tend to phone after any initial email back and forth but my tariff setup is not plain vanilla.

EDF's how to complain page https://www.edfenergy.com/help-support/making-complaint

When was your last bill with readings issued & what's the difference between the readings used and the closing reading that you should have been left a note of when the  meter was swapped. Have you checked EDF have a record of the last old meter reading?

I get a bill from EDF based on the auto readings every month, PDF by email and also available to download in the online account portal.

It's issued on the same date each month but not necessarily your DD date.
 
Have you participated in the Sunday Saver challenges and did you earn free hours? If so, the credits should show in the online statement and would indicate EDF are receiving meter readings.

queline

Sorry this is a bit late as I couldn't access the forum for a while.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Surprise, surprise I have now received the first bill since the smart meter was installed, which covers almost 3 months, so the account balance has reduced but is still in credit by over £1000.

I also received an email from 'Barbara' today telling me that they will process a refund for the balance.  I've asked for the full amount, as I've also asked to change from monthly direct debit to paying each bill in full, as suggested by Brie. 

This latest email was written much better, which makes me think someone else wrote it for them.... My request to make a formal complaint seems to have had an effect. 

They have also confirmed that my complaint has been registered which I'm going to pursue because it's been 3 months of pure hassle and not getting anywhere.  Absolutely appalling service from EDF.