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No Electricity Bill for 15 Months

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About 3 months ago I wanted to see when my current fix was due to expire and logged in to see a large credit on the account. Thought it was odd and started looking into it more and noticed my bills showed Gas only. I could see usage was being usage was being tracked. However when checking meter readings it didnt show anything for Electricity unlike the Gas which was being updated regulary via the smart meter. I then uploaded the meter readings monthly for the past 3 months but still they aren't sending me any bills for electricity. 

Im a little concerned the credit is not enough to cover the usage and ill have an additional bill to pay. My question I guess is, when I contact them to finally sort this could they bill me for the entire 15 months or would I be liable only for the past 12 months? There has been 0 contact from EDF asking for meter readings they obviously have access to the smart meter as usage is being tracked etc. 

Comments

  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 18,150 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Welcome to the forum.
    Now you've noticed, you need to call or email them and let them know.
    lewprosser1984 said:. 
    ...when I contact them to finally sort this could they bill me for the entire 15 months or would I be liable only for the past 12 months? 
    Thegy'll bill you for the whole period.
    The credit on your account should cover pretty much all the bill. Any shortfall should result in a DD adjustment spreading it over the next 6-12 months.
    Only if the credit fails to cover the bill older than 12 months will they write anything off. If that's the case, you'll owe them for the entirety of the past 12 months so let's hope your DD was set realistically in the first place.
    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
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  • Scot_39
    Scot_39 Posts: 3,467 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 20 July at 8:51PM
    1) Are EDF your electric supplier ?
    What do you mean usage tracking but no meter readings - confused by this.  
    Were you getting estimated electricity bills but meter based actual readings on gas sections of bills ?
    Or just gas bills and nothing at all for electric ?

    It is entirely possible that EDF have failed to link one or other meter reading to your new tariff.  Or that one simply stopped reporting (meters are known to disconnect or go wrong - often its both or just the gas reading - but in your case its the electric).  
    You cannot simply afford to assume smart meters will remain smart these days - they can and do fail in some cases. 
    If no bills - are EDF your registered supplier still (assuming they were before the fix) - you could ask them or hunt down your DNO and ask them instead.

    2) RE the 12m vs 15m backbilling issue
    This problem is not only they - but you should have spotted and reported from your first bill after the change - you should always check bills around supplier or tariff changes - I check my monthly statement every month - just to make sure the smart meter is still reporting - as they do definitely fail for some people.  
    You shouldn't for instance let a series of estimated bills accumulate - the longer that happens - the chances are the bigger the overshoot / undershoot on payments.
    And checking bills (keeping bills) especially around tariff, meter or supplier changes - as things do go wrong - as they clearly have here - should ideally be seen as the norm.  Too many trust suppliers - some of us have learnt not to.
    As an absolute minimum you should ideally have reported the problem 3 months ago when first noticed it. When you started reporting readings directly.

    Have they not billed you on any of those measurements since - if not - license 21B.1 / 21B.2 - so again what is your normal account statement frequency. See section 21B on bolling here



    3) Re possible demand / debit balance
    However, your not the first person to be faced with a potential catch up bill after billing issues.
    And although EDF might try and play hardball - this in part is clearly their fault - and so if you pay by DD - hopefully they will just allow you to overpay say over next n months - rather than as I suspect their first offer might be - demanding full payment.  
    Id look for a year minimum interest free (some here have managed to get 2 years for larger sums from their suppliers say after 2-3 years of estimated under billing) from them if a significant demand - and that without any sort of debt proceedings taking place.

    Do you have an estimated figure in mind ?

    They certainly should have made "reasonable effort" to get at least one actual reading in the last 12 months if they were your electric supplier - assuming they are you registered electricity supplier (hence question re estimated bill amounts or no bills at all for electricity) under their license conditions. 21B.4

    And even if they do allow you 12m cut off for backbilling - any payment on account - say via an annualised DD payment - will be retained / not refunded for those 3 months.  So it may not save you as much as you might think.

    4) Deal with Head On
    The first thing to do is contact them and get the ball rolling - the longer you leave it might just mean the larger any demand is likely to be.
    Come back once you have reported problem formally - maybe if do by phone - send a brief summary of your understanding of the call - to keep as a paper trace - and keep any and all of their responses until resolved.  


    5) Report back on their response / comments.
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