EDF Warmwise Complex Meter - HELP!!!

TheRaiven · 5 June 2018 at 7:20PM

Hi lovely people

I'm posting here out of desperation, really. Just spent 35 mins on the phone to EDF trying to sort out a problem with my EDF Warmwise meter. It has 4 readings: Day, Evening and Weekend, Night, and Heating. The Heating is supplied for 8 hours a day to fill a night storage heater and immersion boiler.

I've owned the flat from 2013 and found the meter very economical, paying around £10 per month. The Heating meter has logged an average between 0.22kWh (in summer) and 1.32kWh (winter) per day. Yes, I keep spreadsheets of the usage as stated on the bills, to make sure they're in line with my meter readings.

However, in the Nov 2017 - Jan 2018 bill, the readings indicate that I've used an average of 18 Heating Units per day. The actual numbers I'm submitting to EDF do match the numbers on the meter. But there's no way I've gone from an average of 1.32kWh to an average of 18kWh per day, just on heating!!! They're now saying my bill from 02/06/17 to 01/06/18 is going to come to over £500!!!

I struggled to make the customer service agent understand the problem. She wants to check their records, then do a Consumption Check with me on the phone. I guess they have to tick their boxes, but I'm autistic and this sort of thing is a nightmare for me. She says it has to be over the phone, they can't just email me a questionnaire. Grr for the 21st Century, the Equality Act, reasonable adjustments.... they just can't.

Has anyone else had this problem? How did you resolve it? What happens if they tell me there's nothing wrong?

I'm trying to be patient and let them do their investigating, but would like some reassurance that I'm not the only one this has happened to, and that it can be resolved.

Many thanks for your help
Jo

molerat · 5 June 2018 at 9:49PM

Something is wrong with your earlier bills. £10 per month is ridiculously, even impossibly low. Also your "heat" use of .22 - 1.32 kWh per day is way off. Post up some meter reads for over the year - have you had a visit from a meter reader recently ?

jk0 · 5 June 2018 at 10:04PM

Your energy cost £120 per year?!

How likely is that? Even £500 sounds very cheap.

matelodave · 5 June 2018 at 10:50PM

£10 a month would hardly cover the standing charge - something is wrong either with the readings or the billing.

Even 18kw a day in the winter is unfeasibly low for your energy if you are heating your home and your water, lighting, cooking, washing and watching the TV.

You need to put up a lot more info if you want advice

Katie-Kat-Kins · 6 June 2018 at 2:24PM

Your use is too low, if you are using electric heating there is no way your usage is just £10 a month.

I have a similar meter (Heatwise with 5 rates) and they are a nightmare, lots of suppliers don't understand them and it is easy for the readings to get confused so I would suggest that it is likely that you have been billed incorrectly and have underpaid. I would suggest looking up the back billing code.

Regarding the phone issue - it is very poor that they can't make reasonable adjustments, for example doing the test via live chat. You may wish to make a separate complaint about this. In the meantime though if you have a trusted friend or relative you could authorise them to speak on your behalf so that they can help you deal with the issue.

TheRaiven · 7 June 2018 at 9:20PM

Hi all
Thanks for your replies. Sorry if I take a while to respond, work is crazy-busy right now.

This is a ground-floor studio flat, insulated on all but one side by other flats and the ground. It's literally a 14foot square room with kitchen and bathroom at one end. So it's really economical to heat and light.

The other readings on the bill are for day, evening and weekend, and night rates, which cover TV, laundry, kettle etc (total 348kWh on the latest bill covering 121 days). They have their own prices and sensibly register what they use. In my latest bill the heating has rocketed up from 230kWh for 184 days to 1125kWh for 121 days just on heating!!

There is one night storage heater in the room, switched on between October and April at about half-capacity. The boiler is a 100litre immersion boiler new in 2012. It is on heat setting 4 of 5 and is more than sufficient for one shower and some washing up every day.

Standing charge is 18p a day now. kWh charges have gone up by a few pence but still less than 25p per kWh.

EDF called back yesterday and agreed something is wrong; I'm waiting to hear from the Complex Metering Team to book an appointment.

I've tried to upload pictures of the bills but the forum won't let me. If anyone can tell me how to do it, I'd be grateful as I'm fed up of trying to work it out.

Any opinions gratefully appreciated

Jo

Jonesya · 7 June 2018 at 9:33PM

To give you an idea of what 1.32kWh is - that's like running one of those old-fashioned, single bar electric fires for around one to two hours.

Clearly that isn't enough to heat your flat and heat water, unless you keep it exceptionally cold. There's something wrong, the reading should be a lot higher.

You current reading of 10kWh per day sounds more realistic - that should heat a room for a bit during the morning and the day.

But you should check your tariff - you mention 25p/kWh, you heat rate should be a lot lower, you hope below 10p/kWh.

TheRaiven · 7 June 2018 at 9:50PM

Re: the phone issue and reasonable adjustments. I shall absolutely make a complaint to EDF about this. After all, they'd make adjustments for the hearing-impaired.

This is harsh, but I'm autistic, not incompetent. I'm a talented, intelligent 30-something lady with a 136 IQ and my own business. This is the 21st century, we have more ways of communicating than ever before. If phones give me trouble, I can choose to communicate without them. My clients know to only use the phone if it's a dire emergency. If EDF cannot provide flexibility such as an email questionnaire or the option to do it over text chat, that is their problem. Perhaps it's a point of pride, perhaps it's one of enablement, but I (and others who prefer / need methods other than the phone) should have that option.

I do appreciate the suggestion from Katie-Kat. This rant is not aimed at you personally, rather it's aimed at the general reaction of "ask someone else to do it for you" which was EDF's response too. Of course many people do find assistants, carers, appropriate adults, advocates etc very helpful and it's absolutely their right to use them. But as a default go-to, as an excuse by big corporates to avoid creating flexibility and true user-friendliness, it's unacceptable.

TheRaiven · 7 June 2018 at 9:59PM

Jonesya wrote: »

To give you an idea of what 1.32kWh is - that's like running one of those old-fashioned, single bar electric fires for around one to two hours.

Clearly that isn't enough to heat your flat and heat water, unless you keep it exceptionally cold. There's something wrong, the reading should be a lot higher.

You current reading of 10kWh per day sounds more realistic - that should heat a room for a bit during the morning and the day.

But you should check your tariff - you mention 25p/kWh, you heat rate should be a lot lower, you hope below 10p/kWh.

Thanks Jonesy. 25p is the highest rate, for Day use. The heating is 7.13p. The night storage heater isn't an old-fashioned bar heater. It stores heat overnight and releases it throughout the day, so doesn't need to draw power constantly. Which electric radiators do. EDF switch on this circuit for 8 hours in every 24 and it heats the water too which is stored in the immersion boiler.

It has to be said though, I do love my tracksuit, blankets and duvet. So I don't have it much above 18c or 19c in here. This winter wasn't exceptionally cold, or any colder than last winter or the four previous winters I've spent here. To go from around 230kWh to 1196kWh without any visible change in usage (ie I haven't added the rest of the flats in the block to my meter) surely is a bit ridiculous?

TheRaiven · 7 June 2018 at 10:03PM

Unless there's something wrong with the storage heater.... that hadn't occurred to me before... It shall be investigated!

molerat · 7 June 2018 at 10:11PM

If a storage heater goes wrong you know about it, either freezing cold or you can smell the burning paint, anything in between is working properly.

EDF Warmwise Complex Meter - HELP!!!

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