edf

[hedgehopper]

Don't believe edf when they tell you that if you have a prepayment key,that you can't run up a debt! Have just found out that my meter has been faulty for about 5 years,which they didn't bother to tell me,or fix,and now I supposedly owe them thousands..and they started taking repayments without telling me,which I only discovered when I tried to charge my key with £15 and it wasn't enough!! And most of the rules that protect you as a customer don't apply if you are on a meter. Brilliant.

[honeybees]

Wow I would get to the CAB.
I'm sure as a provider it is their duty to cover the maintainance and inform customers of any changes or malfacutions with the device.
I, personally, would dispute this even if it ends up in court.

[kayjayem]

Have you tried to sort this out with EDF? If you have and they are being unreasonable or you think they are wrong, provided you have gone through their official complaints procedure you should go to the ombudsman OFGEM who will help you if you have a case against them. I did this with Npower when I had been trying to pay them but they said they weren't our supplier! Hadn't paid them for a year as they said it wasn't their meter, OFGEM got it sorted in a week when I'd been trying for 10 months. Good luck these utility companies are a nightmare to deal with as the left had doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

[stunstead]

EDF are a nightmare. My first gas bill last year was about £8 for the first 3 months. Then when winter came and I was using the central heating the bill went up to around £50 for 3 months. Fair enough, I didnt have a problem with that.
Then I got my bill for 3 months this summer and it was about £75.00! I phoned them and advised that this cannot be correct as I hadnt used the heating since March and the gas is only used for heating water once a day for about half an hour. I asked for the meter to be checked as there was no way I would have used so much gas in the middle of summer. They advised that I would have to pay for the meter to be checked, which I refused to pay. After arguing with them for nearly 2 months I ended up having to pay the bill.
If it wasnt for my Landlord dictating which energy supplier I have to use I would have got shut of EDF straight away!

[randombadger]

They can only bill you for the last year as per the "billing code" this is regulated by ofgem. Mention it to them they will soon back off. Or they will get a fine and by fine I mean 1000s.

[randombadger]

Nov 14, 2011 10:12:09 GMT stunstead said:

EDF are a nightmare. My first gas bill last year was about £8 for the first 3 months. Then when winter came and I was using the central heating the bill went up to around £50 for 3 months. Fair enough, I didnt have a problem with that.
Then I got my bill for 3 months this summer and it was about £75.00! I phoned them and advised that this cannot be correct as I hadnt used the heating since March and the gas is only used for heating water once a day for about half an hour. I asked for the meter to be checked as there was no way I would have used so much gas in the middle of summer. They advised that I would have to pay for the meter to be checked, which I refused to pay. After arguing with them for nearly 2 months I ended up having to pay the bill.
If it wasnt for my Landlord dictating which energy supplier I have to use I would have got shut of EDF straight away!

So you moved in I assume 3 months before Winter..... August, September, October £8.00 fair enough, that's providing the meter was read at bill date.

Winter hits November, December January Brrrr £50.00 a month.

My heating certainly didnt go off until April. So thats another 3 months for £75.00...... not bad that actually considering there was a price increase. Again providing the meter had been read throughout.

[stunstead]

Nov 14, 2011 23:35:35 GMT randombadger said:

Nov 14, 2011 10:12:09 GMT stunstead said:

EDF are a nightmare. My first gas bill last year was about £8 for the first 3 months. Then when winter came and I was using the central heating the bill went up to around £50 for 3 months. Fair enough, I didnt have a problem with that.
Then I got my bill for 3 months this summer and it was about £75.00! I phoned them and advised that this cannot be correct as I hadnt used the heating since March and the gas is only used for heating water once a day for about half an hour. I asked for the meter to be checked as there was no way I would have used so much gas in the middle of summer. They advised that I would have to pay for the meter to be checked, which I refused to pay. After arguing with them for nearly 2 months I ended up having to pay the bill.
If it wasnt for my Landlord dictating which energy supplier I have to use I would have got shut of EDF straight away!

So you moved in I assume 3 months before Winter..... August, September, October £8.00 fair enough, that's providing the meter was read at bill date.

Winter hits November, December January Brrrr £50.00 a month.

My heating certainly didnt go off until April. So thats another 3 months for £75.00...... not bad that actually considering there was a price increase. Again providing the meter had been read throughout.

I get billed every 3 months, and always give a reading so I am only paying for what I use.
The £75.00 bill I am on about was for 3 months throughout this summer, so I would say £75.00 is bad as I did not have the heating on from April and have only just started using it in the last couple of weeks, and as I have said the only gas I use to heat the water.
I am aware that there has be a price increase, which is fair enough, but if the gas is not been used then the bill should not be for such a high amount!

[Karen, garrettponies]

meter readers have been known to incorrectly input readings, I would double check readings. This happened to my elderly parents and they got a HUGE bill all because of one digit input wrong.

[copperfields]

I work for a letting agents and have done for 14 years. It's not uncommon I'm afraid for debts on key meters. If you are on normal direct debit or quarterly type payment meter and can't afford your bulks you can choose to have a key prepayment meter installed then each time you top up the key a portion is taken off to go against your debt. That's why it's so important to get the key meter reset via the supplier when you first move in to a new property that has a prepayment meter. All suppliers are pretty much as bad as each other I'm afraid.

[nia2311]

I must say I have found Atlantic Gas and Electricity to be a great supplier, good customer service, good communication and we just received our regular cash-back for paying by direct debit (£75 this time). I would recommend them if you are wanting to change supplier.

[Erinx]

Are u referring to a Pre payment meter? I thought with those you could only use what you have paid for?

If ur just referring to an ordinary meter where they take readings then bill you, can I ask what the mistake is as I have one of those! I normally enter my own readings online.

Anyway I had heard that before where they can only bill you for the last 12 months if an error has been made, however I'd contact ofgem because if they are at fault why should u have to pay? I wouldn't just accept this, but please let us know how you get on.

[hedgehopper]

Yes,it is a prepayment key meter,and that is what I thought! As I discovered,the 'backbilling' rule only applies if you pay a bill,not on a key. What worries me is that they let it go on for 5 years,with the bill getting bigger,and I didn't know anything about it,and then started trying to take £120perwk of me with no notification at all.Which I only discovered when my £15 top up wouldn't work!Have gone via consumer focus,who hassled edf into applying the backbilling,but still owe money. If I did that to someone it would be called fraud.

[armada]

EDF are diabolical, they changed our meter in 2007, the noggin who fitted it got the low and high meters mixed up, so we were paying high rate when the pool heater was running, then it took 3 years to sort that out, I then complained the time clock was out, in fact it was broken, they fitted a new one on 30th Dec and I have just discovered - as I was sat up late on Friday night, that the economy 7 kicked in at 10.30pm, and then switched back to day rate at 12.30am instead of 6.30am. As our meters are in the cupboard under the stairs which is in the living room, I heard it click, if it was anywhere else I would be non the wiser.
I have been unable so far, to get a person on the end of the phone, at one point, they wanted £168 a month from us!
The word I will be using most when I finally get a real voice on the phone is 'ombudsman'.

[ladywell]

Oh heck - I have just changed over to EDF!!

[hedgehopper]

Will wish you luck and advise you to read your meter yourself,keep all your receipts,and take no sh*t from them! Consumer focus described edf as 'extremely unhelpful'!

[bow1607]

I had an EDF salesman at the door showing me there rates against others etc........ now I have watched enough tv to know they will use last years totals against this years of other companies to make theres look cheaper.
So I took my laptop to the door and started searching there rates etc, this guy went to get his manager who was in the car round the corner to explain the prices etc (he didn't speak very good english but was doing ok untill my computer came out) and I didn't see him again!!!!!
Says a lot lol

[Erinx]

O bow that's hilarious! Bet he wished he had never knocked!!

[viking]

A lesson learned eh bow ? Brilliant!

[bow1607]

he caught me on a good day ;D