EDF billing me for £400 with No Contract after My flatmate left and informed them

[JeffW]

Until March, I shared my flat with a flatmate who had a contract with EDF, and he and I had an agreement that we would split the electricity bill 50/50 (with me paying him my share, and him paying EDF).

 

In March, my former flatmate had to leave due to CV19. I had an agreement with him that I would pay him the cost of the electricity between when he left and when EDF stopped billing him due to him having informed them that he'd left.

 

My flatmate recently informed EDF that he had left the property, and they have billed me £400 for the period between when he left and when he informed them that he'd left (which was late September). 

 

If they had sent my ex-flatmate a bill for £400, I'd have happily reimbursed him. However, I object to EDF issuing me with a bill when I'd never entered into an agreement with them (and when they only have my ex-flatmate's word that I was even occupying the property between March and now). Surely their agreement was with my ex-flatmate, so they should have billed him, not me. 

 

Am I liable for the £400 charge?

 

Thanks

 

Jeff

[dx100uk]

yes

and they don't have too.

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

An important step here is to check the rate at which they are billing you.

Have they reverted to a "deemed contract"? Where they charge you the highest possible rate?

I've been itching for years to challenge a deemed contract on the basis that where no price has been agreed then a reasonable price should be implied.

Check the billing and see how they have billed you.

[JeffW]

1 minute ago, BankFodder said:

An important step here is to check the rate at which they are billing you.

Have they reverted to a "deemed contract"? Where they charge you the highest possible rate?

 

It doesn't seem to say, but they are charging me 17.65p kWh. Is that the deemed rate?

 

Thanks

 

Jeff

[BankFodder]

I have no idea what the deemed rate is. We are the CAG – not the EDF.

You will have to make enquiries, look at previous bills and find out and then come back here

[unclebulgaria67]

17.65 per KWH appears to be EDF standard variable rate.

 

This would be the default tariff that they can apply in your situation, as you personally do not have a contract.  You are being charged as the occupier using the energy supply.  Which they can do, as allowed under the legislation that was passed when the energy industry was privatised.  

 

Suggest that you look to arrange your own electricity contract, with the most competitive that you can find.  And separately look to negotiate a repayment plan with EDF, but make sure you check how exactly they have calculated the amount.  Is it based on actual meter readings or estimates ?  if you are not sure, ask them to explain in writing to you.

[BankFodder]

@unclebulgaria67 I'd be grateful if you would post a link to the applicable provision in that legislation please. It seems a bit extraordinary to me

[unclebulgaria67]

@BankFodder .Not really my area of knowledge, but I have a brain that collects too much information and from memory of reading of many cases, I remember the original Electricity Privatisation legislation being quoted.

 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/29/schedule/6/paragraph/3

 

Think this could be the legislation that is relevant here.  But could be wrong.

[BankFodder]

I'll have a look but you have me worried now because I rather had always thought that the deemed contract was simply an industry practice which seem to have gained a foothold in the culture of energy consumers

[BankFodder]

I've had a scan through the legislation you posted. It's clear that it provides that where there is no explicit contract than a deemed contract will be in place. Of course that's completely reasonable and it would have been amazing if it had been anything else. it would not be possible for a person to use electricity and then to say that it was a free gift because no written contract have been in place. Frankly this legislation didn't even need to exist as far as that concerned.

 

what I don't see in the legislation is any provision which allows the energy company to fix a price unilaterally. And that returns me to to my belief which I have always held that a reasonable price should be implied.

And I think it would be reasonable to imply the price from various circumstantial evidence including the average tariff dash and where somebody has in this case is taking over from a friend, that they would simply be a continuation of the existing contractual price.

 

Of course I can imagine that an energy company confronted with a small claim predicated on that basis would fight very hard to win because they would be a lot at stake.

 

Do we know if the the tariff which has been applied was a deemed contract tariff?

[dx100uk]

they usually default to their std advertised tariff

 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/default-tariff-cap-overview-document