EDF overcharging my father

[shortwoman68]

My father is currently with EDF but is looking to switch. 

He is 81 years of age and finds their billing system very confusing and also feels that they are not using his meter readings for billing as they are really high.

He is aware that they would increase as he lives in his home with my brother, sister and his two granddaughters, however, the bills are, what I consider, ridiculously high. 

I also think they are overcharging him as they send him a bill for one amount then say its incorrect and send him another or don't send him a new one at all.   

My father has already been to the ombudsman over their 'behaviour' eg. my father used to pay by direct debit however they failed to take his monthly payments for over 6 months, then all of a sudden sent a letter stating that he over nearly £2500 and took this amount from his account.   

When I contacted them to ask why, I was told that their system broke down therefore they were unable to take his monthly payments but at no point did they inform him of this so he could make alternative arrangements to pay.  All they said was 'sorry', which we felt was not good enough.  What if he did not have that money in his account?   

Despite, all the issues with EDF and the case to the ombudsman, the ombudsman found in their favour which was quite distressing for my father and annoying for me.   

My father have constantly contacted EDF and queried his monthly bill payments however after a year of asking, he has been told they are £377 per month. 

Yes we are aware that dependent on usage, the amount can increase, but my father has been charged nearly £900 for around 6 weeks of fuel usage (gas and electricity), which I feel is astronomical. 

My father is still battling with EDF and have taken his case to our local MP who is looking into this for him. 

It appears that what EDF have told her about his monthly payments is different to what he has been told and she has now requested some of his bills to look at.   

My father is now looking at switching suppliers as the stress is too much for him but can he still pursue EDF after he has switched?

[BankFodder]

Please check back for a reply tomorrow.

However we would like you to repost your story please in a more succinct manner and properly spaced and punctuated.

It is very difficult to follow solid blocks of text especially on small screens such as telephones.

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[dx100uk]

post spaced for you.

as a first action i would be sending EDF an SAR

edit: i would also get smart meters installed.

is he giving these readings of both meters to EDF?

How?

or is there a meter reader that comes around & how often?

dx

 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes he can still pursue EDF for billing errors after leaving them.

I think the issue is down to estimated readings.

Some energy companies now rarely send out meter readers. Instead they send out an email each month asking customers for a meter reading to be provided within 5 days. And if you don't enter meter readings, they enter an estimated reading for working out usage. And some of the usage worked out, particularly for Winter can be extreme.

For a house with the number of people, I am not surprised by a monthly amount of £377. From what I hear, this would be what people are paying for 4 to 5 bed homes, where they are not being extremely careful with usage.

[shortwoman68]

Thank you for your responses.

In response to Dx100UK,  my father provides meeting readings for both meters when they request it.  They usually send him an email but sometimes send him a letter. He also makes sure that he writes them down. 

My father does not trust smart meters, therefore he does not want to have one installed.  I will send a SAR to the company on his behalf.

In response to unclebulgaria67, my father does live in a large 6 bedroomed house, as there were 10 of us living there originally.  He is not upset about the £377 per month but the £900 for 6 weeks.  I have also noticed that during the summer months, when he was hardly using any gas, he received a bill for nearly £600 for the same duration. 

But yes, I will advise him that he can switch and pursue EDF for their billing errors.

Thank you

[Ethel Street]

Do EDF claim that your father still owes them money for bills more than 28 days old? If so EDF might be able to block any request for a transfer to another supplier.  See Citizens Advice's explanation of this

Switching if you owe your energy supplier money - Citizens Advice

WWW.CITIZENSADVICE.ORG.UK

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Check if you can switch energy suppliers if you owe your current gas or electricity supplier money and what you can do if your supplier won't let you...

 

[BankFodder]

… And one quick note about the SAR that you will be requesting. You have said that you will be making a subject access request on behalf of your father.

This must be made directly by your father. Even if you are doing it for him, do not even begin to suggest to EDF that you are some third party acting on behalf your father because it will simply give them excuses to make it more complicated and to delay.

The subject access request must be made or at least must appear to be made directly by your father including his signature and some evidence of identity or a bill or something.

They don't like receiving subject access requests and they try to make it as complicated as possible.

[shortwoman68]

Thank you for your advice.

Ethel Street - my dad will make sure that his account is up-to-date before switching as he does not want any issues with them.

BankFodder - thank you so much for this advice.  I will make sure that a letter is sent and signed by him.