Edf energy advice

[sweetgirl]

Can someone advise......

My direct debit was dropped from ?140 a month to ?59 a month, sometime last year.

This month i got a bill for ?425 & my direct debit shot up to ?282 a month.

I paid the ?425 as i dont like debit balances & am in a position to clear it.

Once cleared i called up edf & told them i had paid it & asked them to put my DD back to ?140 monthly & NOT TO CHANGE IT ANYTIME!

I also followed this up via email explained to them they should leave as it is as any future debits i incur because of them reducing my DD, I WILL REFUSE TO PAY & THEY WILL HAVE TO TAKE ME TO COURT TO GET THAT MONEY BACK FROM ME!

Now this morning I woke up to a letter from edf stating they are reducing my DD to ?63 to reflect my new account balance which is zero.

This letter comes after the acknowledgement of my email to them earlier this week!

I'm actually furious as it seems like they are forcing me to have a debit balance which i don't want to have!

I really haven't got the time or patience to go to court, i would rather avoid that at any cost.

Can anybody give me a construction opinion on this as i can't see any other avenues to go down?

TIA

[IlonaM]

Hi Tia,

Are you on a fixed plan or are you on the EDF standard rate?

In my experience it is normal for the EDF computer to try to up your direct debit following a meter reading/bill. It doesn't mean you cannot negotiate it down again to a level you can afford each month. I had a monthly DDR of ?50 for years and every time the DDR was automatically raised (to amounts I did not want to pay out each month) I phoned EDF and negotiated it back to where it was. At the time I used my ISA savings to pay any excess on individual bills and the customer service agents were happy for me to do this to clear my bill. Unfortunately, last time I had to choose a fixed rate the only option I could afford was a ?98 pcm direct debit, but I haven't had to pay more and EDF automatically refunded the debit accrued. God only knows what it will be in April when the current fixed deal comes to an end - not looking forward to that shock at all!

You are also entitled to request any monies held as a debit to be returned to you and EDF will even automatically return debits, as I found out recently. However, the benefit of accruing a debit during the warmer months of the year is that it helps to cover the increased bills in the colder months.

There is no need to go to court or let it enrage you, it is just a question of systematically negotiating the automatic (computer-led) increase back down to a level you can afford. I suggest calling EDF as I always managed to keep control of my DDR amount in the past, as have other family members with the computer's attempts to increase their DDRs. As long as you can show the customer services agent that you have a history of clearing any additional costs there should not be a problem.

Maybe other EDF customers will have some alternative suggestions.

[Chick]

Set up a standing order they can't change that only you can.

[Castleton]

Change suppliers

[JohnL]

EON is mine and a payment of 150 to clear my accumulated debt will be needed.

I'll have to increase my DD from 70 to 85 too I think but EON don't seem bothered enough to change anything .. yet, they'll just let it accumulate.