EDF: Not making it any easier to like them.

Click for larger version. Extract from my electricity bill – almost every number is wrong, even though EDF have records of my electricity and gas usage at 30 minute intervals and can read the meter remotely in an instant. But for some reason they chose to use estimated readings on my bill resulting in a £283.71 error in their favour. Mmmm.

I wrote the other week about how I found it hard to like EDF, the company that supplies my electricity and gas.

That was because they raised the price of night-time electricity by 73%!

But having invested in insulation and solar panels and a battery, I had been looking forward to April 9th, the date of my semi-annual billing review. I was looking forward to receiving a pleasing refund of my annualised direct-debit payments.

But when the bill arrived I was shocked to find that almost every number on the bill was wrong!

Despite the fact that EDF have instant access to my ‘smart’ gas and electricity meters, and a half-hourly record of my gas and electricity usage across this period, they chose to bill me using estimated meter readings.

And surprisingly, this resulted in a £283.71 error in their favour.

I spoke with a helpful operative today who pulled the current readings live, and took readings from their historic data in seconds, and it looks like they will sort this out shortly. Good.

Is this fraud?

EDF do a noble thing. They are bringing electricity and gas to consumers and I am grateful. But this behaviour is appalling.

This bill is a demand for money ‘on spec’ when they have access to the correct readings.

At the age of 61, I am still reasonably savvy, but I felt physically shocked at this demand for money.

I can imagine that many people – perhaps less numerate than myself – might not appreciate that they were being deliberately over-charged.

This behaviour – coupled with their 73% rise in the cost of night-time electricity – is appalling.

EDF are not making it any easier to like them!

Tags: EDF