EDF Back Billinh

[Indy69]

Anyone had dealings with EDF over backbilling. I'm losing the will with them at the moment.

Since September 2017 I've been telling them the smart meter isn't working and every bill they invoice me for 0 consumption. On leaving EDF this year they now want 3 years, almost £2000 of backdated payments. I've raised the back bill question for it to be disregard. Apparently it doesn't apply as they had been issuing bills, albeit totally incorrect ones. And now my complaint raised has now been ignored with no acknowledgement of why they didn't act on the fact the meter wasn't working or the billing incorrect even though they were informed many times.*
Any similar experiences?? Solutions???

Thanks

Phil

[efpom]

I suggest the accurate billing is an implied term of the contract. It follows that inaccurate bill = no bill. That argument should get you home on back billing.

[enaid]

Back billing fully explained

https://www.simplyswitch.com/energy/...ing-explained/

[Sunsubee]

Were having a very similar problem! EDF gas smart meter hasn't been sending readings since July 2019 and a few days ago my pensioner mum was hit with a 1800 bill for gas based on 15months consumption the majority of which is within the last 12 months due to estimated readings. If you look at ofgems website it says they can't back bill over 12 months if they have not correctly billed the customer, not "haven't billed the customer at all"

[efpom]

Your mother has a contract with a supplier to supply her with metered gas.
The meter is, as far as she is concerned, the supplier’s equipment.
The supplier is responsible for the proper operation of the meter.
One purpose of the meter is to enable the supplier to accurately bill the consumer for the amount of gas that the consumer has actually consumed.
The meter has broken down.
As the meter is a ‘smart meter’, meter readings are transmitted to the supplier by telemetry.
It follows, that the supplier knew, or should have known, that the meter had broken down.
The suppler took no steps to rectify the fault in the meter.
The supplier has produced an ‘estimated’ bill.
Because it is an estimated bill, the bill does not accurately represent the amount of gas actually used by the consumer.
The consumer is only required to pay for the gas she actually consumed.
It follows that a bill which ‘estimates’ the amount of gas consumed is not a true bill, and the consumer has no obligation to pay it.

[efpom]

In more colloquial terms:

"I think you might owe me 50 quid, so I demand that you give me 50 quid, and if you don't, I'll sue you."

[Sunsubee]

Thanks EFPOM thats reassuring, i have a feeling the woman handling the complaints will try and back bill further than the 15 months they are already claiming. I have been studying the standard conditions for gas supply rules which replaced the billing code. it states that the supplier should have checked the meter was working every year, it also states that they cannot back bill for over 12 months if they billed incorrectly. edf are arguing (like they did with INDY) that they can backbill because they have been sending out bills, however these bill were incorrect. under the SCGS suppliers cannot backbill over 12months unless the customer was unreasonably obstructive which my mum or indeed INDY wasn't either. ofgem also states that the supplier cannot bill a customer over 12 months where they have incorrectly billed them. i think that if they continue to disagree and try and back date more or stand by over 12 months backdating, the next port of call is the energy ombudsman.

[CraigJ]

Did your complaints handler get back to you / state when she would get back to you?