EDF have changed billing from quarterly to monthly

[Jeff Layman]

For years I've paid my gas and electricity by reading the meters when
requested and submitting them online. If I got an estimated bill, I
simply submitted the accurate readings, and a new bill was sent based on
those. That happened every quarter.

EDF have been messing around with timings for quite a few months, but I
put that down to the volatile energy market prices. However, having paid
a bill in early April, I've now been sent another one (estimated).
Checking on EDF's MyAccount, I see that I'm now on monthly payments.
I'll check with EDF to ask why they've changed the billing period.

Anybody else been changed from quarterly to monthly payments? Is this
just another ploy to get me to change to a smart meter (which apparently
EDF make little or no use of, relying on higher than necessary DDs to
pay bills)?

--

Jeff

[Andy Burns]

Jeff Layman wrote:

> Anybody else been changed from quarterly to monthly payments?

In your subject you say "billing", but above you say "payments", I
submit readings to EDF and get billed every six-monthly, but pay monthly
by D/D.

[N_Cook]

OVO on taking over SSE went from Q to Mly.
On a related note Southern Water bills.
Ever since splitting off water (rates) from council rates 1970s? the
water bills had a billing date of the tax year 04 April, ie Lady Day
Quarter day plus the 10 days change over Julian/Gregorian dates change.
The latest one had moved the billing date to mid march, on the sly?


--
Global sea level rise to 2100 from curve-fitted existing altimetry data
<http://diverse.4mg.com/slr.htm>

[Tim Lamb]

In message <u3523a$2pap3$1...@dont-email.me>, Jeff Layman
<Je...@invalid.invalid> writes

OVO took over SSE and I too am now on monthly billing.
I guess payment in arrears was costing them interest and the savings on
meter readers plus money in their bank rather than yours helps their
bottom line.
>

--
Tim Lamb

[Jeff Layman]

After getting the bill I have about 10 days to pay it, so effectively
the same thing!

It's just that the change from quarterly to monthly was entirely
unannounced. I see from the other two replies that OVO have done the
same thing. It's no great problem, and I can understand why they've done
it, but a little advance notice would have been welcome.

--

Jeff

[Brian Gaff]

Yes I'd be interested as I have quarterly on direct debit on a smart meter
reading, and when you look on their app, the payment that was paid in March
is showing up as a debit still in may, even though I've seen the debit taken
in my bank statement.
Then there seems to be a credit of 60 something pounds in the next quarter,
but that seems not to be anything I can see what it is. I guess its probably
one of the government payments, but the lack of info is appalling.
They need to be a little more verbose in their app and indeed, why not make
this info on the in home display. It can do other clever stuff and speak it
out loud, one would have thought it was possible.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Jeff Layman" <Je...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:u3523a$2pap3$1...@dont-email.me...

[Peter Johnson]

On Sat, 6 May 2023 09:18:00 +0100, Andy Burns <use...@andyburns.uk>
wrote:

+1

[Peter Johnson]

On Sat, 06 May 2023 09:19:08 +0100, N_Cook <div...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:


>On a related note Southern Water bills.
>Ever since splitting off water (rates) from council rates 1970s? the
>water bills had a billing date of the tax year 04 April, ie Lady Day
>Quarter day plus the 10 days change over Julian/Gregorian dates change.
>The latest one had moved the billing date to mid march, on the sly?

Last year I paid Severn Trent on 1 April and 11 November. They have
yet to bill me for consumption since the second date.

[SteveW]

Might your contract have reached its end and you have been moved to the
default (monthly) tariff?

[Jeff Layman]

No contract. It's the standard variable tariff.

I've been looking through Octopus tariffs to see if it's worth changing,
but it seems to me there's now little difference between the energy
suppliers

--

Jeff

[Andy Burns]

Jeff Layman wrote:

> I've been looking through Octopus tariffs to see if it's worth changing,
> but it seems to me there's now little difference between the energy
> suppliers

There's only been a couple of quid per year between all the suppliers
since last autumn ... with the probable exception of EV specific tariffs
with discounted hours, but even then I suspect you have to do careful
sums to make sure it'll work out for you,

[Tia]

Yes!! This happened to me this morning!! I paid my last (enormously high) bill in April and they have now sent me another estimated monthly bill for June 2nd June - 21st June which has to be paid by 15th June???? What on earth are they playing at??????? Waiting for them to answer me with my query - its disgraceful! Am fuming!
PS not on a smart meter and won't be bullied into having one either!

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/edf-have-changed-billing-from-quarterly-to-monthly-3306813-.htm

[alan_m]

On 04/06/2023 02:15, Tia wrote:
> Yes!! This happened to me this morning!!  I paid my last (enormously
> high) bill in April and they have now sent me another estimated monthly
> bill for June 2nd June - 21st June which has to be paid by 15th
> June????  What on earth are they playing at???????  Waiting for them to
> answer me with my query - its disgraceful!  Am fuming!
> PS not on a smart meter and won't be bullied into having one either!
>

Tariff change coming up at the end of the month so they want to know
what your consumption is for June?


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

[Max Demian]

On 04/06/2023 02:15, Tia wrote:

> Yes!! This happened to me this morning!!  I paid my last (enormously
> high) bill in April and they have now sent me another estimated monthly
> bill for June 2nd June - 21st June which has to be paid by 15th
> June????  What on earth are they playing at???????  Waiting for them to
> answer me with my query - its disgraceful!  Am fuming!
> PS not on a smart meter and won't be bullied into having one either!

Is this EDF? I've just received a letter from them asking for me to read
my meter and tell them, which I did, though, oddly, I had to talk to a
human to do so. And I asked her for my current balance, which she gave.
About £200 for the quarter.

--
Max Demian

[Jeff Layman]

EDF seem totally confused at present. I got a bill on 5 May; on one page
it stated "To receive an accurate bill next month and pay only for what
you've used, please give us your meter reading(s) if it is safe and
practical to do so, on or around 28 May 2023."

It seemed a bit early for another reading, but I submitted a reading on
28 May. I heard nothing so logged on today and found the reading was
down as submitted on 31 May! It also said my account balance was £0.00.
So despite asking for a reading they've done nothing with it. Just to
add to the fun, it seems they're using a new accounting method, so I've
had to amend my account with them by changing my account number, my
logon password, and their Bacs payment details.

--

Jeff

[Beverley]

Hi Jeff i am same received my quartly bill in April which i paid but then could not understand why got another estimated bill in May . Telephone told me change me to monthly billing not happy preffered bill every 3 months give me chance to save up.

[Jeff Layman]

I finally got my bill this morning, but it not only includes my reading
for the 28th May (or 31st according to EDF), but also an estimated
reading for 6th June! So why did EDF ask for a reading on the 28th?

--

Jeff

[alan_m]

On 08/06/2023 08:48, Jeff Layman wrote:

> I finally got my bill this morning, but it not only includes my reading
> for the 28th May (or 31st according to EDF), but also an estimated
> reading for 6th June! So why did EDF ask for a reading on the 28th?
>

Is the estimate only from the date you supplied the information to the
date of the bill. Some suppliers can produce a (paperless) bill an hour
after you supply the information and some take a week to do the same and
so may factor in this delay.

[Jeff Layman]

On 08/06/2023 09:35, alan_m wrote:
> On 08/06/2023 08:48, Jeff Layman wrote:
>
>> I finally got my bill this morning, but it not only includes my reading
>> for the 28th May (or 31st according to EDF), but also an estimated
>> reading for 6th June! So why did EDF ask for a reading on the 28th?
>>
>
>
>
>
> Is the estimate only from the date you supplied the information to the
> date of the bill. Some suppliers can produce a (paperless) bill an hour
> after you supply the information and some take a week to do the same and
> so may factor in this delay.

It's from 31 May to 6 June. In the past, EDF have been pretty quick (24
- 48 hours) to get back to me after I've submitting a reading. Perhaps
it's all the changes to account numbers and their bank details which has
delayed things. It'll be interesting to see when I'm asked for the next
reading.

--

Jeff

[Darcydoo]

Same as happened to me with EDF paying quarterly last bill 30th April now they want another for 2rd June, I’m not being bullied into having a smart meter either, and I don’t know what’s happened to customer service it’s disgusting I rang them only to be told at the end of the call to make-shore I give them a 5 star review what a joke.

[june]

dont like my choices being taken away ,i was happy paying a quarterly bill .paid £800 in April ,now i have a bill for £276 and we are still in june thought it was a mistake ,but told no' monthly bills now and have a smart meter or pay direct debit .. being steered into what they want ,

[Mick]

I am the same as you quarterly bills send in readings when I get it pay straight away. When I got email to say they were changing to monthly I got a following one saying my smart meter is ready to install please arrange a date.... no way hosea

[Postman]

EDF did the same thing to me with a letter this Monday, from Kirsty Woodward, an Operations Manager, saying that only monthly billing was possible in future, as they have just installed a new Customer Management and Biling system called Kraken, which they say cannot work with quarterly billing cycles - however, other suppliers use Kraken software and they do provide quarterly billing - EDF only has the 'vanilla' build of this Kraken software and doesn't seem to know how to configure it to help customers save-up over three months for their £2000 energy bills in Winter. I send quarterly meter readings to keep bills accurate, but monthly payments of £700 during the cold months are completely unreasonable!

[David Wade]

On 28/06/2023 15:01, Postman wrote:
> EDF did the same thing to me with a letter this Monday, from Kirsty
> Woodward, an Operations Manager, saying that only monthly billing was
> possible in future, as they have just installed a new Customer
> Management and Biling system called Kraken, which they say cannot work
> with quarterly billing cycles - however, other suppliers use Kraken
> software and they do provide quarterly billing - EDF only has the
> 'vanilla' build of this Kraken software and doesn't seem to know how to
> configure it to help customers save-up over three months for their £2000
> energy bills in Winter.

I am sure they know, but don't want to. They want the money in their
account not theirs.

> I send quarterly meter readings to keep bills
> accurate, but monthly payments of £700 during the cold months are
> completely unreasonable!
>

Then move elsewhere...
.... but most no longer offer quarterly billing

[Postman]

[alan_m]

On 30/06/2023 05:00, Postman wrote:

I send quarterly meter readings to keep bills
> accurate, but monthly payments of £700 during the cold months are
> completely unreasonable!
>

But are doing the same by submitting quarterly readings and then paying
in full the accurate bill for £2100 that quarter?

[NY]

Why is it that utility companies seem to be unable (or unwilling) to
offer quarterly (or even monthly) billing of what you have *actually*
used that month/quarter, rather than an estimate of what they think you
might use. I don't want to end up in credit/debit. I want to pay for
what I've used.

One company only offered it if they sent you a bill which you then had
to remember to pay by cheque or BACS: they couldn't do it in conjunction
with direct debit.

I know why they *want* to do it: it means that they always have some of
your money (amount varying depending on time of year), but why do the
watchdogs *allow* them to do it? I know, all watchdogs have had their
teeth surgically removed so they have no bite (ie sanctions to
non-complying businesses).

[Bob Henson]

NY wrote:

> On 29/06/2023 22:39, David Wade wrote:
>> On 28/06/2023 15:01, Postman wrote:
>>> EDF did the same thing to me with a letter this Monday, from Kirsty
>>> Woodward, an Operations Manager, saying that only monthly billing was
>>> possible in future, as they have just installed a new Customer
>>> Management and Biling system called Kraken, which they say cannot work
>>> with quarterly billing cycles - however, other suppliers use Kraken
>>> software and they do provide quarterly billing - EDF only has the
>>> 'vanilla' build of this Kraken software and doesn't seem to know how
>>> to configure it to help customers save-up over three months for their
>>> £2000 energy bills in Winter.
>>
>> I am sure they know, but don't want to. They want the money in their
>> account not theirs.
>>
>>> I send quarterly meter readings to keep bills accurate, but monthly
>>> payments of £700 during the cold months are completely unreasonable!
>>>
>>
>> Then move elsewhere...
>> .... but most no longer offer quarterly billing
>
> Why is it that utility companies seem to be unable (or unwilling) to
> offer quarterly (or even monthly) billing of what you have *actually*
> used that month/quarter, rather than an estimate of what they think you
> might use. I don't want to end up in credit/debit. I want to pay for
> what I've used.
>

Mine does. I pay Octopus by monthly direct debit for the gas and
electricity that I've used. It may be you have to have a smart meter - I
have, so I didn't ask.

https://octopus.energy/


--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

Reality is an illusion brought on by alcohol deficiency.

[David Wade]

Thats odd. There does have to be a notice sent 10 days in advance of the
collection days, but that does not sound hard.

>
> I know why they *want* to do it: it means that they always have some of
> your money (amount varying depending on time of year), but why do the
> watchdogs *allow* them to do it? I know, all watchdogs have had their
> teeth surgically removed so they have no bite (ie sanctions to
> non-complying businesses).

The watchdogs prefer this sort of billing because it smooths the
payments and forces people to save for their winter bills.

Dave

[GHstone]

they've done it to everyone, they also switched people to paperless billing at the same time. So I've received an estimated bill, for a billing period I wasn't aware of (one month after i paid for the last quarter) that is higher than it should because its estimated.

I asked to be put back onto Quarterly paper billing, and for them to issue a new bill using the correct readings which I have given them.

So far, I'm back to paper billing but they insist the monthly billing is for my benefit - it isn't, it's for EDFs cashflow. Looks like I'll be switch suppliers soon.

[Andrew]

On 04/07/2023 19:33, GHstone wrote:
> they've done it to everyone, they also switched people to paperless
> billing at the same time. So I've received an estimated bill, for a
> billing period I wasn't aware of (one month after i paid for the last
> quarter) that is higher than it should because its estimated.
>
> I asked to be put back onto Quarterly paper billing, and for them to
> issue a new bill using the correct readings which I have given them.
> So far, I'm back to paper billing but they insist the monthly billing is
> for my benefit - it isn't, it's for EDFs cashflow. Looks like I'll be
> switch suppliers soon.
>

Me too. I paid my quarterly bill on 31/5/23 and suddenly they have
sent me a bill dated 4/7/23 with an estimated reading, without
sending out the usual email asking for a meter reading before
date dd/mm/yy.

Did they agree to revert you to paper billing ?. If everyone
demands this they will be annoyed. You cannot send them cheques
any more too I believe. You have to pay in the Post Office or
presumably a bank.

[Andrew]

They seem to have sneakily removed the words "quarterly/cash" from
the standard variable tariff details. Luckily I still have my
SEEBOard paper bills going back to the 90's where the word
"quarterly" is shown on the bill.

[Andrew]

It doesn't "smooth the payments" it gives the energy company
the ability to help itself to more of your money than it needs
and earn interest on it.

With base rate now heading North, I wonder how much they are
making on all those credits ?.

[alan_m]

On 04/07/2023 19:33, GHstone wrote:

> Looks like I'll be
> switch suppliers soon.
>

Best of luck finding one that will accept NEW customers on anything
other than monthly bills, DD and paperless billing.

[David]

Has anyone else had problems making a BACS payment since EDF changed
their account numbers?

Regards

David

[Jeff Layman]

On 05/07/2023 06:12, David wrote:
> Has anyone else had problems making a BACS payment since EDF changed
> their account numbers?

I've only had to make one payment so far, just under a month ago. As EDF
haven't got back to me about it, I assume it went through without problem.

--

Jeff

[David]

If you have an on-line account set up with them, it may be worthwhile
checking to see if it has actually been credited to your account.

I made a BACS payment about 2 weeks ago - no payment recorded by EDF.

I contacted EDF and their reply was that there is a delay in processing
BACS payments.

In the past my BACS payments to the old account number went through and
were showing on my EDF on-line account within a few hours.

They may have a delay in their system but 2 weeks is excessive. I now
wondering if it has been "lost" in the EDF system. I have asked my bank
to verify that the payment was credited to the EDF account.

[Bob Henson]

A mint. I don't know their precise figures, but if you take a estimate of
their customer numbers and multiply it by the, say, £200 per person of your
money in their accounts instead of yours, you can work out a rough guide to
the excess profit they are making even if they only make 5% from it.

It didn't matter so much in the days when prices were lower and interest
rates were negligible, but now we can get a modest return (only modest,
thanks to the banks' greed - currently under investigation), it's very
important to switch to paying only the minimum that one has to.

--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

Critic - a person who knows the way, but can't drive the car. - Kenneth
Tynan

[Jeff Layman]

On 05/07/2023 08:40, David wrote:
> On 05/07/2023 08:06, Jeff Layman wrote:
>> On 05/07/2023 06:12, David wrote:
>>> Has anyone else had problems making a BACS payment since EDF changed
>>> their account numbers?
>>
>> I've only had to make one payment so far, just under a month ago. As EDF
>> haven't got back to me about it, I assume it went through without problem.
>>
>
> If you have an on-line account set up with them, it may be worthwhile
> checking to see if it has actually been credited to your account.

I paid by BACS on 10 June, and EDF have it as a payment in MyAccount on
16 June.

> I made a BACS payment about 2 weeks ago - no payment recorded by EDF.
>
> I contacted EDF and their reply was that there is a delay in processing
> BACS payments.
>
> In the past my BACS payments to the old account number went through and
> were showing on my EDF on-line account within a few hours.
>
> They may have a delay in their system but 2 weeks is excessive. I now
> wondering if it has been "lost" in the EDF system. I have asked my bank
> to verify that the payment was credited to the EDF account.

Unusually, I paid their estimated bill last time as it was only a little
over what the actual readings were. I appear to be £19 in credit at
present, although EDF haven't yet put my latest bill online (for some
reason they've only referred to electricity use in the last month;
there's nothing about my gas usage), so I haven't needed to pay them
anything - yet. If I do get a bill it should be within the next few days.

--

Jeff

[David]

Have they put you on a new account - i.e. one which begins with an "A"?

[Jeff Layman]

Yes. That was the 10 June payment I referred to. Before that all
payments were on the previous 12 digit number account.

--

Jeff

[David]

Thanks for the info. I'll leave it a few more days before submitting a
formal complaint.

[Andrew]

I have emailed them today asking them if they are going to
continue to send emails requesting a meter reading by d/mm/yy,
being the cutoff date for quarterly billing.

Somehow I suspect they are no longer going to bother and
simply force estimated bills on all the smart meter refuseniks

[David]

I received an email telling me of the changes, i.e. new account, monthly
billing, etc. They also added that they would request a meter reading,
if none was forthcoming they would send an estimated bill.

Never received the meter reading email - just got an estimated bill a
couple of days after being informed of the change.

Has anyone else experienced BACS payment problems since the changes?

[Andrew]

What do you mean by BACS though ?. Is this via your MyAccount
section on their website, where payments can be made directly,
or using their automated telephone payment number ?.

[David]

Nothing to do with EDF's MyAccount or their automated telephone payment
system.

BACS is the system whereby you instruct your bank to make a payment to a
recipient's account using their sort code and account number. Normally
it takes a couple of hours to appear in the recipient's account.

The banks will now check their system to ensure that the sort code and
account number corresponds to the intended recipient.

[David]

Payment is now showing as received. Only two weeks for a payment that
should have taken a couple of hours. Ho Hum.

[MPalmer]

I would like to know if this a scam from other sources. I'm getting emails starting with "Hello EDF ...". I don't remember seeing this before from EDF.
Also, when I tried to pay on MyAccount on the EDF website, I was asked for my Debit Card details. Why? When they already have them.
Their website seems in some ways a little different now.
I mentioned this in a reply to their email and they said I could pay through the bank and they gave me their "... new " Sort Code and Account number.
This is why I'm asking is this a scam from other sources.
Am I paranoid. Anyway I've asked them to send me future bills by post again.

[Jeff Layman]

On 19/07/2023 06:31, MPalmer wrote:
> I would like to know if this a scam from other sources. I'm getting emails starting with "Hello EDF ...". I don't remember seeing this before from EDF.
> Also, when I tried to pay on MyAccount on the EDF website, I was asked for my Debit Card details. Why? When they already have them.
> Their website seems in some ways a little different now.
> I mentioned this in a reply to their email and they said I could pay through the bank and they gave me their "... new " Sort Code and Account number.
> This is why I'm asking is this a scam from other sources.
> Am I paranoid. Anyway I've asked them to send me future bills by post again.

It isn't a scam (well, any more than the way that all energy suppliers
screw us...).

EDF's new email address is he...@edfenergy.com. Everyone has a new
account number with them, which takes the form of A-XXXXXXXX, where X
could be a number or capital letter, rather than the previous 12-number
account (starting with 67). Also, EDF has changed their bank account
name, sort code and account number, so you'll have to bear that in mind
however you pay them. I've no idea why they asked for your debit card
details when they already have them (unless they've lost them).

No, you're not paranoid. It's well worth being very suspicious when the
requirements for payments you've made for years suddenly change without
warning.

--

Jeff

[MPalmer]

Thanks. Now I feel a little safer.
I have got them to send me the bills now through the post but I'll probaly revert back to paperless once I know that they are getting my money and nobody else.

[Max Demian]

On 06/05/2023 09:11, Jeff Layman wrote:

> For years I've paid my gas and electricity by reading the meters when
> requested and submitting them online. If I got an estimated bill, I
> simply submitted the accurate readings, and a new bill was sent based on
> those. That happened every quarter.
>
> EDF have been messing around with timings for quite a few months, but I
> put that down to the volatile energy market prices. However, having paid
> a bill in early April, I've now been sent another one (estimated).
> Checking on EDF's MyAccount, I see that I'm now on monthly payments.
> I'll check with EDF to ask why they've changed the billing period.
>
> Anybody else been changed from quarterly to monthly payments? Is this
> just another ploy to get me to change to a smart meter (which apparently
> EDF make little or no use of, relying on higher than necessary DDs to
> pay bills)?

I've just received a notification of "exciting changes" to my "deemed"
EDF electricity account, including a change from three monthly to
monthly billing. No valid explanation of why, except that they think it
will "be really helpful for managing [my] overall budget".

I haven't been asked to change to "paperless" billing.

(They've also changed my account number and I will have to change my
bank transfer details.)

--
Max Demian

[Andy Burns]

Max Demian wrote:

> I've just received a notification of "exciting changes" to my "deemed"
> EDF electricity account, including a change from three monthly to
> monthly billing.

I'm still on six monthly.

[Peter Johnson]

On Thu, 20 Jul 2023 17:34:02 +0100, Andy Burns <use...@andyburns.uk>
wrote:

Me too. The previous postings on this thread have been meaningless to
me.

[Andrew]

Your days are numbered. I think it is a ploy to force more of
the refuseniks to get a smart meter if they are going to have to
send a meter reading every month to avoid an estimated bill.

[Lisa]

*Never received the meter reading email - just got an estimated bill a couple of days after being informed of the change.*

That was my experience as well.

I have been submitting quarterly meter readings for many years without any issue. I got locked out trying to login today - when I called EDF I was told that a password reset takes *24 hours* to take effect. Having spent 25 years designing/writing software I've never come across a system where a password reset wasn't realtime.