EDF changing off-peak hours without telling customers

[samoht]

Act 1, November 2023 - Motorist buys EV; Motorist switches to tariff with off-peak overnight rates to charge their EV more cost-effectively:


Act 2, August 2024 - In which Motorist discovers he has been betrayed:


There has literally been no communication advising of any change to cheap overnight times between these two emails, nor do I find any in my online account.

They've just ... disregarded their contract terms and not even bothered to inform their customers.

I hope that 'make it right' means 'compensate you for the difference in rate for all electricity drawn between 5am and 6am for the past four months', but if that was to be the case, why not say so? And why no apology??

I shall be switching to another supplier as soon as my fixed term contract ends. Other EV drivers may wish to consider this and think twice before signing up with EDF...

[monkfish1]

samoht said:

Act 1, November 2023 - Motorist buys EV; Motorist switches to tariff with off-peak overnight rates to charge their EV more cost-effectively:


Act 2, August 2024 - In which Motorist discovers he has been betrayed:


There has literally been no communication advising of any change to cheap overnight times between these two emails, nor do I find any in my online account.

They've just ... disregarded their contract terms and not even bothered to inform their customers.

I hope that 'make it right' means 'compensate you for the difference in rate for all electricity drawn between 5am and 6am for the past four months', but if that was to be the case, why not say so? And why no apology??

I shall be switching to another supplier as soon as my fixed term contract ends. Other EV drivers may wish to consider this and think twice before signing up with EDF...

Not sure why you are surprised. Most energy firms, like most utility firms have zero morals any more. Mainly because, there never any consequence.

[Mikebentley]

I switched from EDF to OVO in June 2023 when I took delivery of my first EV. I was only with them due to Green Energy folding. I can highly recommend OVO and their Charge Anytime EV tariff.

EDF were a shocking company throughout my time with them. When I switched they sent me a payment for £172 as I was in credit. Well today I received a letter dated 24/07/24 where they are saying I owe them just under £2k! I never owed them anything in all the time I was with them as evidenced by them giving me money in June 2023 as settlement of my business with them. I called them twice after 1700hrs tonight and after explaining my concern they hung up on me. Their letter says that Cus serv is open till 2000hrs but their phone line says 1800hrs.

I don’t owe them anything so have sent them an email pointing this out and should they not acknowledge this tomorrow I will report it to OFGEM.

OP get out of EDF as fast as you can they are a bunch of s.

[barryrs]

What’s really irritated me is that I changed my charging schedule after getting the email and woke up to a much higher reading on the energy display. When checking the additional cost was incurred between 12 and 1am

[anonymous-user]

barryrs said:

What’s really irritated me is that I changed my charging schedule after getting the email and woke up to a much higher reading on the energy display. When checking the additional cost was incurred between 12 and 1am

Surely 1200-0100 is always the cheap rate
0500-0600 are peak rate, that was the problem?
I had the same mail!

[barryrs]

James6112 said:

Surely 1200-0100 is always the cheap rate
0500-0600 are peak rate, that was the problem?
I had the same mail!

Mine is setup to change with the clocks in accordance with the previous EDF policy so -

Summer 1 till 6
Winter 12 till 5




Sending out that email must have been a nice little earner for EDF

[essayer]

iirc the exact same thing happened with Octopus when after they introduced the Go tariff

[samoht]

Updates:
I waited til October to see if EDF would 'reach out to make it right', following their deafening silence I wrote to them to request a refund.
They responded acknowledging my email and saying they would 'thoroughly investigate the issue'.
I chased them in November and they said 'our billing team is still checking your concern' and 'Data Analysts are investigating all impacted accounts, including yours'. That was the last I heard from them.

I mentioned it to my dad over Christmas and he encouraged me to complain to the Ombudsman, which I did in mid-Jan. I now have a decision:

Ombudsman Decision said:

Conclusion
My review has found shortfalls in customer service from EDF Energy resulting in the outcome I
have identified here.
Resolution 1: Provide a written apology to you.
Resolution 2: Credit your energy account with a £125 goodwill gesture.

I also switched to Octopus at the end of my fixed term EDF contract, so hopefully I'll be in slightly better hands from now on.


I'd encourage anyone else who's been mucked around like this to complain to EDF, wait eight weeks, and then raise a complaint with the Ombudsman if they've not sorted the issue in that time. It may only be less than one one-millionth of their annual profits, but it'll still pay for a very nice meal out!

[sixor8]

I've been on the Octopus Go tariff since late March 2024. They didn't have a different BST time setting when I started it.

It was 00:30 to 04:30 but on 1st October 2024, it was extended to 5 hours per night until 05:30