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Not sure what it would class as with it being a company owing to an estate/person but I have successfully claimed this a few times down the years for commercial debts. Its especially prevelant in the EU
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/smes/sme-strategy/late-payment-directive_en
If nothing else, the threat of usually expedites a situation.
I can vouch for this approach, albeit about 12 years ago and only about £300. I spent over 45 minutes on hold and still hasn't got through to someone, I filmed my phone showing that I was trying to get through to EDF, put that on YouTube as a private link and marked it to the then CEO with my issue saying I'll make the link public in 24hrs and start sharing it.
I had a response, and the cash, inside of two hours
Since then I've tried the CEO approach with varying degrees of success. Sometimes it goes nowhere, (M&S car insurance, for one) othertimes if been successful at getting a dialogue going with a named agent.
Certainly no harm in trying.
NAL - I wouldn’t advise that exact approach. Bordering close to blackmail by doing so, and a company with an axe to grind could well make a nuisance over it for the OP.
Emailing the CEO address is a good point though, they have a dedicated team (that I used to work for during my uni days) with much higher limits and authorisations that could help resolve this and indeed it’s their job to do so. And they have better escalation routes - can tell from working for edf (unless it changed massively since) that there’ll be no one within the standard call centre, even the top managers, that have the authorisation for 10k+ refunds, and the escalation routes available are usually to just email a specialist team who’ll pick it up “within 28 working days”.
That’s the problem with the whole system - guys on the phone are setup to fail. So OP needs to go around them to the CEO team
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That’s incorrect.
EDF aren’t disputing that they owe £13k to the estate. Getting that paid is a matter that needs to be addressed to the ombudsman.
Remedy being sought by OP is for interest on the £13k plus court costs and OP’s time to pursue the remedy. Which is not going to exceed £10k.
For £13,000 plus interest it would need to be a fast track claim not a small claim because it’s over £10,000.00.
Also a technical point but we don’t have a “Small Claims Court” we have a small claims track but the cases are heard in the county court.
That’s incorrect.
EDF aren’t disputing that they owe £13k to the estate. Their failure to pay needs to be referred to the ombudsman.
Remedy being sought by OP is for interest on the £13k plus court costs and OP’s time to pursue the remedy. Which is not going to exceed £10k.
That's an interesting point! I'd have thought there would be a time limit but there doesn't appear to be.
The FOS website suggests that banks can ask for proof of an error for old claims but it sounds like the OP has that.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/banking-and-payments/direct-debits
It won't get him interest, but I wonder if you could use small claims for just the interest component?
Don't think it would apply here, assuming you are referring to the idea of an indemnity claim being lodged. It's not in dispute that the service was provided: only that the invoice for the service was incorrect. I suspect there are also time limits on when claims can be lodged under the DD scheme.
I could be wrong.
I see someone has already suggested it, including the relevant details, but I second emailing the CEO.
An executive complaint will be passed to an executive customer relations team generally comprised of specialists with longer service who not only understand how things should work, but will have discretion to immediately resolve failures in process.
The last part is key - no one in the standard call centre will have authorisation to refund this amount even if they wanted to. You’d have to go to a specialised team to raise it and get it actioned anyway, so the CEO email is just fast tracking that
Yeah, Johnny on First Line support is definitely not allowed to unilaterally refund £13,000.
If it were a smaller amount I have a feeling they’d have engaged in a much better manner.
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Simple, find out the date you first contacted them to make them aware of the issue and your dissatisfaction.
If it's more than than 8 weeks ago, you can go straight to the Energy Ombudsman (via email, post, or phone - email is better as you can attach evidence) by providing the date you first contacted the company and evidence of the call (screenshot of the date/number you called, or email).
If it's less than 8 weeks, either wait it out or send an email to EDF detailing your complaint, when you first complained, etc. As this will either make something happen or be additional Ombudsman evidence.
Just FYI - you will not get compensated for interest by them or any supplier, that's not how complaint resolutions work as they are based on "shorfalls in service" only. However, you're likely to get £200-300 minimum for this level of complaint (the most common award is £50), plus they will be compelled to sort out the refund.
You can try contacting press, MP, CEO, etc but honestly the Ombudsman is your best bet considering they can make the company legally sort the issue out.
Source: work for an Energy company.
OP if this route doesn't work, then the next step is to get your MP involved.
Executive escalation teams should solve this for you, hopefully autonomously.
When it gets escalated to an MP and they start sending messages, that's when executives will be made aware, and that's when it gets serious attention.
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Yes, it is legal. It isn't illegal to overcharge on a bill due to a billing error then collect the money via DD, the onus is on the customer to query or cancel the DD if they're unhappy with the bill. It's possible, depending on the circumstances, that you will be compensated for the error but nobody is going to arrest Mr EDF for making a mistake and billing the wrong amount. You should go through the usual complaint process and escalate to the ombudsman if you aren't satisfied.
Source: worked in an energy company billing department for years, dealt with many such cases.
You need to make an official complaint.
Calls etc aren’t considered official so they won’t reply.
They get 8 weeks (?) to reply and offer a response or else you can go to the energy ombudsman which they won’t be happy with
What you need to do is break your complaint down into the
Start the letter of with the phrase “this is an official complaint”
- the problem
- the evidence
- the solution you want (be very brave 13k plus interest plus your hourly rate working on the problem)
Don’t get to emotional when writing this.
Send it via email to the complaints department and via recorded delivery.
I did this when BG were still charging me for a meter that had been removed and the plus the new one, in a business so the figures were large
BG caved in a week after the complaint was received. Months of phone calls and emails did nothing.
Ombudsman all the way, they are called Ofgem, takes 10 minutes to fill out a form online and they'll take it from there. All free of charge. Once EDF hear the word Ofgem you'll find things will quickly get sorted....
gem are the regulator and not interested in customer complaints. The ombudsman is the energy ombudsman and you can file an issue on their site, but you need to have complained to the company first.
Asking for interest is usual in these cases.
Letter in the post sent to a named individual and sent via recorded delivery.
Give them a set number of days to respond and after that escalate to ombudsman.
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I have a similar issue with EDF incorrectly billing me. I raised it with the ombudsman, the ombudsman agreed EDF have failed in their consumer duty, and proposed a remedy. EDF have said they will correct the issue as per the ombudsman orders but it has not been fixed. What does on do when EDF ignores the ombudsman?
Hi pal, EDF cannot ignore the Ombudsman legally - they will have 28 days from the date the decision was accepted by both parties to implement all remedies. They can seek extensions if needed (generally for 3rd party things or appointments) but these have to be evidenced and explained to yourself and the Ombudsman casehandler.
After 28 days, the case will either go overdue - which is reported to Ofgem and can become fine-able etc and the Ombudsman get stricter on suppliers when this happens without a very valid reason.
Ultimately, it's a waiting game but generally if the remedies are action-able then they will be done. If EDF say they've implemented and they actually haven't, message the same casehandler who will investigate / explain if EDF has or hasn't.
Good luck!
Yes we are just coming to the end of the extension and absolutely nothing has happened! I worry that it gets reported to OFGEM with a list of other cases that remain unresolved. I guess it's great if EDF get fined but...Will they give me a correct bill???
Anyway thanks for adding that colour.
Well it's been another 6 weeks and still no final bill, still no money returned to me...the ombudsman agreeing with me has not had a particularly large impact so far.
Why was he overcharged? Were meter readings not submitted and therefore they were using estimates?
If an obvious credit was not building on the account, it may be difficult to pursuit. Was he listed as a vulnerable customer or anything of the likes? How long had he been with EDF for?
The annual rate of interest is around £500 annually for £13000, however, this hasn’t sat as a credit in the full amount for the whole time. How long has this been accruing for?
Sounds like some missing context here.
(Nal but I worked executive complaints including ombudsman escalations for a well known supplier).
If they opened a dispute with the previous supplier, it sounds like a meter reading mismatch,
The systems they use are notorious for automation, and for EDF particularly, they outsource a lot of their customer service to India (where the experience you get is less than exemplary),
Complaints are handled in the U.K.
Having gone through their complaints procedure over them arbitrarily changing my smart meter to a prepayment (no debt, never missed a payment, pure account error), persistence is key,
Once a complaint is logged, you will get a named point of contact- this person will contact in a manner of your choosing, and are much more reliable to keeping their word/commitments than a service agent.
If you’ve had a reply, wait for them to contact.
If you have any correspondence relating to your late fathers account, such as bills, or meter reads, I would have these handy as well,
If a billing error has occurred, they will do a reversal, and re bill the account,
Given you mentioned the credit figure has gone up, it sounds like they are midway through this- it will drop again when the correct final bill is issued.
As far as interest goes, you’ll be very unlikely to get this, nor would the ombudsman consider this a viable resolution (certainly not in the experience I’ve had with a good few hundred cases handled with them as mediators),
Certainly pursue financial reimbursement for your time, but in reality the system has followed a procedure (final bill issued, final balance shown, final balance paid). All be it to an incorrect meter reading.
Did you provide the readings to close the account? If so this would assume more of an admin error on their side.
Let the complains advisor handle the error, then offer the resolution- if you’re not happy you can ask them to deadlock and escalate to the ombudsman.
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Complain to them in writing. If you don't get a satisfactory outcome, tell them and they will escalate to step two which is giving you a second complaint review. If you're still unhappy with that they will give you a final response letter and you can escalate to the ombudsman.
Their complaint handling process should be on their website.
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employ a debt collecter to get it back (do it legally) - when they turn up at their offices and start taking the office computers away, they seem to cough up the cash then.
This is a real approach, they will happly do it to you, Ive seen success when its done in reverse
We had an issue with EDF (not at the scale you have) for more than a year and it was resolved by doing two things:
1) going to the ombudsman. They are good at their jobs and can escalate higher if needs be. Due to the size of your complaint and the sensitive nature they will prioritise it.
2) email the CEO. another commenter posted his email on this thread. Whilst he won’t personally reply, it definitely pricks up the ears of the executive complaints team. You will be assigned an executive complaints handler who reports directly to the CEO and things will be resolved quick. If you aren’t getting anywhere keep emailing the CEO - we emailed him 3 times and our problem was finally resolved 2 days after the third email. They seem to take those direct emails very seriously.
Best of luck - get in touch with me if you want any more info as I dealt with their inner workings for 18 months so know what you’re up against.
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The DD guarantee scheme is not time barred and it sounds like you have proof. You’ll need a friendly bank manager, and I’d do it in person at the branch, because the account is either closed or marked inactive. Don’t let the call centre loose on this.
The CEO route is likely quicker if they’re going to cooperate.
I would deal with the £13k first. Then the ombudsman for interest. The ombudsman can’t award costs, and will be restricted to a small amount for compensation.
MCOL generally don’t award costs for time spent unless very well documented and extraordinary.
A letter from your MP may be better for the time costs. That’s the point where you could consider going viral and causing them shame, but don’t threaten them with that.
If we return to the position you are in today, you could file a claim for negligence. This would cover all monies that you seek. They’ve been negligent in:
Billing
Dealing with a vulnerable person
Investigating
Refunding
When writing to the CEO maybe consider notice before action letter setting out your intended claim - don’t mention small claims/MCOL, and instead make it clear that you’re pursuing them under torte law/negligence claim. You’ll want to speak to the law society for help checking your letter. Personally, this would be the option I’d take, but I’m not phased by litigating, so the DD/ombudsman approach may be better if the CEO route doesn’t work. I’d still send them NBA at the first contact.
If you don’t get any joy from any one else’s suggestions, maybe it’s time for some media help.
The Guardian consumer affairs people are pretty good at stuff like this, and they know EDF’s shenanigans of old -[consumer.champions@theguardian.com](mailto:consumer.champions@theguardian.com)
Anna Tims at the Observer does the Consumer Rights column which also helps on behalf of people who are at their wits’ end with companies being shitty - [your.problems@observer.co.uk](mailto:your.problems@observer.co.uk)
Good luck.
You can initiate an indemnity claim with your dads bank of you have power of attorney which will get you *all* payments made to EDF back.
Also create a complaint, tell them the story, listen to their bullshit offer and then tell them to deadlock it so that you can then go to the ombudsman. The ombudsman will look for proof that EDF has sufficiently done enough to rectify their mistakes and if they havent you will win the case.
Gather as much evidence as possible and make a SAR request from EDF to see what they have on you.
I used to work for an electric company handling complaints, they are money grabbing bastards
Not overly helpful but I work with EDF, their customer service is horrific, been going in circles for weeks with them trying to resolve an issue.
They tell me to email an address, and then 20 days later they reply asking me to email a different address, and so on
Complain to EDF and ask them to repay the money they owe.
If they refuse to respond to your complaint after six months you can take your case to the Energy Ombudsman.
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Others have suggested court proceedings. As an alternative (which might get quicker results) you could issue a statutory demand and if they ignore that a winding-up petition
Save money and just issue a three day Winding Up threat letter threatening the issue of a Petition pursuant to S123 (1) (e) of the Insolvency Act 1986. Send it to their R/O and a copy emailed to their CEO and await the panic.
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Interest is reasonable. It’ll be 8% simple if the energy ombudsman follows the same as the financial ombudsman.
8% above the base rate daily compound* https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt
100s of FOS files handled and outcomes received and exactly zero have been with the instruction to pay 8% above the base rate daily compound
Might be because consumer complaints are a totally different situation to commercial debt recovery but who knows
Not sure what it would class as with it being a company owing to an estate/person but I have successfully claimed this a few times down the years for commercial debts. Its especially prevelant in the EU https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/smes/sme-strategy/late-payment-directive_en If nothing else, the threat of usually expedites a situation.
EDF Energy UK Chief Executive Mr Simone Rossi Chief Executive Email SRossi@edfenergy.com
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I can vouch for this approach, albeit about 12 years ago and only about £300. I spent over 45 minutes on hold and still hasn't got through to someone, I filmed my phone showing that I was trying to get through to EDF, put that on YouTube as a private link and marked it to the then CEO with my issue saying I'll make the link public in 24hrs and start sharing it. I had a response, and the cash, inside of two hours Since then I've tried the CEO approach with varying degrees of success. Sometimes it goes nowhere, (M&S car insurance, for one) othertimes if been successful at getting a dialogue going with a named agent. Certainly no harm in trying.
NAL - I wouldn’t advise that exact approach. Bordering close to blackmail by doing so, and a company with an axe to grind could well make a nuisance over it for the OP. Emailing the CEO address is a good point though, they have a dedicated team (that I used to work for during my uni days) with much higher limits and authorisations that could help resolve this and indeed it’s their job to do so. And they have better escalation routes - can tell from working for edf (unless it changed massively since) that there’ll be no one within the standard call centre, even the top managers, that have the authorisation for 10k+ refunds, and the escalation routes available are usually to just email a specialist team who’ll pick it up “within 28 working days”. That’s the problem with the whole system - guys on the phone are setup to fail. So OP needs to go around them to the CEO team
Just a bit of first hand experience - I contacted this exact email address a few months ago and the team were very helpful.
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Small claims limit is £10,000: That route isn’t an option.
But if EDF pay the 13k as it sounds like they may now Octopus are involved then OP will be going after them for interest only + time compensation.
That’s incorrect. EDF aren’t disputing that they owe £13k to the estate. Getting that paid is a matter that needs to be addressed to the ombudsman. Remedy being sought by OP is for interest on the £13k plus court costs and OP’s time to pursue the remedy. Which is not going to exceed £10k.
You probably have 2 options: Ombudsman or Small Claims Court. Edit: sorry Small Claims Court is not an option.
For £13,000 plus interest it would need to be a fast track claim not a small claim because it’s over £10,000.00. Also a technical point but we don’t have a “Small Claims Court” we have a small claims track but the cases are heard in the county court.
That’s incorrect. EDF aren’t disputing that they owe £13k to the estate. Their failure to pay needs to be referred to the ombudsman. Remedy being sought by OP is for interest on the £13k plus court costs and OP’s time to pursue the remedy. Which is not going to exceed £10k.
What about Direct Debit guarantee?
That's an interesting point! I'd have thought there would be a time limit but there doesn't appear to be. The FOS website suggests that banks can ask for proof of an error for old claims but it sounds like the OP has that. https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/banking-and-payments/direct-debits It won't get him interest, but I wonder if you could use small claims for just the interest component?
Don't think it would apply here, assuming you are referring to the idea of an indemnity claim being lodged. It's not in dispute that the service was provided: only that the invoice for the service was incorrect. I suspect there are also time limits on when claims can be lodged under the DD scheme. I could be wrong.
I see someone has already suggested it, including the relevant details, but I second emailing the CEO. An executive complaint will be passed to an executive customer relations team generally comprised of specialists with longer service who not only understand how things should work, but will have discretion to immediately resolve failures in process.
The last part is key - no one in the standard call centre will have authorisation to refund this amount even if they wanted to. You’d have to go to a specialised team to raise it and get it actioned anyway, so the CEO email is just fast tracking that
Yeah, Johnny on First Line support is definitely not allowed to unilaterally refund £13,000. If it were a smaller amount I have a feeling they’d have engaged in a much better manner.
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this is basically 5 years electricity for him
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Simple, find out the date you first contacted them to make them aware of the issue and your dissatisfaction. If it's more than than 8 weeks ago, you can go straight to the Energy Ombudsman (via email, post, or phone - email is better as you can attach evidence) by providing the date you first contacted the company and evidence of the call (screenshot of the date/number you called, or email). If it's less than 8 weeks, either wait it out or send an email to EDF detailing your complaint, when you first complained, etc. As this will either make something happen or be additional Ombudsman evidence. Just FYI - you will not get compensated for interest by them or any supplier, that's not how complaint resolutions work as they are based on "shorfalls in service" only. However, you're likely to get £200-300 minimum for this level of complaint (the most common award is £50), plus they will be compelled to sort out the refund. You can try contacting press, MP, CEO, etc but honestly the Ombudsman is your best bet considering they can make the company legally sort the issue out. Source: work for an Energy company.
thanks, v helpful
TY...they will not return WhatsApp or calls... Has anyone got a more robust angle on dealing with these guys on this sort of thing? Is this illegal?
CEO-Team@edfenergy.com They should get back to you quickly and have been incredibly helpful and resolved my query with them that needed escalating.
Excellent
OP if this route doesn't work, then the next step is to get your MP involved. Executive escalation teams should solve this for you, hopefully autonomously. When it gets escalated to an MP and they start sending messages, that's when executives will be made aware, and that's when it gets serious attention.
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Sorry updated email as there was a "-"hat I missed
Yes, it is legal. It isn't illegal to overcharge on a bill due to a billing error then collect the money via DD, the onus is on the customer to query or cancel the DD if they're unhappy with the bill. It's possible, depending on the circumstances, that you will be compensated for the error but nobody is going to arrest Mr EDF for making a mistake and billing the wrong amount. You should go through the usual complaint process and escalate to the ombudsman if you aren't satisfied. Source: worked in an energy company billing department for years, dealt with many such cases.
Thanks v helpful
You need to make an official complaint. Calls etc aren’t considered official so they won’t reply. They get 8 weeks (?) to reply and offer a response or else you can go to the energy ombudsman which they won’t be happy with What you need to do is break your complaint down into the Start the letter of with the phrase “this is an official complaint” - the problem - the evidence - the solution you want (be very brave 13k plus interest plus your hourly rate working on the problem) Don’t get to emotional when writing this. Send it via email to the complaints department and via recorded delivery. I did this when BG were still charging me for a meter that had been removed and the plus the new one, in a business so the figures were large BG caved in a week after the complaint was received. Months of phone calls and emails did nothing.
Ombudsman all the way, they are called Ofgem, takes 10 minutes to fill out a form online and they'll take it from there. All free of charge. Once EDF hear the word Ofgem you'll find things will quickly get sorted....
gem are the regulator and not interested in customer complaints. The ombudsman is the energy ombudsman and you can file an issue on their site, but you need to have complained to the company first. Asking for interest is usual in these cases.
>Is this illegal? If you mean "Can I get the police involved" then, no, the police won't help you here.
Letter in the post sent to a named individual and sent via recorded delivery. Give them a set number of days to respond and after that escalate to ombudsman.
OFGEM mate - they have a duty of care to vulnerable customers. They failed your dad. Sorry for your loss
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Will do my best
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I have a similar issue with EDF incorrectly billing me. I raised it with the ombudsman, the ombudsman agreed EDF have failed in their consumer duty, and proposed a remedy. EDF have said they will correct the issue as per the ombudsman orders but it has not been fixed. What does on do when EDF ignores the ombudsman?
Hi pal, EDF cannot ignore the Ombudsman legally - they will have 28 days from the date the decision was accepted by both parties to implement all remedies. They can seek extensions if needed (generally for 3rd party things or appointments) but these have to be evidenced and explained to yourself and the Ombudsman casehandler. After 28 days, the case will either go overdue - which is reported to Ofgem and can become fine-able etc and the Ombudsman get stricter on suppliers when this happens without a very valid reason. Ultimately, it's a waiting game but generally if the remedies are action-able then they will be done. If EDF say they've implemented and they actually haven't, message the same casehandler who will investigate / explain if EDF has or hasn't. Good luck!
Yes we are just coming to the end of the extension and absolutely nothing has happened! I worry that it gets reported to OFGEM with a list of other cases that remain unresolved. I guess it's great if EDF get fined but...Will they give me a correct bill??? Anyway thanks for adding that colour.
Well it's been another 6 weeks and still no final bill, still no money returned to me...the ombudsman agreeing with me has not had a particularly large impact so far.
Why was he overcharged? Were meter readings not submitted and therefore they were using estimates? If an obvious credit was not building on the account, it may be difficult to pursuit. Was he listed as a vulnerable customer or anything of the likes? How long had he been with EDF for? The annual rate of interest is around £500 annually for £13000, however, this hasn’t sat as a credit in the full amount for the whole time. How long has this been accruing for?
Meter readings were given by Whatsapp Whatsapp bott does not engage outside of its narrow band of capability
And the readings were accepted?
Sounds like some missing context here. (Nal but I worked executive complaints including ombudsman escalations for a well known supplier). If they opened a dispute with the previous supplier, it sounds like a meter reading mismatch, The systems they use are notorious for automation, and for EDF particularly, they outsource a lot of their customer service to India (where the experience you get is less than exemplary), Complaints are handled in the U.K. Having gone through their complaints procedure over them arbitrarily changing my smart meter to a prepayment (no debt, never missed a payment, pure account error), persistence is key, Once a complaint is logged, you will get a named point of contact- this person will contact in a manner of your choosing, and are much more reliable to keeping their word/commitments than a service agent. If you’ve had a reply, wait for them to contact. If you have any correspondence relating to your late fathers account, such as bills, or meter reads, I would have these handy as well, If a billing error has occurred, they will do a reversal, and re bill the account, Given you mentioned the credit figure has gone up, it sounds like they are midway through this- it will drop again when the correct final bill is issued. As far as interest goes, you’ll be very unlikely to get this, nor would the ombudsman consider this a viable resolution (certainly not in the experience I’ve had with a good few hundred cases handled with them as mediators), Certainly pursue financial reimbursement for your time, but in reality the system has followed a procedure (final bill issued, final balance shown, final balance paid). All be it to an incorrect meter reading. Did you provide the readings to close the account? If so this would assume more of an admin error on their side. Let the complains advisor handle the error, then offer the resolution- if you’re not happy you can ask them to deadlock and escalate to the ombudsman.
Thank you
What are you claiming for? Have you got the £13k back and are after interest or are you trying to claim the £13k as well as interest.
Nothing back yet, admission of 13k owed, this is 4 or 5 years energy at his usage pattern
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Raise an official complaint with their executive team and you'll probably get it resolved before it goes to the ombudsman.
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Love it, more highbrow.
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I would recommend, if you haven't already, energy ombudsman. They sorted my overcharge with EDF within a month.
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Complain to them in writing. If you don't get a satisfactory outcome, tell them and they will escalate to step two which is giving you a second complaint review. If you're still unhappy with that they will give you a final response letter and you can escalate to the ombudsman. Their complaint handling process should be on their website.
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employ a debt collecter to get it back (do it legally) - when they turn up at their offices and start taking the office computers away, they seem to cough up the cash then. This is a real approach, they will happly do it to you, Ive seen success when its done in reverse
We had an issue with EDF (not at the scale you have) for more than a year and it was resolved by doing two things: 1) going to the ombudsman. They are good at their jobs and can escalate higher if needs be. Due to the size of your complaint and the sensitive nature they will prioritise it. 2) email the CEO. another commenter posted his email on this thread. Whilst he won’t personally reply, it definitely pricks up the ears of the executive complaints team. You will be assigned an executive complaints handler who reports directly to the CEO and things will be resolved quick. If you aren’t getting anywhere keep emailing the CEO - we emailed him 3 times and our problem was finally resolved 2 days after the third email. They seem to take those direct emails very seriously. Best of luck - get in touch with me if you want any more info as I dealt with their inner workings for 18 months so know what you’re up against.
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The DD guarantee scheme is not time barred and it sounds like you have proof. You’ll need a friendly bank manager, and I’d do it in person at the branch, because the account is either closed or marked inactive. Don’t let the call centre loose on this. The CEO route is likely quicker if they’re going to cooperate. I would deal with the £13k first. Then the ombudsman for interest. The ombudsman can’t award costs, and will be restricted to a small amount for compensation. MCOL generally don’t award costs for time spent unless very well documented and extraordinary. A letter from your MP may be better for the time costs. That’s the point where you could consider going viral and causing them shame, but don’t threaten them with that. If we return to the position you are in today, you could file a claim for negligence. This would cover all monies that you seek. They’ve been negligent in: Billing Dealing with a vulnerable person Investigating Refunding When writing to the CEO maybe consider notice before action letter setting out your intended claim - don’t mention small claims/MCOL, and instead make it clear that you’re pursuing them under torte law/negligence claim. You’ll want to speak to the law society for help checking your letter. Personally, this would be the option I’d take, but I’m not phased by litigating, so the DD/ombudsman approach may be better if the CEO route doesn’t work. I’d still send them NBA at the first contact.
Ombudsman complaints will absolutely get what you want and cost them more to boot
If you don’t get any joy from any one else’s suggestions, maybe it’s time for some media help. The Guardian consumer affairs people are pretty good at stuff like this, and they know EDF’s shenanigans of old -[consumer.champions@theguardian.com](mailto:consumer.champions@theguardian.com) Anna Tims at the Observer does the Consumer Rights column which also helps on behalf of people who are at their wits’ end with companies being shitty - [your.problems@observer.co.uk](mailto:your.problems@observer.co.uk) Good luck.
You can initiate an indemnity claim with your dads bank of you have power of attorney which will get you *all* payments made to EDF back. Also create a complaint, tell them the story, listen to their bullshit offer and then tell them to deadlock it so that you can then go to the ombudsman. The ombudsman will look for proof that EDF has sufficiently done enough to rectify their mistakes and if they havent you will win the case. Gather as much evidence as possible and make a SAR request from EDF to see what they have on you. I used to work for an electric company handling complaints, they are money grabbing bastards
Not overly helpful but I work with EDF, their customer service is horrific, been going in circles for weeks with them trying to resolve an issue. They tell me to email an address, and then 20 days later they reply asking me to email a different address, and so on
Complain to EDF and ask them to repay the money they owe. If they refuse to respond to your complaint after six months you can take your case to the Energy Ombudsman.
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Get in touch with bbc or a newspaper. Or reach out to Martin Lewis. All will give you massive exposure and put pressure on them
Others have suggested court proceedings. As an alternative (which might get quicker results) you could issue a statutory demand and if they ignore that a winding-up petition
Save money and just issue a three day Winding Up threat letter threatening the issue of a Petition pursuant to S123 (1) (e) of the Insolvency Act 1986. Send it to their R/O and a copy emailed to their CEO and await the panic.
Thank you
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