EDF Energy-debt collectors even though I'm in credit

[lemon_martini2]

Long time lurker,occasional poster stopping by for help...

 

In January 2009 I moved into my place and took over the power with EDF Energy.Because there had been problems with previous tenants,a payment card was issued and a rate was set at £35 per month.As the amount I was using was only about £20 per month,a credit was building up.I was unhappy with this,but was told that they could not alter it,but that in 6 or 12 months it would be reviewed and if I was using less energy the rate would be reduced.

I received a bill in December 2009 stating that payment had not been made- fortunately I had kept the receipts from the PayPoint and was able to prove this had been made.In January 2010,with the extreme weather and looking after my elderly mother,I was not able to make the payment.Since it was well in credit,I assumed there was no problem as the money would be taken from there.

In March I received a bill stating that since this payment had not been made it would be passed onto Collections. I rang to query this and was told that even if the account was in credit,if a payment was not made it could still be marked as not paid.

I then received a bill for £107.08(no explanation as to how this had been calculated).I wrote challenging this stating that all payments had been made except for the January one-and since the account was by now £120 in credit it could be taken from there.

I heard nothing until 6 April when I have received a letter stating that the bill has not been paid,and debt collection representatives will be sent to the premises to disconnect the electricity.

Why did they not use the amount of credit I have in my account to pay this bill-and can they do this when the amount of debt is in dispute?

What do I do now?

 

Many thanks fellow CAGgers

[dx100uk]

utter bull on several things here.

you should not 'INHERIT' a payment card meter and its previous debts levels

a debt collector does not disconnect electricity.

 

it is correct that a payment must be shown each month but as you should not have have any debt payment attached in the first place........crap.

 

nottslab will be around soon. i bet.

 

if not off to ofgen.

 

dx

[lemon_martini2]

Ah perhaps I should clarify. It is not a payment card meter and I have not inherited any of last tenant's debts.

 

Because the last tenant had had problems paying their bills on time,the address had been flagged on their system. They would not issue a quarterly bill,but instead a PayPoint type card which I would use to pay the bill at the local store.

 

The problem arose when I missed a payment,even though the account was well in credit.Instead of taking the bill payment out of the credit on the PayPoint card,they have automatically refered it to collections.

[nottslad]

hahaha hiya Dx luv!!

 

hen you moved in did you tell EDF? They should send you a new card when they set up your account as each payment card has a magnetic stripe which encodes it to the specific account.

 

When you miss a payment, the arrangement can default, and even though you continue paying, the automated debt collection or "tracking" for any debit balance will continue as usual.

 

Although you had a regular payment scheme in place, makes me think that your quarterly bill was produced and left a debit balance, hence the debt collection, which would mean that your monthly payments were not adequate to cover consumption.

 

I would suggest as a way forward contacting EDF and asking to set a new arrangement to cover your consumption plus any debt

[lemon_martini2]

Yes I told EDF and got my own new card.

The monthly payments covered the amount used which varied slightly so it went .like:

Month 1: Payment made £30.Actual electric used £20.Credit total £10

Month 2: Payment made £30.Actual electric used £28.Credit total £12

Month 3: Payment made £30.Actual electric used £29.Credit total £13

 

Until we got to

Jan'10: Credit total c.£85.Payment due £30..payment missed

Feb'10: Payment made £30.Actual electric used £25. Credit total £90

Bill sent for total of £107.08(no explanation as to how).Wrote to challenge this.

Mar'10: Payment made £30.Actual electric used £28. Credit total £92

Apr'10: Bill sent for total of £107.08,credit on account £92-if not paid,would be disconnected.

[nottslad]

hmmm defo something wrong there... perhaps the wording of the bills is a bit confusing? really doesnt seem right. payment arragements do cancel if you miss an installment... think of a DD, if u didnt pay it it would be cancelled, cards work in the same way although you still have the device to pay with. perhaps you have used more electricity than clearly explained? have you spoken to EDF and asked for an up to date account balance? better yet, look at your account online and get it straight away

[lemon_martini2]

OK will do that in the morning.I could understand if I had missed a payment that it would stop,but when there's sufficient credit on it already?

Using the DD analogy,that seems to be like saying since you didn't make a payment into the bank this month,we won't pay the DD,even though there's enough money in the account that been previously paid in. I shall check tomorrow what's going on and tell them for sure that the account is in dispute.

That should stop any debt collectors turning up(good luck to them,you need to navigate a brick wall and a railway line to get into our place).

[nottslad]

Working in the industry, best way to get results? be reasonable! mistakes do happen... whoever you speak to is just a human too, and if you come on the phone more cool calm and collected you will get a better result.

 

A computer programme, which the systems of any company are, can only take into account certain variables and not every eventuality. I'm sure that if what you've advised us is exactly what happened then EDF will set you a new arrangement

[lemon_martini2]

This gets weirder and weirder.Apologies for the delay-my computer monitor decided to breathe its last and it's taken a day or two to get it sorted.

 

Apparently,there was no payment card registered on the account so the chap on the phone(who was to be fair very helpful),I could not have made any payments using it.When I asked him to check how the payments in September,October,November had been made,the system told him they had been made-by payment card.

He couldn't explain it-none of the payments since January have been recorded as they had been made by a payment method the system says I don't have.There are no notes on the screen to say who took the card off as a payment method,when and why.They are putting the balance on hold whilst they investigate what's happened,so that's a start.

 

Then there is the curious incident of the December payment.Since I was not able to find my card,I paid that one in cash at the bank as instructed.Since it was £50 and some small change,I paid with a £50 note at the cashier's booth,which was accepted.The payment was credited to my account,but then just a couple of weeks ago I received a letter back stating they were unable to accept it as it was 'not legal tender'.

 

The note that they sent back to me as being rejected was a beautifully comic note issued by the 'Bank of Football' with the Wolves'manager's grinning face replacing that of Her Majesty.This is not what I paid with,and not what the bank accepted as payment-they would definitely have queried this at the time had I presented that to them.They are investigating whether somebody in the bank has switched it or if it was done at their office.Surely once I have made the payment and the bank has accepted it,that payment is made on my account and cannot be reversed later?Surely they should have queried any suspect notes then-especially one so patently not genuine as this one?

 

So at the moment I have a payment card in my possession which they say I don't own,receipts for payments they say I couldn't have made as this was not a valid payment method for this account,and a ridiculous novelty note whilst the £50 I tendered as payment has disappeared somewhere.

[nottslad]

well that does all seem very odd and I've never heard of anything like this! a payment card should have your account number embedded in the long number across the middle; clearly it is registered to your account!

 

Wait to see what they say hten ask if you can set this type of arrangement with them as clearly you are making regular payments and can manage