Angie Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hope someone can please advise. We have received an EDF bill for 1497 euros covering the last 13 months. In that time we have used our holiday home for 7 weeks (5 of which were in the height of summer so we have not used any electric for heating and minimal for lights TV etc.) and for the rest of the year we switch the electricity off at the mains (which is at the edge of our property) and also on the box inside the house. We have been paying 49 euros a month by direct debit but they obviously want over a 1000 euros for the difference. How can this be possible and can we challenge it? Is there an English speaking phone number I can phone – I have tried their email but they take so long to answer and obviously this is quite worrying for us. Many thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 [:-))] It used to be:05 62 16 49 08I don't think it's changed but that's a place to start at least.Bon chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 And also: 05 56 17 40 70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 [quote user="cooperlola"][:-))] It used to be:05 62 16 49 08I don't think it's changed but that's a place to start at least.Bon chance.[/quote]Thats the one, I posted the information in the FAQ section on renovating last year. Make sure you have the latest bill available when you phone. Did you notice if the 'counter' (meter) was still flashing even after the power was turned off?http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2357195 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbles Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 And, it's not just you.French companies almost never seem to answer emails.On the other hand, we have found that they seem to respond to a fax immediatement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks for much everyone for your prompt replies. I am going to give EDF a try tomorrow on all the numbers you have suggested (I'll let you know how I fare). Must say Quillan that I never thought to check whether the counter was still flashing after turning it off. Will definitely have a proper look next time we are over. Don't suppose there is any way someone could be "hacking in" to our supply, especially with the meter box being almost "on the roadside"???!! Kind regards everyone and thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Frankly, I doubt that you'll get much change from talking to EDF, even on an English speaking helpline. They'll say "That was the reading, so that's the bill".You need to do two things:Get the meter readings checked either by yourself or a neighbour / local friend. It's perfectly possible that the bloke who read the meter plugged in a wrong digit (your meter reading process may be more subtle where you are, but it's like that here). Crucially, if everything is shut down, are any of the readings ticking over?Look at your previous bill and compare it to the new one - any obvious hike on either of the readings?For a sudden jump in billing of 500% (because that's roughly the consumption bit), EDF will probably accept that there's something wrong, but to be fair to them, they don't know that you haven't been there all Winter.Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuBeginnings Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 i am in the process of changing from EDF's consumer tariff to their corporate rate, as we just received a €6000 bill for 5 months ! I nearly fell of my chair. As the previous owners historic bill for a year was only €3000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi there, previous bill said we consumed 688 Kws on the higher tarrif, this time its 9468 Kw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I can't remember if your house was previously owned by French or not. If that was the case the French are much better at turning things on and off than us Brits (that's a general comment by the way). They always turn lights off when the leave a room etc plus they will turn heating off in rooms not used and probably, in the winter, live in two or three rooms only. Your running a business so it different and to be honest our bills went up quite a bit when we opened the B&B. What about cooking, food storage, cleaning (a vacuum cleaner can use between two and three kilowatts for example) etc, plus all the other equipment you may use that domestic houses won't for your business not to mention the frequency of their use may dramatically increased, its not always one big thing it can be lots of little things. Wood pellet boilers, and you have a big one (boiler that is [;-)]), can also use more electricity than oil or gas because you have to use electricity to feed it (not to mention its 'electronics' which are quite sophisticated) where as gas is already under pressure and oil is either drip/gravity fed or uses a low power pump. I bet the pump (or pumps even) that pushes the water round your system must burn a lot due to the size of building and its probably going most of the time because by law you have to keep the rooms at a minimum of 19 deg if your open regardless of if you have guests or not, whether you do or not is a different matter. [;-)] If your house is 'zoned' with regards to the heating you might try turning off bedroom zones for instance if they have rad stats because the hot water will still be pumped round the system. The same goes if its not 'zoned', even more so.You should also look in to the possible negative side of changing to an corporate rate with EDF, not because of EDF but they way it might effect your tax liabilities now and in the future. I would speak to my French account first if it were me to find out if there is any ramifications and if so what effect they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote user="Steve"]Hi there, previous bill said we consumed 688 Kws on the higher tarrif, this time its 9468 Kw[/quote]Looks to me like they may of added an extra 8 on the end by accident, that's a lot of electricity by anyone's standards for just an average house. They (EDF) will probably send somebody round so if I were you I would start planning a visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 [quote user="Steve"]Hi there, previous bill said we consumed 688 Kws on the higher tarrif, this time its 9468 Kw[/quote]That's about what we burn in a whole year on HP and we use electricity for everything!As I said, it's odd on that the meter has been misread. If it was me, I'd get somebody to have a look at the meter, either you personally, a friendly neighbour, or even somebody on here who might live quite locally to your place.If that does turn out to be the problem, you're in a much better position to go back to EDF (statement of the ****** obvious!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 What Q, 'the french are much better at turning things off', just how is that a general statement, you could have just said 'better than me/us'.One could say that some french are better at turning things off than the brits. AND one could say that some brits are better than the french at turning things off.And that is all.We had our meter reading misread once by the EDF, the meter reader reveresed the figures, took some sorting out, but we got there.Ofcourse you read the meter and gave it to the EDF when you bought the house. AND the water meter and the gas meter if you have one. Here in the UK we have had lots of problems due to that first meter reading, all sorted eventually, but was a hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I disagree, sorry. However I might compromise and say "the majority of French are better at turning things off". I come to this conclusion having visited many French homes and having many French guests, probably more than the average person outside of the B&B business that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikep Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Not strictly relevant, but my Swiss son-in-law turns on every light in our chalet when they come to visit, even on the brightest day, and leaves them on until I follow him round to turn them off.I'm really looking forward to visiting them and returning the compliment, but he's never yet paid his own electricity bills - he currently manages a youth hostel on lake Zurich and gets accomodation (and power) provided.I guess it's all about background and upbringing. When we were kids, we were so poor we couldn't even afford personal number plates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Q, I don't know who you know and you don't know who I know, so we will have to disagree about this. The thing I find very different in the mentality between brits and french and that is 'water'. I know very few people in the UK with water meters and found that everyone always used lots of water, staying with us or in the UK. When people get water meters, as several friends have done recently the mind set changes and they have become mindful of what they are using. As more people get meters I am sure that it will all change.I am a great one for watching what all my bills will cost me. If I need a brightly lit room that is what I have, if I need ambiance lighting,I have that, but an empty room needs no light, so we turn off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Thought I'd update you all. Managed to get through to EDF after several days of calling and no reply. However, they were very helpful once I'd spoken to them. Have established that there may be a fault with the meter as it is still running when everything is switched off. They insist though, that we pay the electricity bill to avoid being cut off! They have agreed not to increase our monthly direct debit payment until it is sorted out. On advice from a local who had a similar problem with a new meter (like us, there's is only 2 years old) we are going to have a local electrician inspect the meter and submit a report to EDF as apparently this is much quicker - could take a few weeks for an appintment with EDF - and much cheaper than having them come out (even if it is their fault).This experience has been a bit of an eye-opener for us and we plan to check our meter regularly in future and take readings when we arrive at the house and depart just to be on the safe side. Not sure if we will ever get any of our money back from EDF; hopefully it will sort itself out by reduced monthly payments next year! We can but hope.Thanks again to everyone on the Forum for their advice and support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 But wouldn't you always keep a check on your meters. I have always checked them regularly, I like to see what I am paying for.You hopefully will get your money back from the EDF as a problem should be flagged up and then they hopefully will cough up, keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now