Regulated by Ofgem

How to complain to EDF Energy

Most energy complaints come down to three things: a bill based on an estimate rather than a real meter reading, a catch-up bill covering a period the supplier failed to bill at the time, or a credit balance the supplier is slow to return. All three have specific Ofgem rules attached, and quoting the right one changes the answer you get.

Where to send a EDF Energy complaint

These details are published by EDF Energy itself. Sending a complaint to the route the company actually operates, rather than a general enquiries address, is the single cheapest thing you can do to speed it up.

Official complaints page: https://www.edfenergy.com/help-support/making-complaint
Complaints email: hello@edfenergy.com
Complaints address: FREEPOST: EDF Customer Correspondence
Who they escalate to: Energy Ombudsman — the scheme EDF Energy names on its own complaints page. Sending a case to the wrong scheme wastes weeks.

Worth knowing: EDF commits to single-team ownership: the team you first speak to handles the complaint from start to finish, and emailing back reconnects you to the same specialist.

The rights that apply when you complain to EDF Energy

EDF Energy is a UK energy supplier, so the rules below are the ones that decide your complaint. Each is named, because a letter that cites the specific rule is handled by a different team to one that does not.

Your supplier cannot charge you for energy used more than 12 months ago if it failed to bill you for it and the failure was not your fault. This applies whether the unbilled energy was missed entirely or under-charged. Ofgem back-billing rule, standard licence condition 21BA
You are owed a fixed automatic payment when the supplier misses an appointment, gets a switch wrong, takes too long to send a final bill, or is late refunding a credit balance after you leave. Guaranteed Standards of Performance, Electricity and Gas (Standards of Performance) Regulations
The supplier must give you information that is complete, accurate and not misleading, and must make it easy to contact them and to complain. Ofgem Standards of Conduct, standard licence condition 0
The supplier must have a published complaints procedure, must record your complaint, and must tell you about your right to go to the Energy Ombudsman. Gas and Electricity (Consumer Complaints Handling Standards) Regulations 2008
Any service element, such as a meter installation or a repair visit, must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49

EDF Energy complaints line: 0333 200 5100 — put the complaint in writing as well. A phone call leaves no record you can rely on later.

The deadlines that decide your claim

12 months — the back-billing cut-off

If a catch-up bill covers usage from more than 12 months before the bill was issued, say so explicitly and ask the supplier to write off the portion outside the window. This is the single most valuable sentence in an energy complaint letter.

8 weeks — when the ombudsman opens up

Once eight weeks have passed since you first complained, or you receive a deadlock letter before then, you can take the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman without the supplier’s agreement.

12 months — the window to refer

You have 12 months from the deadlock letter, or from the end of the eight-week period, to bring the case to the Energy Ombudsman. Miss it and the case is normally out of scope.

What to put in the letter to EDF Energy

Complaints teams work from a script. The detail below is what moves a case off that script and onto the desk of someone who can authorise a remedy.

The MPAN or MPRN for the property and the account number, so the complaints team can pull the meter history rather than the billing summary.
Every meter reading you actually submitted, with dates, so an estimated bill can be corrected against real data.
Whether any part of the bill covers usage more than 12 months old, and an explicit request to apply the back-billing rule to it.
What you want: a corrected bill, a refund of the overpayment, and where a Guaranteed Standard was missed, the automatic payment that goes with it.

If EDF Energy says no, or says nothing

Escalate to the Energy Ombudsman.

When you can go: Eight weeks after you first complained, or as soon as you receive a deadlock letter.

How long you have: 12 months from the deadlock letter or from the eight-week point.

What it costs: Free to you. The supplier pays the case fee.

Whether it binds EDF Energy: Binding on the supplier if you accept the decision. You are not bound by it and can still go to court instead.

Common questions

My supplier has sent a bill for energy I used two years ago. Do I have to pay it?

Not the part covering more than 12 months before the bill was issued, provided the supplier is at fault for not billing you at the time and you did not obstruct them, for example by refusing meter access or by not telling them you had moved in. The Ofgem back-billing rule in standard licence condition 21BA prevents suppliers charging for unbilled energy older than 12 months. Ask the supplier in writing to reissue the bill with the out-of-window usage removed, and quote the licence condition.

The supplier is sitting on my credit balance after I switched. What can I do?

Suppliers must send a final bill within six weeks of the supply ending and refund any credit balance promptly after that. Where they miss the standard, a fixed automatic payment is due under the Guaranteed Standards of Performance regulations, on top of the refund itself. Ask for both, and say you will take it to the Energy Ombudsman after eight weeks.

Can I refuse to pay while the complaint is open?

Withholding the whole payment risks debt recovery and a credit file mark. The safer route is to pay the part of the bill you accept is correct, tell the supplier in writing that the balance is formally in dispute, and ask them to place recovery action on hold while the complaint is being investigated. Suppliers are expected not to pursue a genuinely disputed amount.

Does the Energy Ombudsman cost me anything?

No. The scheme is free to consumers and funded by the industry. Its decision binds the supplier if you accept it, and you keep the right to go to court instead if you would rather.

Where this comes from

Every rule on this page is drawn from primary legislation, a regulator, or an approved dispute resolution scheme. Check them yourself.

Paybacker is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. It is a summary of the published rules that apply to a energy supplier, so that you can put your own case properly. For a dispute of real value, or anything turning on facts unique to you, speak to a solicitor or Citizens Advice.

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