In September this year I received a retrospective bill of about €70 from EDF for electricity supplied for the year between August 1st 2014 and July 31st 2015.
I did a bit of research and then duly paid it.
But now a friend, living in Singapore, has spotted that this charge was illegal. My friend keeps in touch with what is going on in France better than me! The relevant information is on
Needless to say I’ll be claiming my payment back. I am a member of Que Choisir, so maybe I’ll get them to wade in…
For me the irony is that for over a year I have not been buying my electricity from EDF – I buy from Total Energy.
These “back charges” seem to happen every year with EDF, and every year we have the “is it illegal or not” debate. It, AFAIK, always ends up in EDF’s favour despite numerous challenges.
As Mark says, EDF aren’t going to refund you. The article suggests that if you’re on a very low income and therefore on the subsidised tarif, you can ask for it to be reviewed.
I suppose the catch is that the bills EDF sent you were correct at the time, and it was the government that retrospectively changed the tarif. So it’s not as if EDF were late in billing you, which is what your article is talking about.
For 2014, the Energy Commission recommended a 5% increase for electricity “Tarif bleu EDF”, but the Government only allowed a 2.5% increase.
However, in 2016 the Government reversed their decision, allowing EDF to claw back from its customers for electricity consumed during 2014/2015.
For those who think these retrospective bills now fall outside the legal period… the Legal Reversal came about in 2016 and that is the date which counts…so the retrospective Bills are still within the time-frame and should be paid.
Frankly, the only way to avoid paying… is to have died… as in this one instance (I believe) the bill will be cancelled… the heirs are not held liable.
As far as I can see, Electricity used after the Legal Reversal 2016 will have been billed at the correct rate…
We are forewarned of the annual increases in the national press, internet etc…
Personally, I try and reduce my usage every year…(eg led lights can make a difference)… in an effort to keep bills under control. Using a crock-pot rather than the oven for casseroles etc is another energy saver.
I appreciate that Stella, but who is to say that they won’t later say
’oh, we didn’t uplift the prices enough, so we are going to back bill
everyone again’.
On a similar theme, SPANC now have been given authority to bill everyone
annually as opposed to when inspections are carried out. For us, this
was 12.50€ this year (for a compliant system) but next year hikes to
16.50€ annually!
HI Graham… The Government refused to allow EDF to make the price increase they needed. I don’t think the Government will be so silly again… but who knows…
Regarding SPANC… their annual charge around here… is 20 euro… and it is being increased to 21 euro per annum in 2018. This is to cover the cost of the staff necessary to fulfil the SPANC procedures. Plus their charges, for every duty they perform for the client, are also being increased in 2018. (that’s more or less what I have been told.)
Thanks for all your replies. But can anyone answer the question I should have asked? That is, has anyone else had this bill? I suppose it’s possible I got it as a ‘lump sum request’ because I am no longer EDF’s customer; all you that are with EDF maybe are having an extra bit put onto each bill, so it is not particularly noticeable?
I also note that I got the bill towards the end of Sept. 2017; that is, just within 14-months from August 2016.
Hello Roger,
Yes I had moved house and EDF sent me a retrospective bill for the house that I had sold to my new address. I was shocked that I had to pay a bill on a property that I had sold to another person, but that is the way it is. Not right at all.
The retrospective bill should relate to the property you were living in during the period 2014/2015. These bills are only now being sent out… so , if you have since moved house… yes, the bill will be sent to your new address.
As this thread details… (see the link above) this is quite legal.
If you are being billed for a house you did NOT own (or live in) in 2014/2015… then you may well have cause to query with EDF
Anyone using electricity in France during the period 2014/Dec 2015 … is liable to these back-dated charges. Being permanent or on holiday makes no difference… it all depends on whose name is shown on the Account with EDF during that period.
