Only Me,

This is not acceptable at all and is very concerning to hear.

Unfortunately, the door-to-door salesmen is the most effective way of energy providers getting people to switch tariffs. Ofgem only last week announced that in the first 7-months of 2007, 2.8million people had changed their gas and electricity provider. This figure is encouraging as it gives the impression that people are becoming more concious about how much they pay for their energy, however, I have concerns as to how many of those people have been misled by the door-to-door salesmen approach. It is for this reason that we (MS.com) are trying to ensure people shop around and use an independent comparison site to find the right product.

In my opinion, if a salesmen from Provider X knocks on your door he's not going to say "oh actually the best product is with Provider Y". He will say "we can reduce your bills and save you money" so that he/she gets the sale.

On a comparison site our engines are populated with the exact rate cards used by the energy providers. We then take your current provider, tariff and consumption and calculate the best product for you independently and with the accreditation of Energywatch.

I could rant on all day about this as it angers me that people are misled so easily through no fault of their own.

The advice given by Mr.Spook is spot-on. Call Energywatch and call EDF to cancel your application.

If you have any problems in doing this I'd be more than happy to call EDF and report this myself.

Hi Mr Spock

Many thanks for your reply - I will certainly contact Energy watch tomorrow about this by phone.  My experience with emailing things like this is that I never hear from anyone.

I'll let you know the outcome but in the meantime beware of EDF sales people!  I would warn everyone you know especially if you consider them to be vulnerable.

 

 

Hi Only Me,

I cant believe in this day and age sales agents are getting away with these tatics.  This is well out of order.

Simply i would check over the contract, find the number to ring to cancel it, and make sure you note the full name of the person who takes your call, as well as the date and time of your call.

Then i would contact Energywatch.  These are the gas and electricity consumer champion and did alot a few years ago against "bullying sales tatics".  They can either be phoned on 08459 06 07 08 or their website is: http://www.energywatch.org.uk/ (they have an online complaint form) but for speed and effectiveness I would phone them.

Good Luck.
 

I had a visit from an EDF rep this afternoon who told me he had come to check my meter as a number of people had  complained that their cost had gone up recently.  Being the innocent person I am I let him in, after checking ID, and he came to my meter, told me I was being charged more because I was with another supplier and then went on to tell me that he would make sure the costs would be reduced back to normal.  I would get another key in a few weeks time, and I would be able to claim Nectar points.  So if I would just sign here.......It was then I twigged that he was actually getting me to switch supplier so I asked a few more questions and he assured me they would be cheaper.  I told him I didnt want to sign to anything but he assured me that signing wouldnt mean I was bound by anything and could cancel at any time.  It all happened so quickly I signed, knowing that I had a cooling off period. 

I'm really concerned about this technique of getting people to switch suppliers.  I felt it was really really misleading and am concerned for other potential customers so wanted some advice as to what to do.  I took a look at the code of practice he gave me and he has blatantly not met some of the requirements in my books, but could anyone give me some confidence to take this forward with EDF and advise who/what to phone and say. My motivation to take this further is becuase I dont want vulnerable people to be misled, and I felt it was totally unethical.