Steps must be taken to prevent them.
This is a letter or e-mail that is best read very carefully. In recent days, letters have arrived in numerous postal and electronic mailboxes, sent by electricity suppliers. Engie, EDF and even Total Energies have written to their customers. Except this time, it’s not just a simple update on consumption and the amount of their bill. A small line has slipped in, which must be read carefully to avoid an unpleasant surprise on your bank account. And there is no question here of annual regularization.
In the vast majority of cases, households pay for their electricity every month, regardless of the supplier chosen. A direct debit is set up and, on a fixed date, the same amount is paid. The latter is calculated based on the estimated consumption of the accommodation over a year, but the amount to pay is the same every month to avoid too large variations, particularly during the winter.
Except that automatic debit allows Engie, EDF or Total Energie to adjust the amount withdrawn as they wish. The law allows it. Only condition: inform the customer by postal or electronic mail at least one month before the change. And many customers recently received a message warning them of an upcoming change.
“Following the analysis of your latest consumption statements and/or following the evolution of the prices of your offer, we suggest that you adjust your monthly payments to €XX including tax/month from now on”, writes for example Engie, which , in another version of the letter, begins with “Following a request from you or the modification of the meter reading date by the distributor”, before announcing to you that a new, higher monthly amount will be paid to you. taken from a certain date.
You are not at the origin of this change? Don’t panic, it’s not fraud. As indicated, suppliers have the right to offer you this increase. By omitting a major clarification: whoever says nothing consents! Thus, in the absence of refusal on your part to increase your monthly payment, it will automatically increase on the date indicated. To object, you must call customer service.
However, in a good number of cases, the supplier will explain that the increase was calculated in order to prevent the customer from having an adjustment bill that is too high. In fact, when the monthly payments were calculated a year ago, they had not yet taken into account the 9% increase in electricity that occurred on 1er last February.