EDF: how to leave, exit fees, price rises, moving home and complaints

EDF Energy Customers Ltd, registered at Nova North, 11 Bressenden Place, London, trades as EDF and supplies gas and electricity to households across Great Britain as part of the French EDF group. EDF is unusual among the large suppliers in publishing its full residential terms and conditions on an open web page, and most of what follows comes from those terms, the moving-home and complaints pages, and Ofgem’s rules.

How to leave EDF

Sign up with the new supplier and they will tell EDF. Ofgem requires the transfer to complete within 5 working days unless you ask for a later start, and the new supplier owes you £40 if it is late. EDF’s terms (clause 10.c) ask you to make sure your account is up to date and any debt is settled before you leave; under clause 18.c EDF may object to a transfer while you owe money, and the objection falls away if you pay within 30 working days. Give the new supplier an opening meter reading; it becomes the closing reading on your EDF final bill, otherwise clause 13.b lets EDF estimate.

You have 14 days from the day after you signed up with the new supplier to cancel the switch.

Notice period and fixed tariffs

EDF has no notice period. What matters is whether your tariff has an end date and an exit fee. Clause 1.a says the exit fee, prices and tariff terms are in the confirmation e-mail or letter EDF sent you and in your Tariff Information Label at edfenergy.com/til.

Ofgem’s rules then apply on top. Since 2013 a supplier must write to you 42 to 49 days before a fix ends, cannot charge a termination fee from that notice onwards, and cannot roll you onto another fixed deal. EDF’s clause 2.e matches this: it contacts you before the end date with your options, and if you neither agree a new tariff nor switch, it moves you to a default tariff chosen from your consumption, payment method and meter type. That default tariff has no end date. Our guide Fixed energy tariff ending explains how to use the final seven weeks.

Price rises: your rights

Clause 18.a is explicit: on a fixed rate tariff the energy prices and any exit fee do not change until the end date, except for a change in law, regulation, tax or duty outside EDF’s control, or a new charge EDF is required or allowed to pass on.

On a variable tariff EDF can change prices and terms, but if the change puts you at a disadvantage it must send a variation notice in advance; Ofgem’s rule from 2011 sets that notice at a minimum of 30 days. Clause 18.b adds a specific protection: if you tell EDF you do not want to continue on the amended terms, the change is suspended for up to 20 working days to give you time to agree a new contract with another supplier or with EDF.

Moving home

Clause 11 sets the procedure. Tell EDF your move-out date and your new address, and give a meter reading when you leave. If you give at least two working days’ notice, the contract ends on the day you move out. If you give less, it ends two working days after you tell EDF or on the day the new occupier moves in, whichever is earlier, and until then you remain responsible for the supply (clause 11.c).

If you want to keep EDF, the moving-home page says you can set up the new account at the same time as closing the old one by giving the new address and move-in date through MyAccount, or by calling 0333 009 7023 (Monday to Thursday 8am to 6pm, Friday 8am to 4pm). Our guide Moving house: what to do about your energy supplier has the full checklist.

Contact and complaints

Customer services: 0333 006 9950, hello@edfenergy.com, or FREEPOST EDF Customer Correspondence. EDF’s complaints page promises that the same team handles your complaint from start to finish, keeps you updated and, if the first answer does not satisfy you, arranges a reassessment.

If eight weeks pass without a resolution, or EDF writes to say it can offer nothing more (a deadlock letter), you can take the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman: 0330 440 1624, enquiry@energyombudsman.org, PO Box 966, Warrington WA4 9DF. The Ombudsman’s decision binds EDF, not you. You have twelve months from a deadlock letter to escalate. Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) and Advice Direct Scotland (0808 196 8660) give free advice at any stage.

What to check before you switch

Find your tariff confirmation or Tariff Information Label and note the end date and exit fee. Within 49 days of the end, no fee applies. Check your account is in credit or settled, because EDF can object to a switch over an unpaid balance. Your annual kWh for the comparison is on your latest bill, which our page on reading your energy bill explains.

Ofgem’s Confidence Code accredits comparison websites, not suppliers, so it tells you nothing about EDF itself. Compare in the UK energy comparison, read Is switching energy supplier safe? if you are unsure, and set the contract end reminder so the 49-day window does not pass unnoticed.