'EDF's IT error left me with €8,500 electricity bill for small French house'

A Connexion reader was left facing an €8,000-plus electricity bill after EDF said his Linky meter had not been read properly for three years due to IT issues.

The firm then engaged bailiffs to chase the money despite the fact its investigation into the issue was still ongoing.

Mike Hind, a journalist and author who lives by himself in Normandy, had been paying his normal monthly bills, with a small extra sum every October.

“I nearly fell out of my chair when I got a letter from EDF saying that, due to their IT fault, I owed €8,468, and the sum would be deducted from my account,” he said.

“I had to rush to the bank to cancel the direct debit while I waited for an explanation.”

EDF then reduced the bill by half after Mr Hind opened a case with the ombudsman.

Read more: Electricity bills: Engie and other firms criticised for bad practice

'Disgusting way to treat customers'

However, while he was still negotiating with EDF, he received a letter from a Swedish debt collection agency, which is a registered commissaire de justice in France, saying it had been instructed to recover the debt.

“I have never been treated so badly by a firm,” said Mr Hind. “I have looked closely at the consumption of my small property – a 70m² town house, which is well insulated.

“EDF is probably correct in saying that I had been underpaying but the Linky meter is supposed to give instantaneous readouts so they could adjust bills accordingly.

“For them to suddenly say there has not been a proper reading for three years is ridiculous.

“And then to send in the bailiffs four days before I was due to have a telephone meeting with their customer services people is a disgusting way to treat a customer.”

Read more: Gas bills rise in France: compare energy providers

Mr Hind proposed a monthly repayment scheme with the Swedish debt collector “to end the nightmare”.

‘Impossible’

EDF initially told The Connexion it was “impossible,” for them to investigate the case.

They then asked for further details and a week later contacted Mr Hind with a further €700 off his bill, a €200 payment for inconvenience and “generous” repayment terms for the electricity he used.

“I am happy with this,” he said. “But I still think people should know this can happen with Linky meters.”

The ombudsman, which has not closed the case, declined to comment.

Faulty Linky

Mr Hind moved into his house in 2018 and the Linky meter was installed in 2019.

EDF said it had not been getting readings due to IT problems from 2021 to 2024.

Mr Hind initially paid €60 a month for electricity, by direct debit, plus an extra amount every October, which has increased to €90 a month.

Read more: Why record numbers of homeowners in France are installing solar panels

“I just do not have the sort of money they wanted in a lump sum, and feel other people should be warned that this could happen to them. They should check the readings on their Linky with the consumption EDF says they have – something you can do now on the internet.”

Linky fraud

An employee of Veolia was sentenced to a year in jail, to be served by wearing a surveillance bracelet, and fined €5,000 in June after he admitted tampering with Linky meters so they registered only half the electricity used.

He charged ‘clients’ between €250 and €500 for his efforts.

Investigators seized €70,000 in cash and a luxury car from his home in Alès (Gard).

He and his wife said they were forced into crime to help support a disabled child.

A similar case in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté last year led to an electrician and a salesman, who tampered with Linky meters for businesses, being jailed for two years and one year.

They were also fined €10,000 and ordered to repay Enedis for losses and damage.

Enedis, which manages the Linky meters, says it has trained fraud detection teams and also uses AI to catch fraudsters.