dennerlymum

we have halved our oil bill by doing just that.. in the summer we only heat the ballon for 45 mins max a day; in winter heating goes on around 6pm which heats the water: it goes off around 11PM,,, bit parky in the morning but I find it gets the kids up more quickly!!

howiet01

Tried this and it worked thanks

ddarlow

I am desperately trying to find someone at EDF who speaks English, and can answer the problems we are currently having with our meter in the Vendée. I have now been given 4 different numbers by EDF operators for their English-speaking service and none of them are, in fact, English-speaking. I've also heard a rumour that EDF have closed this service due to lack of use. Can anyone help?

Also, I've been given an email address <[email protected]>. Does anyone know if this works?

bjgironde

HI,

The email address you have is the same as the one EDF gave me recently when I too had problems, I do not know if they will respond to English.

The 'English speaking' numbers I had, also ended up being transferred to the normal French EDF service. So, I simply asked my French neighbour to call them for me with the problem and she soon sorted them out and was happy to do so. Might this be a soulution for you too?.

ddarlow

Problem is, I'm now in London and will be for some months. Also, I feel rather guilty about involving neighbours again. Meantime my electricity bill for my maison secondaire (occupied for only 13 weeks a year, and mainly in the summer) is a staggering €2800!

I emailed that address, asking if they spoke English, and received an acknowledgement in good English, so I'm a little bit more hopeful.

bjgironde

That sounds hopeful then, perhaps at the bottom of your email you could ask if they have an English speaking helpline and post it on here if it exists.

Good luck

cyrian

Next time you are in France switch everything off and see if any electricity is being used. There could be lots of reasons why your bill is so high.
It could be a faulty meter; there could be a circuit fault; someone else might be using electricity from your meter; there could be something switched on - like a water heater heater - that you are not aware of.
If there is a fault then it would be worth your while to get it fixed.
Alternatively, take a meter reading next time you leave and check it when you arrive next visit.
You could get your hot water wired to come on overnight on off-peak.
Our meter switches automatically to the "heures creuze" tariff.

Chatter Static

A little off topic but our new house was on three phase when we moved in, although badly wired for it in the 50's. As we had the house rewired we decided to get a single phase meter stuck in as balancing the phase's was a nightmare for domestic usage. 6 phone conversations and 3 visits we managed to get the meter changed. Edf don't have the best customer focus but perseverance will eventually get you someone that knows what they are talking about and does what their say they will.

bobbi2

This english speaking line is always great, they always speak english, and are very helpful 05 62 16 49 08.
Our friends are renting a place locally and wondered why their bills were so steep. They realised that the adjoining house ( which was being refurbished) was using their electricity! They noted the electricity meter whizzing round when the builders used a power drill. They also noted a spare key for their place being used to allow the builders to come in, whilst they were out. This was a rented place mind you.
Also, we have been on the wrong package for our electricity. Having electric radiators and underfloor heating, our relocation agent had just put us on to a basic package, which wasn't the most efficient for our needs.