Retaining card details

I had the same with British Gas. I contacted their data protection team and threatened them with GDPR and they wiped the data.

You've reminded me. I've got to check the data EDF have as they asked me for my date of birth as a security check. Unthinking, I gave it to them. I will see if I can delete it myself, but if not, will write to their Data Controller and use the GDPR threat.

It seems to me that no matter how much personal security we try to use, the fact that every company now seems to want personal data appears to increase the possibility of identity theft.

I too am with EDF, and was trying since last Sat to give them meter readings. Website very busy - they said it would be - and on Monday and Tuesday I got the "could not identify the meter" message. They asked me to email which I have now done.

EDF reckon I have a "complex meter". I have two, one for day rate, and one for offpeak heating The advantage is that when I joined they gave me a different phone number and email address to use. I've been with them four years, and have found the "Complex Metering Team" very efficient. In June this year, their annual usage estimate and mine differed by 5 units!

Ah, it'll all be good soon. The Truss government want to change it all to "British Data Protection" and that will be SO much better.

/s

They could claim business need to hold this data to comply with a duty to assess and review who is entitled to be on the priority services register. I think Scottish Power Energy Networks said something along these lines.

Well they get mine by direct debit every quarter, so we shall see. At least it stops them stock piling my cash by monthly guesses that are way out, but the smart meter should stop this of course if I wanted to go monthly. After all why should they have my money when at least here I can still use it for two more months should there be an emergency. Brian

But surely they'd only need to retain the details for those that asked to be put on the register. There is no need to retain everyone-elses full details.

No - I think they told me they had a proactive duty to identify potential vulnerable persons and invite them to join the priority register.

I texted EDF this morning and told them I wanted my DoB removed from their records. However, it seems their Text and Chat are somewhat similar, not really recognising something outside what they are apparently programmed to recognise. I eventually got a reply to the effect that someone would get back to me within 24 hours. I doubt it...

One interesting problem is that they probably need my DoB to confirm that I meet the requirements to be on their Priority Services Register, as they asked if they could send details to my electricity network supplier. I told them they did not need to as it was SSEN and they already had it. They were quite insistent they wanted to supply it; I was equally insistent they could not. I see no need to be on their PSR in the same way that it probably is important to be on the gas, electricity, and water supplier's PSR.

Anyway, I've now emailed Ofgem to find out how I get removed from EDF's PSR, as all the info I could find was for getting on a PSR.

I had a lot of trouble getting off too. It seems the sneaky way is to demand removal of your telephone number(s) then they can't send you silly texts.

Useful to know!

You only have to ask them.

It's spelt out (twice as it's also part of the 'PSR Promise') in their PSR FAQs

Indeed, although it is not one of the section headings on that page (which I had seen, but as the heading was absent didn't want to read through a lot of what appeared to be irrelevant information). All the headings are effectively about registering if you aren't registered, or remaining registered.

Anyway, the immediate problem was to get my DoB removed from their records, and it is possible that being on the PSR would inhibit that as my DoB is the critical record for being on the PSR.

Coincidentally I got a letter from EDF today welcoming me to the PSR! Somewhat buried in it are the words is "If you don't want to be on the PSR any more, just ask to be removed and we will do this for you". Importantly, there is an address I can actually write to, and an email address I can use, which I haven't seen before. There are no email addresses provided on their "Contact us" webpage.

So it says, but I was told it was the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) that was responsible, not the energy company.

FWIW EDF have taken me off their PSR. I remain - by choice - on SSEN's PSR.

Are you sure? I was told it was a centralised register consulted by all in an emergency.

No. This is from

"The Priority Services Register is a free support service to help people in vulnerable situations. Energy suppliers and network operators offer it. Each keeps their own register."