Pont Noir

I Know this is a stereotypical English question but does any one know if edf has an English speaking phone service like French telecom has and if so their number.

The problem I am having is my electric keeps tripping out and my electrician has stated it is a fault with the edf trip switch on their supply coming in to the house .. I have all new electrics with a 15KW tempo supply . It only trips out when the kettle is switched on (sometimes) when the oven is already on. I have borrowed another kettle to discount that . I have used other sockets around the house on other circuits. The strange thing is it never blew the fuse when I had fuses but took out the edf supply and now I have replaced the fuses for circuit breakers it doesn't even trip the used circuit breaker but persists in still tripping out the main switch on the edf supply board.

So I need to call in edf to see if they can replace it.
If there is no English help line I will have to pop down to my local edf office in Argenton on my return I can do face to face problem solving in my limited French but for some reason over the phone it seems harder to get that feeling that I have been understood.

Hi chaillac1

I put your area in Google and came up with this info, when I have telephoned EDF I have managed to get someone who speaks English and they have been most helpful.
Customer services
Tel: 08 10 76 32 32
Hope this helps Sandi

hi chaillac ours does that edf set the trip level you have to pay more tariff for a higher rating ours is set to 15a we use a gas cooker though but it sometimes goes when water heater is on and all the lights and kettle.
two choices ,dont boil kettle whilst cooking or pay for an upgraded supply(check edf trip it should tell you what its set to add up current draw off everything turned on if thats greater it will trip)
ps we have fitted energy saving bulbs which has helped a little as i dont want a bigger electric supply)
anthony
ps your up the road from me i live in redditch

Hi , as I am currently converting the attic I recon I will eventually have to upgrade to an 18 supply But for now having had a flash of wisdom I have brought a kettle to boil on the gas hob.
its a Small world

Hi
I have tried to call the EDF English helpline today, but get a recorded accouncement (in very fluent French) telling me the number has been changed. Unfortunately, my French is not good enough to grasp the new (lengthy) number from the recording, the number is not repeated and is only spoken in French. Obviously EDF haven't thought through the need to provide a bilingual number on their English helpline!

Is anyone able to help and provide details of the new number?

Thanks

Simon & Steven

Hi Steve, The english speaking number and e-mail address are below. Used the phone number two weeks ago - very helpful. I am told that they do reply to the e-mail as well but have not tried it myself. This is a national number for all France but quote your account number (if you have one) and they can bring up all your details

the phone number is: 05 62 16 49 08.

the email is: simpleenergywithedf @ edf.fr

Being based in England, I've used the email address several times.

Excellent

They always respond within 24 hours

All sorted over the Whitsun holiday I tried to make an appointment to get my amps increased 2mounth before going over to France but was told that I could not make an appointment before 4 weeks of the date the work was required . So 4 weeks later i made the appointment and the edf man turned up on time .. He changed the meter changed the trip switch and changed the main fuse. We are now running on 12 KW and which will enable me to put 2 electric heaters in the attic bedroom run a water heater and an electric Cooker in the attic along with tv etc .. good job I have mains gas in the main house .
And this was all arranged on the English speaking line. The edf guy spoke French only but i am okish face to face .. Thank you all for your help

Chaillac 1

OMG, I'm so pleased that the Internet exists!
Sandi6695, you are a life saver with that EDF telephone number. Google, I love you too (who ever you are). To explain, I was so stressed after raising my Electricity tariff from 6 to 9kW, then being charged a whopping 80 euros per month for the service. I decided that it wasn't worth it and got the engineer to put it back to 6kW. But EDF were still billing me 80 euros. So you can see why I needed to speak to EDF in English to get it sorted immediately. Thanks again all and please keep posting. i for one will try to contribute when ever I can.

Thanks

Welcome to Pont Noir and I'm glad that you find it useful.

There must have been some mix up because the 9KW service is not 80€ a month. The standing charge is just over 124€ a year (or about 21€ every two months and only about 10€ more per two months than 6kW). The cost per kWh is the same (0.1106€).

You can view the current prices here.

Dave, apologies for not responding earlier.
Yes, you were dead right and EDF have refunded me some €400 !!
Equally, I am now on a monthly DD of €20. Thanks again for putting me right.
Stephen

Have just tried the english speaking helpline. Got through after a bit of holding the line, and the man did indeed speak english. However EDF don't apparently do the work I wanted done (change from 3 phase to single phase, change from 12kVa to 9kVa, and change from HC/HP to option Base) so he made an appointment for me to be phoned in about ten days time by the people who do do the work, and they don't speak english, so he told me.
So only half helpful as far as english speaking goes.

I had the same experience.

It was useful to be able to ask about what we wanted to have done (fit an exterior meter reading button) and to discuss voltage and tarifs in English.

I did have to then talk to an engineer in French but this was just to arrange the date for the work to be done, which was relatively straightforward.

PS Gosh this is an old thread!

Yes, unfortunately, this type of work goes to ERDF and they don't usually speak any English, unless you are very lucky.

We have not had a problem with them in the Creuse but they were extremely difficult to deal with at the Toulouse office.

The internet is like a moving target. You have a link that might be useful, and a few months later someone decides to change the website. Not only the content, but also the location on the website. French websites - or should I say CEOs? - seem to be rather ignorant of the fact that all those links out there are in fact a form of PR: doesn't cost them a penny. And is an invisible helpdesk with no one on the payroll.

The CEOs of EDF have asked their ict department to reshuffle the website, and their special page for foreign residents has moved to this location. In English, and with eight regional phone numbers to call.

Let's hope that the cooperation between EDF as producer of the electricity and ERDF, responsible for the powergrid and the wiring to your home, has improved. Didn't see any job opportunities so far for English speaking helpdesk technicians in ERDF's Offres d'emploi. With "anglais" in their search engine the only thing that pops up are hits as communiqué de presse en anglais.

Robert