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The impact of high energy tariffs, coupled with the cost-of-living-crisis has had a major impact on consumer energy debt. The commercial ramification for suppliers is significant and for customers, struggling to pay off energy debts can be a stressful experience, often affecting both physical and mental health.
The year-round EDF Customer Support Fund helps households who are experiencing financial difficulties and health vulnerabilities.
Eligible customers with mounting debt are offered payment plans which if completed, result in the debt being cleared in full. In the vast majority of cases, this support enables customers to break a cycle of debt and engender a change of behaviour which results in sustainable, financial stability and reduced anxiety.
Customers can also access energy-efficient appliances, winter warmth products and financial assistance, all from a slick and intuitive application process which includes an inbuilt eligibility scoring system and a suite of automated comms.
The payment plan approach that EDF takes, encourages financial engagement and ultimately enables customers to break a cycle of debt, which has positive ramifications for them, beyond fiscal stability. Typically, around 80% of customer that receive debt support remain debt-free for at least 12 months after an award was given.
It’s a win-win situation because the respite provided to thousands of vulnerable customers each year helps to reduce EDF’s debt exposure and enhance customer retention. As debt clearance is conditional on customers completing a cycle of payments first (and committing to future payments or setting up an immediate direct debit), there is both a short and longer-term return on investment for the supplier.
Charis can structure schemes which deploy different types of payment plan depending on customer circumstances. API integrations or read-only access to supplier platforms enable us to match inbound payments against payment plan expectations and trigger automated communications or remedial customer engagement, as required.
With the cost-of-living crisis showing few signs of abating, bad debt in the energy sector will be a major problem for the foreseeable future and a range of antidotes will be required to deal with it.
Our partnership with Charis to administer our EDF Customer Support Fund has successfully provided essential support to our most vulnerable customers – together we have provided over £3m direct support to customers this year (2024). We’re proud to be the first supplier to work with Charis to set up a Matched Funding debt scheme which has helped over 79% of EDF applicants remain debt-free for at least 12 months after an award was given.
“The Charis team carefully considers every detail to ensure all our evolving requirements are met for the best customer experience.
“They take the time to understand our business requirements and goals, and they’re committed to balancing the needs of what is right for our customers too. The proficiency of the team, who are always on hand, is invaluable. It’s a 21-year Partnership that I’m immensely proud of.
