EDF Energy refuse to set up Direct Debit — saying my Monzo account number/sort codes are invalid

I’d go ahead with the call with EDF and let them know what you’re doing. If you’ve received a reply from Monzo by then then you can let EDF know. If not, you can ask EDF if you can contact them later once you have further info from Monzo.

The other (incredibly long winded) way, would be to open a Starling account, set up the DD there, then CASS that to Monzo.

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Bill pots though!

Where’s the fun in that?

Other current accounts are available:

  • Metro let’s you open accounts online - or you can pop into a branch and have a card printed for you there and then
  • Dozens is an excellent fintech but not a bank - but you can set up direct debits
  • Revolut is also an option that offers direct debits.

etc etc

But if @JackW2 likes Monzo, let’s not get tribal about it!

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I’ve spent months gradually transitioning from Lloyds to Monzo… whilst I appreciate the suggestions for alternatives, there’s no way I’m suffering through that again any time soon :wink:

(Off-topic, but even just opening a Monzo account took me nearly 3 months! My address wasn’t in their postcode lookup, despite being perfectly valid and showing with Royal Mail, so I couldn’t register. They said there was nothing they could do… so I did some digging, figured out who supplied their postcode lookup API, spent an hour on the phone with them, chased up twice, waited 6 weeks, and voila! Was it worth it? Err… I guess so…? :upside_down_face:)

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I admire your persistence :+1:

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That’s really interesting about the postcode stuff! There’s been a few threads on here over the past 12 months from people who were unable to get an account because their address didn’t show up despite being on Royal Mail address checker.

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Do you need to keep/still have your Lloyds account? If not then setup the DD with Lloyds and CASS the account to Monzo. The DD will come over automatically

I’m intending to close my Lloyds account in the next month or two, so may do that, if it’s not resolved otherwise. Thanks!

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Yeah, I read through those threads myself at the time and tried everything suggested, but to no avail.

After Monzo Support said there was nothing they could do at their end, I just asked them outright who provided their address lookup. The support rep refused to name them, saying Monzo don’t publicly disclose their suppliers.

I’d be happy to share what I did to work around it, but I’m not quite sure where I stand with disclosing it on Monzo’s own forums — especially as (surprisingly) there are no Google results to suggest this company works with Monzo, either.

For what it’s worth… the supplier’s address data has nothing whatsoever to do with Royal Mail. It’s an entirely proprietary dataset, from a company you’ve definitely heard of…

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I’ve said this many times, but corporate secrecy is such a pointless and usually bad thing. It’s a bank, not Bond :man_facepalming:

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Why use EDF they aren’t the cheapest out there?

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:thinking: :man_shrugging:

Thats what I’m thinking, theres about a thousand other cheaper energy providers.

It’s the equivalent to really wanting TSB as your bank account.

https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub

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I use www.flipper.community

They do all the comparisons and switching for you and check you are on the right tariff every month. They do charge an annual fee but only charge it if you make a saving of more than £50 and they don’t gain commission from the companies they move you to.

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They occasionally come up as the cheapest big name. Some people don’t trust giving their energy over to the smaller players, and that’s completely fine.

Anyhow, this is probably a moot point anyway, remember the OP said:

It’s likely they’re contractually bound to them for a period now anyway, so there’s little point discussing other suppliers, moving etc. at this time, they just need their issue fixed.

Normally the savings to be made can outstrip the exit charges with the Big 6.

(Oh boy… here we go…!)

I’m well aware EDF aren’t the cheapest… In fact, I’ve been trying to switch providers for nearly 3 years! The apartment building I live in has some kind of technical fault connecting to the national grid, which means my neighbours and I are collectively “stuck” with EDF, and unable to switch to another provider. Believe me, we’ve tried…

This has been ongoing for almost 3 years — we have an open case with EDF’s most senior resolver team, and Ofgem are aware too. Supposedly they’re sending a team 300 miles across the country to try and fix this in the next few weeks… :see_no_evil:

Once it’s finally sorted, I had my eye on Octopus Energy — but I’m open to any other suggestions!

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That’s interesting to know (I hadn’t properly started shopping around yet, I just liked their clean energy approach, and “Monzo-esque” vibes). Thanks for the tips!

EDF are far and away the cheapest for me.

I set up my Direct Debit on the ‘My Account’ area of the EDF website. Took the details no problems, and first payment came out yesterday.

Cheers.

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