Twenty-plus quick answers on eligibility, timing, meter types, cooling-off rights, what voids the credit, and why EDF pays as bill credit instead of cash.
Answers checked against EDF’s live Refer a Friend terms. Verified 13 October 2026.
Cross-checked against EDF’s live terms · Updated monthly
New EDF domestic customers who switch to a qualifying fixed or variable tariff via a referral link and stay past the 14-day cooling-off period.
No. Refer a Friend only pays out on brand-new EDF accounts — if you’ve been with EDF in the last 12 months, you generally won’t qualify.
Yes. Switching supplier at a new address counts as a new EDF account and is eligible.
Domestic (household) tariffs only. Business tariffs are handled by EDF Business and don’t sit inside the consumer RaF scheme.
Typically around 8 weeks end-to-end. Roughly: same day sign-up → 14-day cooling-off → supplier switch completes (~day 21) → first bill issued (~week 6–8) → credit auto-applied shortly after.
Once your first EDF bill has been issued and the cooling-off period has ended. It appears as a credit on your account balance, not as a cash payment.
No. Cooling-off and first-bill milestones are fixed by scheme rules.
Yes. Standard SMETS1 and SMETS2 smart meters are fine. Smart meters actually speed up first-bill issuance because EDF gets automatic readings.
Pre-payment/PPM meters are usually excluded from Refer a Friend. Check EDF’s current terms before signing up if your meter is PPM.
Yes, Economy 7 tariffs qualify on the same terms as single-rate tariffs.
Yes. UK law gives you 14 days from switch start to cancel without charge. You revert to your previous supplier automatically.
Yes. The credit only pays out on switches that complete past the cooling-off window.
Cancelling in cooling-off; switching away before your first EDF bill is issued; moving to a non-qualifying tariff (some prepayment/business products); or failing to complete the switch (e.g. direct debit setup rejected).
A late DD payment won’t normally void the credit but can delay the first bill — and therefore the credit landing on your account.
It’s built into the scheme mechanics: the £50 is applied against your account balance so it directly reduces what you owe. It behaves like an advance payment on future usage.
Not directly. However, if you close your EDF account with a credit balance, EDF will refund the outstanding balance — which effectively releases the £50.
No. HMRC treats supplier credits as a discount on your bill, not as income.
The referral link contains the referrer’s ID. You don’t need to enter a code manually — just complete sign-up in the same browser session after clicking through.
