Avro Energy reviews: Give your feedback

paulie_78

I've been with AVRO for well over a year and have helped an aged relative sign up with them too. Neither of us have had any problems and have renewed after the year because they offered the cheapest deal (except for a couple of providers with bad feedback which I discounted). The changeover from my previous provider was painless. Communications from AVRO during the changeover and about ongoing changes such as direct debit amounts have been excellent. AVRO's estimates of direct debits have been transparent and sensible.

The AVRO website energy usage charts and meter reading entry are ok but not the easiest to navigate. I've seen others that are much clearer - so for example it is easy to make a mistake when entering meter readings to the extent that I have to provide ongoing assistance to my aged relative as they would not have the confidence to do this on their own. The monthly statements however are very clearly laid out and easy to understand.

After the first year and a month into the new contract, an even better AVRO deal came up through the MSE Energy Club (though I was not directly notified by AVRO). So I emailed AVRO and they replied within a week putting me on to the better contract with no quibble. I've learnt from this forum that I can do this online in future - great!

Reading the reported negative experiences on here and elsewhere about AVRO, I'd say that the key to success lies with providing them with an accurate estimate of energy usage at the start, and then with ongoing monthly meter readings when they request them. This is easier said than done for some, but if you don't, and/or you frequently challenge the direct debit amounts say, then the situation seems to spiral into a "nightmare". I suspect AVRO has a very lean organisation structure to be able to offer such low tariffs and cannot afford or does not want to deal with customers who continually take up too much time. Their tariffs have no exit fees and they seem prepared to highlight this to nudge customers into finding alternative energy providers if necessary.

So in summary, I have found it well worth the effort involved in accurately estimating our annual energy usage and carefully updating meter readings monthly. In return, AVRO has provided us with an excellent, very cost effective and hassle-free service.

blue70

My feedback for what it's worth.

I switched to Avro just over 12 months ago after an MSE Energy Club comparison.

It was a hassle free transition and I've had no issues over the 12months of my Fixed Rate Tariff. My deal ended a few days ago and after a further comparison using Martins excellent tool it was apparent that staying with Avro was my best (and cheapest) option so I have renewed for a further 12 months.

There is a warning on the Energy Club website about Ofgem having taken action against Avro for something to do with non-compliance in relation to installing or offering smart meters but as I have no interest in a smart meter I'm not particularly bothered and in any case they are now compliant and the punitive action has now been lifted.

Admittedly because I haven't had any issues I've not had to test their customer services dept so I can't comment on Avros ability to deal with this sort of thing but clearly that is also a positive as well!

polymaff

Avro are like so many organisations - both in the private and the state sectors. They work until they go wrong - and then do they go wrong.


I moved on because something did go wrong. I'd previously made sure that when I did leave I'd be owing them - putting the onus on AVRO to sort things out. There were no problems moving to a better deal with SO Energy, but when things went a bit dodgy there I moved to a better deal with EdF - who, also, are mucking things up - again.


Just a facet of the U.K. in 2019.

Sapphire

I've been with Avro for a couple of years and have no complaints so far. I submit a monthly meter reading each month, on being prompted by an email to do so.

For me, Avro deliver all I ask from an energy supplier – a cost-effective (against other companies), trouble-free deal.

pandh

Definitely 5-star from me. I can't understand all this worry about smart meters, I've had one before and it was useless.

Edit: I've been with Avro since Mar 2018.

Juliewoowa

Awful experience when trying to leave AVRO - left on 28th June and they still keep taking money monthly despite multiple calls - blaming the new supplier but I know its their fault. Now they are telling me that I have to wait weeks for a final bill and weeks after that for them to get round to paying me back - AVOID at all costs

tempus_fugit

Juliewoowa wrote: »

Awful experience when trying to leave AVRO - left on 28th June and they still keep taking money monthly despite multiple calls - blaming the new supplier but I know its their fault. Now they are telling me that I have to wait weeks for a final bill and weeks after that for them to get round to paying me back - AVOID at all costs

I had read of this happening with Avro and was worried when I switched form them in June, but they wrote to me as soon as they were notified of the switch saying that the direct debit would be set to zero and right enough no further payments have been taken. Still waiting for the refund of credit though, but hopefully that won't be long now.

Sweet_Monkey_Tuesday

Was with them for about a year, and throughout that period it was fine - I barely needed to contact them.
They were quite slow on producing the accurate final bill though, so it took a while to get a refund of my closing balance.

Edinburghlawyer

Signed up with them through the energy club. The switch went smoothly and everything was fine until the contract ended. At the end of the year it was apparent they had set the direct debit too high and I had a 150 credit balance. I requested 100 be refunded and was assured it would happen but that it would take between 2 and 3 weeks. I queried why it had to take so long and never got a reply from them.

After 3 weeks and no sign of a refund I found out OFGEM had barred them from taking on new customers. Afraid that they would go into liquidation and I wouldn’t see my money for ages, I called and was fobbed off by being told their finance dept was very busy and I’d be refunded in a week or two.

So, 5 weeks after asking I still had no refund so tried calling them but gave up after 20 minutes on hold. So I instigated an online switch to take my business elsewhere.

Breathtakingly, after my contract had formally terminated they took a further month’s payment - remember Avro takes payment in advance, not in arrears - so they now owed me 250 quid. I contacted them and was told: well now we don’t have to pay you back anything for 6 weeks cos you’ve instigated a switch so you’re getting nothing now.

Being a lawyer, I threatened court action. They restated their position. I issued a formal demand for payment. That got a grudging acceptance that my direct debit shouldn’t have been used and they cancelled the direct debit at their end, but still no money.

By this time, I was so annoyed I decided not to use the direct debit guarantee to get my 100 quid back and instead raised court action against them for the full amount. But I’m a reasonable person so I waited a further couple of weeks, just in case they managed to find the money down the back of the corporate sofa. Still nothing, so I raised court action. The day after the writ was served all the money magically appeared in my bank account with an email saying my switch was now complete. I’m weighing up pursuing them for my expenses but, really, what a shower.

My advice: don’t use them but, if you must, haggle your direct debit down so you’re always in debit to them to the value of your monthly direct debit payment - that way their systems will work and you’ve got a bit of protection when it comes to leaving them.

A definite No to Avro Energy from me and I would not advise my clients to use them. OFGEM should oblige any company they take enforcement action against to tell their customers they have done so, so customers can make an informed decision whether to stick with them or not.

Consumerist

Edinburghlawyer wrote: »

. . . OFGEM should oblige any company they take enforcement action against to tell their customers they have done so, so customers can make an informed decision whether to stick with them or not.

Or you could sign up to <MSE Cheap Energy Club> who will do just that.