Avro Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Rhys's_Dad

I've switched our Gas and Electricity supplier on a regular basis for many years and never had a problem until switching to Avro Energy last October.

I've been providing meter readings to Avro on the 13th of each month and this went well until our Gas meter stopped providing a reading sometime between the 13th June and the 13th July. Apparently when the battery in the meter dies, then the readings stop although the meter is still providing gas.

To cut a long story short, the meter was eventually changed on the 8th of August. However, Avro's metering department hadn't picked this up and were still estimating our gas consumption on our August and September statements based on what the old meter might have been reading. At that point we were £74.38 in credit.

After a phone call from me, they recalculated the bill from 13 July to the point where the meter was changed on some estimated reading which makes no sense to me and one which I have challenged, asking how they arrived at it. This latest statement reduced our credit balance form £74.38 to £59.27.
They have yet to respond to an email I sent them 7 working days ago, despite claiming they would.

My argument is that when a customer is unable to provide meter readings, estimated readings are used, in the knowledge that at some point further down the line a Meter Reader will call at the property and an adjustment is made to the bills at that point. Obviously, as the old meter was replaced, Avro can never make a future adjustment to the estimated readings they are now using.

I have now asked them to waive the cost of gas during the period 13 June, the date of the last reading from the old meter, to the 8th August when the new meter was fitted, and just charge us for the daily standing charge.
Anyone care to comment?

Consumerist

Rhys's_Dad wrote: »

. . . I have now asked them to waive the cost of gas during the period 13 June, the date of the last reading from the old meter, to the 8th August when the new meter was fitted, and just charge us for the daily standing charge.
Anyone care to comment?

As you have reported meter readings regularly you, and Avro, should be able to make a reasonable estimate of your usage over the couple of months the meter was inactive. It's important that you also took readings immediately the new meter was installed - it may not have been zero.

If you are unable to reach an agreement about your consumption during the period then you will need to start Avro's complaints procedure and ultimately let the ombudsman settle the matter.

Rhys's_Dad

Consumerist wrote: »

As you have reported meter readings regularly you, and Avro, should be able to make a reasonable estimate of your usage over the couple of months the meter was inactive. It's important that you also took readings immediately the new meter was installed - it may not have been zero.

If you are unable to reach an agreement about your consumption during the period then you will need to start Avro's complaints procedure and ultimately let the ombudsman settle the matter.

Thanks for that. The meter reading on the day it was fitted was 9999 and went to zero as soon as started to use gas. I ve then the meter reading on the 13th August as I would have normally.

polymaff

Rhys's_Dad wrote: »

After a phone call from me, they recalculated the bill from 13 July to the point where the meter was changed on some estimated reading which makes no sense to me and one which I have challenged, asking how they arrived at it. This latest statement reduced our credit balance form £74.38 to £59.27.

Does that seem unreasonable? £15 for 25 days? 60p per day? I'm no fan of AVRO, but ....

Rhys's_Dad

"Does that seem unreasonable? £15 for 25 days? 60p per day? I'm no fan of AVRO, but" .

Perhaps I've confused you. Those numbers are nothing to do with the cost of gas used.

Our statement dated 13th Sept said our account was £74.38 in credit.
After I informed them about the new meter, they revised the bill, based on new estimated reading, a number which they seemed to have picked out of the air, which stated our account was then £59.27 in credit.
Why would fitting a new meter, prompt them to revise a previously estimated reading based on what the old meter might have given? It makes no sense.

Rhys's_Dad

On a general note Avro's customer service is hopeless. It takes ages to get to speak to someone and I'm taking 20 to 30 minutes, all the time they play this dreadful music designed to make you loose the will to live. None of that ` Your call is important to us` stuff. They don't respond to emails. When I asked if they could refund the credit we had on our account, they said I would need to write to them asking for it
.
Frankly when all this business is sorted, Ill be looking for a new supplier.

polymaff

Rhys's_Dad wrote: »

"Does that seem unreasonable? £15 for 25 days? 60p per day? I'm no fan of AVRO, but" .

Perhaps I've confused you. Those numbers are nothing to do with the cost of gas used.

Our statement dated 13th Sept said our account was £74.38 in credit.
After I informed them about the new meter, they revised the bill, based on new estimated reading, a number which they seemed to have picked out of the air, which stated our account was then £59.27 in credit.
Why would fitting a new meter, prompt them to revise a previously estimated reading based on what the old meter might have given? It makes no sense.

You have! SO you mean that they've swapped one estimate for a missing August customer read for another one based, you assume, on you having brought them up to date on the meter situation - and the new estimate leaves you £15 out of pocket?

When I had a similar circumstance the supplier did a straight-line extrapolation of the most recent data they had. Maybe AVRO did this to you rather than doing a more sine-like extrapolation?

Oh dear, how daft I am (to me AVRO is still a firm that made pretty good aircraft) hoping to fit a logical or observation-based explanation to how systems work nowadays....:rotfl:

fariefarie

I would avoid avro at all costs.. They have been using estimated readings to make my bills for years despite my providing meter readings. This has resulted in me having my DDs hiked massively to pay off a bill I had no idea was in massive debt and now they are using Gas estimates about 200 units under my actual readings and elec readings for last month that is over the meter readings a month later!

They are a joke. Their customer service is abysmal and they will rip you off and make sure you are tied into their service by ensuring you fall into debt and cant change suppliers. Very underhanded providers. Dont fall for the promise of cheap bills - I am paying twice that of my previous supplier.

Christabel

We're with Avro at home and have been for a number of years and all is well. However our tenant also switched to Avro, which we didn't know until she left but still wasn't a problem. When I tried to ring in with her closing read that's when the fun started as they don't answer their phones. Ever. So I contacted someone by Messenger on their FB site and Jacob got back to me. He sent me a change of tenancy form. They only have the one generic one and isn't suitable if you're moving out, only for new tenants. With other utility companies I just ring up, give a closing read, a forwarding address for the final bill and that's it. Then they put the account into my name, which again is fine. Then a month or so later I ring in with details of new tenants and their opening read, which may be a few units more than the previous closing read. Then they send me a bill for the empty period. Then they set up an account for the new people. Unfortunately as you can't get through to anyone on the phone and as they only use a totally unsuitable Change of Tenancy form as they call it, you cannot move forward with it. My previous tenant tells me she has emailed them no end of times and got nowhere. I think it'll probably be easier if I suggest to the new tenants that they open an account with a different utility company to make things easier. Has anyone else faced all this?

Consumerist

I think all energy suppliers take the simplistic view that previous tenants are liable for charges until a new tenant applies to be supplied - unless the previous tenant has advised them they are moving out and supplied closing meter readings.

Changing tenants is always a problem for landlords because they can end up paying for inexplicable usage between the old tenant moving out and the new moving in.

I would advise that you take your own readings at the rented property, if you haven't already, and then notify Ovo of them.