Avro Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Telegraph_Sam

Glad you decided to join us on the forum so please keep in touch so we can help you avoid the same mistake again.

I'll echo that. There's a lot you and I can learn from other folks' misfortunes usually less painfully than from our own. Long live the forums ..

Telegraph_Sam

According to what I have been told "fixed" is only what is agreed between supplier and customer. If the former then decides to vary or increase the amt, then the thing is no longer "fixed" but variable. Makes you wonder who invented thesr things

Gerry1

Telegraph_Sam said:

According to what I have been told "fixed" is only what is agreed between supplier and customer. If the former then decides to vary or increase the amt, then the thing is no longer "fixed" but variable.

You've been misinformed.

A fixed tariff means only that the kWh rate and the daily charge is fixed for 12 months or whatever, NOT the DD, which is merely a contribution to a kitty that may or may not be sufficient to pay the bills.  Use more than you said you would and the DD will go up.  That's not a price increase and it would still be a fixed tariff.  MSE DD advice

A variable tariff is when the kWh and / or the daily charge can be increased, usually with about 30 days notice.

Telegraph_Sam

"Fixed" in my note refers to the D/D amount, not the tariff.  I thought - mistakenly - that one could "fix" a monthly D/D amount with the supplier but it seems that the banking system cannot provide this kind of security.  The supplier can always "vary" the  amount if he wishes to do so.  Quite separate from a fixed or variable tariff.

Gerry1

Fixing a DD won't do you any good if it doesn't keep up with your usage, bill shock will be the result sooner or later.

Telegraph_Sam

Depends in the end who you want to be in control. I have an informally agreed D/D amount set up, I monitor the account and "zero" it with a top up payment once a month. No great hassle but gives the best of both worlds

victor2

You can see how people get misled by energy tariffs. This is from an Avro email confirming a tariff renewal:

Here is a summary of the energy tariff you have selected:

• You have selected Simple and SuperPremier
• Your Tariff is Fixed for 12 Months
• Your renewal will take effect from <date removed from post>
  
• Your Monthly Direct Debit is £100.00

Anyone not understanding that a "fixed" tariff means the rates are fixed, and not the monthly cost, could quite easily misinterpret this as meaning they will pay £100 per month regardless of how much or how little energy they actually consume.

Consumerist

Technically, I suppose a "fixed" direct debit only means that an amount and date has been "agreed" until such time as the payee notifies the payer of a change in the amount or date. That is really the nature of the direct debit, as I understand it.

Telegraph_Sam

My impression also - except that not infrequently the payee doesn't do the notifying and the payer gets a nasty surprise. Something the scamming community also take advantage of.

2010

Tomorrow, regulator Ofgem will raise the energy price cap for standard tariffs from £1,042/yr to £1,138/yr based on typical use. 
This could have an impact on whether other non stardard tariffs will be cut further.
Maybe Avro Super12M is the best that it gets.