Avro Energy reviews: Give your feedback

MWT

jimroy said:

...And Lowri Beck said that the IHD has to be within a metre of the electric meter to keep signal and get data. Did you know that? So it'd be useless for my mum then as the meters are many meters away in her garage!

Fortunately that isn't true.

It is wise to leave the IHD close to the meter until it is properly commissioned, but after that you can move it further away. Exact range depends on what is between the IHD and the meter, but it is certainly not limited to 1m.

oldagetraveller1

2010 said:

oldagetraveller1 said:

Watch out for Avro continuing to take Direct Debit payments after switching away from them. In spite of the account being over £100 in credit!

Once the switch has been made and if you`ve got enough credit for your final bill with them, then cancel your DD.
Cancelling your DD doesn`t affect the ability for any company to pay what they owe you.
They know your bank details, the DD is for taking payment from you , not the other way round.

That is what I should have done and have done. It still doesn't alter the fact they have taken £64 after the switch. Not that it will result in anything, I have fired off a complaint to Avro. They really have gone down the pan!

2010

oldagetraveller1 said:

2010 said:

oldagetraveller1 said:

Watch out for Avro continuing to take Direct Debit payments after switching away from them. In spite of the account being over £100 in credit!

Once the switch has been made and if you`ve got enough credit for your final bill with them, then cancel your DD.
Cancelling your DD doesn`t affect the ability for any company to pay what they owe you.
They know your bank details, the DD is for taking payment from you , not the other way round.

That is what I should have done and have done. It still doesn't alter the fact they have taken £64 after the switch. Not that it will result in anything, I have fired off a complaint to Avro. They really have gone down the pan!

They may have gone down the pan as regards contacting, but there`s little point switching to a dearer tariff.
Did you switch to a dearer tariff?

Avro are still the cheapest for a fixed tarff and the danger of a variable one is they can and will whack the price up at anytime.

Simple and Flow12M seems to be their latest offering.

Alpha_5

I started the switch away on Friday and received the email from Avro asking me to confirm the switch on Saturday morning. New deal with PFP Energy is £8 per month cheaper than Avro (based on actual usage) and I should receive a £50 referral credit after 2 months - so £146 saving over the year versus renewing with Avro. The new fixed deal does have exit fees - but it doesn't sound as though industry prices are likely to be dropping any time soon, so happy to take a punt on those given the savings I'll be making.

Consumerist

oldagetraveller1 said:

. . . It still doesn't alter the fact they have taken £64 after the switch. . .

Your bank may be able to get that back for you.

MidlandsGlory

MWT said:

jimroy said:

...And Lowri Beck said that the IHD has to be within a metre of the electric meter to keep signal and get data. Did you know that? So it'd be useless for my mum then as the meters are many meters away in her garage!

Fortunately that isn't true.

It is wise to leave the IHD close to the meter until it is properly commissioned, but after that you can move it further away. Exact range depends on what is between the IHD and the meter, but it is certainly not limited to 1m.

Actually its not far off. The GEOII they supply has an astonishingly dreadful range, I can't get my Avro supplied one to work much more than a metre and I have had to mount it on a ledge in the garage back to back with the wall the meter is on.

Fortunately they seem to have finally fixed the IHD perpetual resetting issue. I leave it in the garage as a sort of hub, it reads the meters and by setting the wifi connection up (which is also pathetically weak) it passes the data to the cloud so I can get readings via the app.
Probably too fiddly for some people to set up.

wrongplanet

MidlandsGlory said:

Actually its not far off. The GEOII they supply has an astonishingly dreadful range...

Not got a smart meter here yet but when one inevitably becomes necessary it might be interesting. The service head, meter etc. is in the garage above the only place a bench can go, so in order to protect things I've put a shallow cupboard over them. Last week I put a bit of sheet steel on the door for use as a magnetic board for drawings, notes etc.

oldagetraveller1

"Did you switch to a dearer tariff?" No, slightly cheaper than their fixed renewal offer, but variable with no exit fees.

Price isn't everything though. Strange how I received a quick reply to my complaint about the D.D.! Yet, it takes them weeks to answer routine queries.

Nocturn68

Nocturn68 said:

Avro Energy blocked my transfer as I had a debit balance of £78.92 on 19/05, due to the seasonal nature of the monthly payments scheme. My monthly DD is £82.86 and will be paid on 25/05.
It is unlawful for an energy supplier to bock a transfer if the debt is less than 28 days old, but they did anyway. Search Citizens Advice for transferring to a new energy supplier (I can't post links) 
They have not contacted me, they do not respond to email and the phone and webchat service is closed.
They did, however advise me via twitter that the objection has now been cleared, after I paid the amount by debit card. They also advised that I now have to restart the transfer and if it is not done before the next bill, the transfer may be blocked again as there will be a debt. Avro Energy - The Hotel California of Energy suppliers

Update:
I have managed to transfer to another supplier and raised a formal complaint, based on the fact that they illegally blocked the initial transfer. I received a response from 'Jasmine' in the complaints department stating that the debt was over 28 days old as it was in the red in February. Despite being in credit in March, April and May, they are using the February debit balance to argue that it is over 28 days old. I have asked for a deadlock letter but this has been refused.

Hi Darran,

I will not be issuing a letter of deadlock at this stage.

You will clearly see from your statements the account was in debit.

I would recommend you open the statements and view them, This will validate what i have previously advised.

Regards

Kind Regards,

Jasmin | Complaints | Avro Energy Limited

_______________

Jasmine,

Further to your request, I have downloaded all statements for 2021. Please find a summary of charges and payments:

The transfer was blocked on 19/05/21 on the basis that there was an outstanding debt over 28 days old. However, prior notice was not given that you would be blocking the transfer, thereby enforcing the early collection of the debt. This is a breach of s.76 of the Consumer Credit Act.

 There were 4 occasions when the account was in debt.

• 03/02/21              £6.14     D/D of £82.86 22 days later resulted in a credit balance of £76.72
• 03/03/21              £43.73   D/D of £82.86 22 days later resulted in a credit balance of £39.13
• 03/04/21              £66.80   D/D of £82.86 22 days later resulted in a credit balance of £16.06
• 03/05/21              £78.92   Settled by debit card to unblock transfer

 The invoice is based on the meter readings. The meter reading does not detail when energy usage occurred. It provides total usage to date. As usage is not measured until the meter reading is provided

A debt does not arise until the invoice has been raised

As YOU can clearly see, ALL debts were settled within 22 days of the invoice being raised. Your assertion that the debt is from February is patently wrong. The account was in credit on multiple occasions between February and May. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANY DEBT OVER 28 DAYS OLD

It is illegal for energy suppliers to block a transfer where the debt is less than 28 days old

citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/get-a-better-energy-deal/switching-energy-supplier-if-youre-in-debt/

I shall be escalating this matter to the energy ombudsman on 16/07/2021 (8 weeks from raising the complaint with Avro Energy ON 21/05/2021), with or without the deadlock letter that you are refusing to issue (despite the matter clearly being in deadlock)

I shall also be copying this letter to the relevant recipients at Citizens Advice Bureau, Money Saving Expert, USwitch, Compare the Market and any other utility comparison &/or discussions sites.

Consumerist

Avro have been up to this for a long time. I wish you luck with your complaint to the Ombudsman.

If Avro are refusing to budge on the issue then there is no legitimate reason not to issue a deadlock letter. They seem to be deliberately delaying resolution. You could add that to the complaint.