Avro Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Consumerist

MWT said:

It is not part of their plan to provide free loans over winter though, so expecting to pay 12th of your annual use starting with a zero balance at this time of year is not really reasonable to expect...

It's not part of our plan to accumulate huge credits over summer, either, but somehow energy suppliers, in general, seem to mange it.

According to Ofgem, energy switches occur fairly evenly throughout the year so that it is quite reasonable, in my view, that suppliers should accommodate the debit balances as well as the credit balances providing there is a near-zero balance at the end of the year. It seems to me the suppliers want it both ways.

MWT

Consumerist said:

According to Ofgem, energy switches occur fairly evenly throughout the year so that it is quite reasonable, in my view, that suppliers should accommodate the debit balances as well as the credit balances providing there is a near-zero balance at the end of the year. It seems to me the suppliers want it both ways.

With some you would be correct, with Octopus, not so much.

As I've said, if you want to manage your account so you stay positive over the year they are not going to chase you to build up a huge balance.

They don't require you to build up a huge balance, they just want you to stay positive.

youravinalarrrf

Today's Octopus update for Avro customers

UPDATE FRIDAY 22ND OCTOBER

This whole week has been devoted to making two crucial steps for customers. First, we've been sending out final bills throughout the week. Second, we've been initiating more and more Avro customers' switches to Octopus, and emailing them to share next steps about their switch and tariff rates.

We're working through both of these steps bit-by-bit, because we know how important it is to get every detail in your bills right. If you've not heard from us yet, you should do very soon. For now, if you're eager to find out your tariff details, head to our FAQs.

I'm still waiting for someone to post on here and confirm that they've received their final Avro bill.

Consumerist

MWT said:

They don't require you to build up a huge balance, they just want you to stay positive.

It seems to me that the direct-debit system is not really fit for purpose for Avro customers switching now to Octopus. I am considering payment on receipt of the bill during the Winter months. It's anyone's guess what might happen in Spring when the tariff cap is reviewed again so I'll sort that out when the time comes.

MWT

Consumerist said:

MWT said:

They don't require you to build up a huge balance, they just want you to stay positive.

It seems to me that the direct-debit system is not really fit for purpose for Avro customers switching now to Octopus. I am considering payment on receipt of the bill during the Winter months. It's anyone's guess what might happen in Spring when the tariff cap is reviewed again so I'll sort that out when the time comes.

The DD method still works because Octopus let the customer set the level, so pick something that will cover your typical winter use and change it in the spring.

You can still top up with a one off debit payment if you get it a little wrong, or adjust it down if you start to build up too much of a balance for your comfort.

Ultimately though just talk to them  and you'll find they are reasonable people to deal with if you want a different payment method.

Consumerist

It looks as though a DD and manual top-ups is still the best option for most.

youravinalarrrf

If you've been managing your Avro account (I know it was extremely difficult to get any response or sense out of Avro) you should already have a credit balance built up which will transfer over to Octopus. As normal this credit balance will gradually reduce over the winter months before starting to build up again over the summer months. It's all about setting the correct Direct Debit payment based on your particlar annual usage so it evens things out for your monthly budget.

2010

Consumerist said:

It looks as though a DD and manual top-ups is still the best option for most.

Manual top ups.
Won`t that be the WFP (assuming you qualify for it)  ?

Consumerist

youravinalarrrf said:

If you've been managing your Avro account (I know it was extremely difficult to get any response or sense out of Avro) you should already have a credit balance built up which will transfer over to Octopus. As normal this credit balance will gradually reduce over the winter months before starting to build up again over the summer months. It's all about setting the correct Direct Debit payment based on your particlar annual usage so it evens things out for your monthly budget.

Although Avro's credit balances should have been designed to pay Avro's rates - not Octopus's.

For me, I think, the trick might be to leave the DD set at the Avro amount until the credit balance is used up then adjust the DD to cope with the rest of Winter. This way, I hope to keep any credit balance to a minimum.

I must confess that, at the moment, I'm having some difficulty getting out of the Avro mind-set but it seems Octopus are far more accommodating when it comes to financial arrangements.

MWT

Consumerist said:

I must confess that, at the moment, I'm having some difficulty getting out of the Avro mind-set but it seems Octopus are far more accommodating when it comes to financial arrangements.

Another little change for you may be the billing process.

Octopus are not keen on estimated bills so if you don't have a smart meter, just give them a reading any time you want and you'll get a bill generated against that reading.

Once a month is good, but if you want to do it once a week you can do...

If you don't do it at all they will nag you to do it, but it isn't like some suppliers where they positively lust after the chance to send an estimated bill...