Will SSE refund my credit when I switch?

The_Laisy_Daisy

Hello! You were all amazingly helpful when I entered the 'grown-up' world of paying my own bills a few years ago (thank you!). I'm now attempting my first 'grown-up' energy switch so I've returned for some more advice!


I have just taken advantage of the Avro energy switch and, when I checked my existing SSE account, I noticed that I am about £250 in credit for both fuels combined.



Has anyone had success in claiming this money back as a straight refund and can tell me how / when is best to go about it? Should I phone SSE and tell them I want my cash? I only initiated the switching process just now and I'm concerned they might capitalize on my lack of knowledge by adding an admin fee or something similar.


It would be handy to have a Christmas bonus (even if we do our Christmas spending the MSE way!)

System

The_Laisy_Daisy wrote: »

Hello! You were all amazingly helpful when I entered the 'grown-up' world of paying my own bills a few years ago (thank you!). I'm now attempting my first 'grown-up' energy switch so I've returned for some more advice!


I have just taken advantage of the Avro energy switch and, when I checked my existing SSE account, I noticed that I am about £250 in credit for both fuels combined.



Has anyone had success in claiming this money back as a straight refund and can tell me how / when is best to go about it? Should I phone SSE and tell them I want my cash? I only initiated the switching process just now and I'm concerned they might capitalize on my lack of knowledge by adding an admin fee or something similar.


It would be handy to have a Christmas bonus (even if we do our Christmas spending the MSE way!)

A credit balance means nothing unless it is based on actual meter readings. When you switch, your gaining supplier will ask you for opening meter readings. These are verified by an industry partner. The verified readings have to be used to open and close your accounts. Your present supplier has 6 weeks from the day of the actual transfer to issue you with a Final Bill. This will show any credit due to you. This will be returned to your bank within about 14 days. Suppliers are not allowed to add admin fees on a transfer of a supply.

The_Laisy_Daisy

Every day's a school day... and that's a lot simpler than I thought! Someone once told me the world was scary and complicated but it turns it it's not so bad after all.

System

The_Laisy_Daisy wrote: »

Every day's a school day... and that's a lot simpler than I thought! Someone once told me the world was scary and complicated but it turns it it's not so bad after all.

Energy suppliers are not fraudsters; however, things do go wrong from time-to-time. The important thing is to make sure that you have received a Welcome Pack or e-mail from your new supplier with the terms of the contract. They should also tell you when the transfers are likely to go though. They will also ask you for opening readings. You may also get a 'you can't be serious' e-mail from your present supplier: just ignore it. It will take the gaining supplier about 10 days to get your meter readings verified: it will then set up your account. The final thing to check is that the readings used by your new supplier agree with those on your Final Bill. These readings may not be the same as the ones that you provided. If you have any issues then contact the gaining supplier as it has the Licence responsibility to manage the transfer of supply.

welshmoneylover

Ring your current supplier with your reads and ask them to calculate debt to date figure.
You may find the credit you have built up over the summer months maybe less.
Yes, you will get a refund from Sse after the switch and your final bill has been produced.

System

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Ring your current supplier with your reads and ask them to calculate debt to date figure.
You may find the credit you have built up over the summer months maybe less.
Yes, you will get a refund from Sse after the switch and your final bill has been produced.

Technically, when a supplier has been notified that a transfer is in progress they should no longer use meter readings provided by the customer. They will not refund any credit until they have closing readings from the gaining supplier.