Avro energy

Flip72

I am a member of MSE energy club and decided to take the clubs recommendation and change from EON to Avro to save some money. On the 10/10/18 Eon took £167 DD from my account as they were due to do, but on the 11/10/18 Avro took £133.74 DD, although they weren't due to start supplying until 20/10/18. Two large payments taken in 2 days could have emptied my bank account and left me in the red and paying charges. I complained to Avro, but it fell on deaf ears, so I telephoned EON and they advised that they wouldn't take payment until after they started supplying, so a bit naughty of Avro. Another £133.74 was taken on the 11/11, although they had only been supplying energy for 3 weeks. Their payment method could cause serious problems for someone on a low income and it should be pointed out before choosing this company to supply. I would like an MSE advisor to comment on this, as the energy club is there to help people save money and to hopefully stay in the black in their bank account.

JJ_Egan

Contact mse energy club .
https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub/faq

Flip72

I am new to MSE forums, so don't know my way around yet, so as JJ Egan advised I clicked on this link and here I am, so hope I get a response from someone at MSE this time. I have included my post again below.

I am a member of MSE energy club and decided to take the clubs recommendation and change from EON to Avro to save some money. On the 10/10/18 Eon took £167 DD from my account as they were due to do, but on the 11/10/18 Avro took £133.74 DD, although they weren't due to start supplying until 20/10/18. Two large payments taken in 2 days could have emptied my bank account and left me in the red and paying charges. I complained to Avro, but it fell on deaf ears, so I telephoned EON and they advised that they wouldn't take payment until after they started supplying, so a bit naughty of Avro. Another £133.74 was taken on the 11/11, although they had only been supplying energy for 3 weeks. Their payment method could cause serious problems for someone on a low income and it should be pointed out before choosing this company to supply. I would like an MSE advisor to comment on this, as the energy club is there to help people save money and to hopefully stay in the black in their bank account.

Flip72

It looks as though I am going around in circles, I don't think I will find an answer in Q/A and would like a reply from an MSE representative about the way Avro carry out their business regarding payments and I think someone at MSE needs to respond, as it could cause someone a real problem as mentioned in my post x 2.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Flip72 wrote: »

I am a member of MSE energy club and decided to take the clubs recommendation and change from EON to Avro to save some money. On the 10/10/18 Eon took £167 DD from my account as they were due to do, but on the 11/10/18 Avro took £133.74 DD, although they weren't due to start supplying until 20/10/18. Two large payments taken in 2 days could have emptied my bank account and left me in the red and paying charges. I complained to Avro, but it fell on deaf ears, so I telephoned EON and they advised that they wouldn't take payment until after they started supplying, so a bit naughty of Avro. Another £133.74 was taken on the 11/11, although they had only been supplying energy for 3 weeks. Their payment method could cause serious problems for someone on a low income and it should be pointed out before choosing this company to supply. I would like an MSE advisor to comment on this, as the energy club is there to help people save money and to hopefully stay in the black in their bank account.

Hello Flip72 and welcome to the Forums.

Sorry to lose you. Thought I'd let you know what happens when your account with us closes. We aim to send final bills within 32 working days of the transfer date. It'll be based on the meter readings your new supplier tells us they're starting their account from. This stops the same energy from being charged twice. Check our closing readings match Avro's start readings. If you've registered with our website for paperless billing, we'll put the final bill online and send an email to let you know it's there.

If the Direct Debit is still live, we'll refund any credit balance to your bank. If not, we'll send a cheque. Either way, we look to sort refunds within 10 working days of a final bill. It's a bit quicker using the Direct Debit arrangement. Should there be anything left to pay, we'll collect this as a one-off Direct Debit. We'll let you know when we're going to do this on the final bill.

Where there's an outstanding balance and no Direct Debit, there are various ways to pay including online through our website or mobile app. Alternatively, payments can be made over the phone by card.

Sorry again to lose you Flip72.

Malc

Logen

Flip72 wrote: »

It looks as though I am going around in circles, I don't think I will find an answer in Q/A and would like a reply from an MSE representative about the way Avro carry out their business regarding payments and I think someone at MSE needs to respond, as it could cause someone a real problem as mentioned in my post x 2.

Avro take payments in advance. This information is included in the Cheap Energy Club (CEC) comparison site under Company info, but I've copied it below for your convenience.

Further info: Avro Energy takes direct debits in advance, so your first payment will be taken 21 days after applying to switch.

Flip72

Hello Malc,

Thank you for your reply, but I my post was not a complaint against Eon, as I was expecting the DD to be taken, but about Avro taking DD before they even start to supply. I only mentioned Eon because I was advised a DD wouldn't be taken until after commencement of supply. I know I should have read Avro's payment details, but I would have thought that a prominent warning should have been shown by MSE, as having 2 DD's totaling over £300, taken by 2 energy suppliers in 2 days is not helpful if a person is struggling with money problems, after all MSE are there to help people save money and also offer advice keeping out of debt. I believe the energy watchdog should legislate on this payment method.

System

Flip72 wrote: »

Hello Malc,

Thank you for your reply, but I my post was not a complaint against Eon, as I was expecting the DD to be taken, but about Avro taking DD before they even start to supply. I only mentioned Eon because I was advised a DD wouldn't be taken until after commencement of supply. I know I should have read Avro's payment details, but I would have thought that a prominent warning should have been shown by MSE, as having 2 DD's totaling over £300, taken by 2 energy suppliers in 2 days is not helpful if a person is struggling with money problems, after all MSE are there to help people save money and also offer advice keeping out of debt. I believe the energy watchdog should legislate on this payment method.

If Ofgem legislated in the way that you suggest, then this would lead to an increase in the cost of energy as suppliers would have to borrow more. Why - because all retail energy suppliers pay their wholesalers in advance of supply. The bigger suppliers may well forward purchase many months - even years - ahead of the time that they need the energy. Smaller suppliers - which may be little more at start up than a person with a Supply Licence and a laptop - probably cannot afford to buy energy in advance. Moreover, borrowing is I suspect expensive for the new 'boys on the block'.

There is no way that one supplier will know the terms and conditions of another supplier. For example, Avro states:

When the payment method is by Direct Debit;

The amount of the Direct Debit will be determined initially according to your estimated annual consumption,

The Direct Debit will be taken 21 days after initial sign up and monthly thereafter.

Will be adjusted to the appropriate amount following our receipt of a meter reading, supplied by you or taken by us of the actual Energy consumed at the premises
Advised to you following our receipt of a meter reading, supplied by you or taken by us at least 7 days prior to being collected by us.

We will act in accordance with the Direct Debit Guarantee.

If you consistently miss direct debit payments we may move you to another tariff that is not direct debit only.

Note the two sections that I have highlighted. Not only do you have to pay in advance (which is now common with most small/cheap suppliers) but Avro reserves the right to review your payments after the first meter reading. Many suppliers now have Winter/Summer DD payment schemes; others insist that there is sufficient credit in the account to cover the following month's likely usage charges, and some now insist on a minimum of two months credit.

I appreciate that this is no comfort whatsoever to those struggling to pay their bills, but I personally doubt that it is something that Ofgem will want to legislate on.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Flip72 wrote: »

Hello Malc,

Thank you for your reply, but I my post was not a complaint against Eon, as I was expecting the DD to be taken, but about Avro taking DD before they even start to supply. I only mentioned Eon because I was advised a DD wouldn't be taken until after commencement of supply. I know I should have read Avro's payment details, but I would have thought that a prominent warning should have been shown by MSE, as having 2 DD's totaling over £300, taken by 2 energy suppliers in 2 days is not helpful if a person is struggling with money problems, after all MSE are there to help people save money and also offer advice keeping out of debt. I believe the energy watchdog should legislate on this payment method.

Totally understand Flip72. Just thought I'd give you a bit of a heads up about what to expect from us as your account moves over to the new supplier.

Have a good weekend Flip72.

Malc