Symbio Energy feedback

Talldave

_Jem_ said:

matelodave said:

Companies like BG, Octopus, Orbit etc are far too expensive for me. I'm with Symbio who are probably probably the cheapest but you need to get your head around their strange billing/estimating system so I'd be inclined I'd give them a miss (unless you like a mental challenge every month) 

Try Neon Reef, Gerry reckons that they are OK and I'm tempted to jump over from Symbio to them even though it will probably cost me an extra £20 a year. 

Symbio is also coming in cheap for, I'm moving into a new property so coyld do with things being easy to start of with, is Symbio that much of a pain? 

They're ok. Customer services can't handle challenging questions but which supplier can?

They estimate your consumption in advance and then when you give a reading on the last day of the month they reconcile any difference, estimate for the month  ahead and on you go. Their bills are therefore a bit convoluted - but they're cheap. They do offer a fixed payment option but I have no experience of that and have no idea how estimated vs actual consumption is reconciled in that case.

_Jem_

Talldave said:

_Jem_ said:

matelodave said:

Companies like BG, Octopus, Orbit etc are far too expensive for me. I'm with Symbio who are probably probably the cheapest but you need to get your head around their strange billing/estimating system so I'd be inclined I'd give them a miss (unless you like a mental challenge every month) 

Try Neon Reef, Gerry reckons that they are OK and I'm tempted to jump over from Symbio to them even though it will probably cost me an extra £20 a year. 

Symbio is also coming in cheap for, I'm moving into a new property so coyld do with things being easy to start of with, is Symbio that much of a pain? 

They're ok. Customer services can't handle challenging questions but which supplier can?

They estimate your consumption in advance and then when you give a reading on the last day of the month they reconcile any difference, estimate for the month  ahead and on you go. Their bills are therefore a bit convoluted - but they're cheap. They do offer a fixed payment option but I have no experience of that and have no idea how estimated vs actual consumption is reconciled in that case.

Cheers, I guess they can also read my meter as its a smart meter? 

molerat

Mister_G said:

My Symbio tariff is up for renewal on 1st October.  I've chosen their Low Fair & Green Variable SE03v1 at 11.46p and 19p/day.  Hopefully that will save the hassle of having to change suppliers!  We shall see!

Where did you get that date from, not their renewal e-mail I hope

Talldave

_Jem_ said:

Talldave said:

_Jem_ said:

matelodave said:

Companies like BG, Octopus, Orbit etc are far too expensive for me. I'm with Symbio who are probably probably the cheapest but you need to get your head around their strange billing/estimating system so I'd be inclined I'd give them a miss (unless you like a mental challenge every month) 

Try Neon Reef, Gerry reckons that they are OK and I'm tempted to jump over from Symbio to them even though it will probably cost me an extra £20 a year. 

Symbio is also coming in cheap for, I'm moving into a new property so coyld do with things being easy to start of with, is Symbio that much of a pain? 

They're ok. Customer services can't handle challenging questions but which supplier can?

They estimate your consumption in advance and then when you give a reading on the last day of the month they reconcile any difference, estimate for the month  ahead and on you go. Their bills are therefore a bit convoluted - but they're cheap. They do offer a fixed payment option but I have no experience of that and have no idea how estimated vs actual consumption is reconciled in that case.

Cheers, I guess they can also read my meter as its a smart meter? 

I don't know, not sure that Symbio have got to grips with smart meters yet. But for the aggro of submitting 12 readings a year, they're cheap. And you'll have your own record of your consumption too!!

_Jem_

I would be doing my own readings even if they can read the smart meter, so no worries there. 

Stratus

I've had enough! I'm leaving. Symbio are simply too much hassle.

Their renewal invite was the final straw. A do nothing approach will see me being rolled into another 12 month fix with exit penalties. This 12 month fix (12 month renewal V1) is more expensive than their 12 month fix (SE02). The main difference being the standing charge - 26p on the renewal tariff and 19p on SE02.
Alternative tariffs available included no less than 5 different variable plans.
The quoted savings I can make against the big 6 make no sense. If I take the cheapest variable tariff (SE03 V1) I will save £161, if I take the most expensive variable tariff (standard variable) I will save even more - £232.
Monthly photos are an unnecessary hassle. My phone won't support their app. Erratic estimates are a joke. Their EAC for me next year is less than my actual consumption. I note they are implementing some two factor authentication in the near future and as I type this I have received 3 emails with different verification codes.
Looks like Neon Reef but I'll see what the next week or two throws up.

Mister_G

molerat said:

Mister_G said:

My Symbio tariff is up for renewal on 1st October.  I've chosen their Low Fair & Green Variable SE03v1 at 11.46p and 19p/day.  Hopefully that will save the hassle of having to change suppliers!  We shall see!

Where did you get that date from, not their renewal e-mail I hope

Yes, I did and it ties in with the confirmatory renewal email they've just sent me.  Is there an issue there?

Stratus

Also their terms and conditions have changed again since June.

Latest T&Cs were attached to the renewal invite. They still carry the same date of June 2020 and are both Version: 0.03 but the latest are a document produced on the 14th July and include two changes.

The following has been removed from 3.23:

However, if you have a faulty meter, it will be replaced with a Smart Meter without a charge, subject to customer staying with Symbio Energy Limited, till the end of Agreement or at least 6 months whichever is higher. Should you decide to leave us at any time, you will be liable to any exit fee and/or cost incurred as a result of the replacement.

Also 6.5 has been removed completely:

6.5 If this Agreement ends, we may recover any metering equipment we have provided to you and you agree to provide us full access to do this.

You would have thought they would have taken the opportunity to correct their complaints email address to symbioenergy so they at least go to the right company.

_Jem_

Seems all the cheaper places has a great deal of complaints. This is doing my head in think I might close my eyes and just pick between symbio and eon🙄

Gerry1

_Jem_ said:

Seems all the cheaper places has a great deal of complaints. This is doing my head in think I might close my eyes and just pick between symbio and eon🙄

I found that Avro, Yorkshire, Gulf and Neon Reef were / are all fine, I didn't have a problem with GB Energy when it went bust, nor do I expect any problems with Robin Hood.  The only irritating one was Eco7, sister company of OFTM and the magic dust radiators.