Symbio Energy feedback

matelodave

They don't usually cut you off BUT they can trash your credit rating and get a court order to swap your meters for pre-pay (and make you pay for the privilege) so it's probably not the best idea just because you are a bit p'd off with them. Being cut-off would be the least of your troubles in that scenario

Just change suppliers - the new supplier does all the work.   Assuming that you don't owe Symbio silly amounts of money, they should then send you a final bill which you'll have to pay, or get credit refunded.

Hopefully you shouldn't be too far adrift because you've been sending in monthly meter readings, checking your monthly  bills and downloading and saving them.

Streaky_Bacon

Simoncello said:

If I don't pay my bill can Symbio disconnect our electricity?
I've tried contacting them 8 times now (calls/emails/voicemails) and STILL NO response.
I've started the search for other suppliers, but OTOH I'm curious to see how this plays out. I just don't want for us to get cut off.
Any chance of that happening?

Do you mean "don't pay your bill until your billing dispute is sorted out" or just "don't pay your bill"?

If you don't pay a legitimate bill, then you will eventually be chased for it, and may have a pre-payment meter installed. I'm not sure whether Symbio have the capability to report credit data and defaults, and doubt that they do, but it would eventually affect your credit rating if it went to court and you still didn't pay.

I suspect, however, you mean not paying until it is resolved, in which case there is no problem. Their own terms and conditions allow for the DD to be cancelled until the matter is resolved and even if it didn't, a genuine dispute should not permit any debt collection activity until the matter has been through the supplier complaint procedure and the ombudsman's.

You've put a complaint in writing to them and they have not responded, so you have cancelled your DD.

It is likely that you may wish to switch, and it might be a good time to do so. I have personally gone with Green, who have some cheap tariffs at the moment (including their recently released Elm variable), and my switch should complete within the next few days.

It is possible that Symbio could attempt to block any switch by claiming that there are outstanding charges, but they should not do so if the charges all relate to a disputed amount.

I don't know if it is still active, but I always found Symbio more responsive if I emailed - complaintresolutionmanager@symbioenergy.co.uk

If you have not already done so, I would make sure that they have an up to date read as part of the complaint.

UnclaimedEnergy

If you have the money to pay a bill then I would. Last thing you want is a dispute to go on for a long time, leaving you with multiple months to then pay off in one go.

If you're in debt with a supplier then there's a good chance they can block/delay a switch away as well.

devondiver

Perhaps I am in a similar situation: having cancelled my DD, to stop them taking more than double what I will owe at the end of this month, at which time my switch will (hopefully) be triggered. Since the "Pay My Bill" amount on the customer portal is fixed at the overinflated figure I can see no way of paying the legitimate amount unless they respond to my emails asking them how to pay. Which they don't. So it's a case of wait and see. At least they have sent me the "you're supply is switching away from us" email but I guess that is purely automated. The humans seem to have left the building, perhaps a fortnight ago.
I can't see any way that any authority would condone any sort of consumer penalty issued by such an incompetent operator.
We shall see. 

Streaky_Bacon

UnclaimedEnergy said:

If you have the money to pay a bill then I would. Last thing you want is a dispute to go on for a long time, leaving you with multiple months to then pay off in one go.

If you're in debt with a supplier then there's a good chance they can block/delay a switch away as well.

Under the Standard Licence Conditions, a supplier should not block a transfer because of a genuine bill dispute (as opposed to a debt) but, yes, there is always the chance that they might try.

arley

I actually managed to speak to someone today (using Option 1 Customer Services rather than the 'Billing' option) and they said that they would adjust my current bill to EAC/12 (which doesn't help a lot because I'll be moving away from them on 15/11). The guy I spoke to did email me their BACS code so if anyone wants to keep their account up to date with your own estimate of the bill then send me a PM and I'll send their bank details through to you. I guess I shouldn't share it in a public forum!

bristolleedsfan

arley said:

I actually managed to speak to someone today (using Option 1 Customer Services rather than the 'Billing' option) and they said that they would adjust my current bill to EAC/12 (which doesn't help a lot because I'll be moving away from them on 15/11). The guy I spoke to did email me their BACS code so if anyone wants to keep their account up to date with your own estimate of the bill then send me a PM and I'll send their bank details through to you. I guess I shouldn't share it in a public forum!

https://zipzero.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360006577977-Symbio-Energy-Limited

arley

bristolleedsfan said:

arley said:

I actually managed to speak to someone today (using Option 1 Customer Services rather than the 'Billing' option) and they said that they would adjust my current bill to EAC/12 (which doesn't help a lot because I'll be moving away from them on 15/11). The guy I spoke to did email me their BACS code so if anyone wants to keep their account up to date with your own estimate of the bill then send me a PM and I'll send their bank details through to you. I guess I shouldn't share it in a public forum!

Thats the one!

arley

You can also send cheques to 
Accounts Dept, Symbio Energy Ltd, 103 Mansion Building, Building Research Establishment, Bricket Wood, Watford. WD25 9XX
with your customer reference number on the back of the cheque

devondiver

bristolleedsfan said:

arley said:

I actually managed to speak to someone today (using Option 1 Customer Services rather than the 'Billing' option) and they said that they would adjust my current bill to EAC/12 (which doesn't help a lot because I'll be moving away from them on 15/11). The guy I spoke to did email me their BACS code so if anyone wants to keep their account up to date with your own estimate of the bill then send me a PM and I'll send their bank details through to you. I guess I shouldn't share it in a public forum!

https://zipzero.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360006577977-Symbio-Energy-Limited

Very helpful. Thanks both.