Symbio Energy feedback

Mister_G

Me neither.  So I've just submitted it anyway.

violetta

Talldave said:

Hmmm, the cynic in me wonders whether they're hoping not to get meter readings this month, thus no consolidation required and another massive over-estimation for the month ahead doubles the size of their interest free loan?

Foiled them then, because they got my reading this morning anyway!

Talldave

A quick post for entertainment purposes of Symbio's justifications for their ludicrous estimations:

  There are other factors that involve in Estimating our customer's monthly bills:

      • Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC) for the particular property

      • Government EAC for this type of property

      • Time of year (longer days and warmer weather less usage- too hot and air-conditioning increases consumption)

      • Weather - Clouds increase consumption

      • Historical use

      • Wind speed - Rain - Both increase consumption as people feel colder

I've pointed out to them that there's no such thing as Government EACs for my "type of property", that most UK homes don't have air conditioning and that using Historical data is the one thing I have repeatedly asked them to do!!  This extract comes from an email in which they are refusing to change my EAC, even though they now have more than a year's worth of consumption data.

Swipe

For my sins, I've just renewed with them for another 12 months. As long as they survive the winter without going bust I consider it worth it at 10.71p per unit

Talldave

Swipe said:

For my sins, I've just renewed with them for another 12 months. As long as they survive the winter without going bust I consider it worth it at 10.71p per unit

Oh I shall be doing the same, but will continue the mission to get a straight answer out of them regarding their refusal to update my EAC.

In my latest reply, I've tried to make it easier for them by numbering my questions and including helpful hints such as 'The answer to question [1] is either "Yes" or "No"'. I think I might not get a reply !

@Swipe when you renewed, did you get shown a variable payment graph? Last time around I screen grabbed it, as they have no intention of honouring it.

Swipe

Talldave said:

Swipe said:

For my sins, I've just renewed with them for another 12 months. As long as they survive the winter without going bust I consider it worth it at 10.71p per unit

@Swipe when you renewed, did you get shown a variable payment graph? Last time around I screen grabbed it, as they have no intention of honouring it.

Yes, I did. I had the choice of variable DD but I opted for the seasonal fixed direct debit and also took a screenshot

CRISPIANNE3

Summary of bill viewed on line. They estimate 484 units for December. Also because they over estimated for November the amount to pay is £28.00. However the estimate for December is about 100 over estimated. 

DragonQ

I find it interesting that Symbio have 2 of the best tariffs around for high users right now ("Low Fair and Green 18M Fixed SE01 v7", which is 23.5p/day + 10.416p/kWh, and a 12 month equivalent), yet neither tariff appears on MSE Cheap Energy Club. I thought that tool was meant to search the whole market? Clearly not reliable.

The only reason I'm going to leave Symbio next month is because they still haven't started rolling out smart meters and I want to see whether Octopus Agile would work out cheaper for me. It theoretically should since both my wife and I are at home every day (higher than average usage during the day) and we have an EV (higher than average usage over night), plus we can get £100 for switching. If Agile turns out more expensive than Symbio's fixed price offerings then I'll just switch back....assuming their low tariffs still exist!

mysterons

Low Fair and Green 18M Fixed SE01 v7 comes back at Day 13.383 p per kWh, Night 7.921 p per kWh, Standing Charge 23.500 per day for me on E7. My current variable tariff was 10.72p both day and night but this ends 31st December. I could ask them to switch me to single rate but I don't trust them not to screw it up.

Talldave

Interesting to see that Symbio's latest* T's & C's have removed the item about installing a smart meter if your meter is faulty and charging you for it if you don't remain a customer for 6 months.  But they do include the item about bullying them on social media.

* Confusingly, the latest ones they've supplied appear to be dated June 2020, whilst the last ones I had were from July 2020, but without a version number.  So I have no idea whether we're going forwards or backwards through versions!