Symbio Energy feedback

spot1034

They say 'we will not allow any excess amount on your account to exceed 20% of your annual bill and will automatically refund any excess at the end of your contract period.' That tends to suggest that they won't refund the excess as soon as the account breaches the 20% surplus (which most accounts are now destined to do within a year if they are charging 30% more than the expected cost) but will only do so at the end of the contract, and indeed they might be suggesting that if the customer renews for a further term, the excess will only be refunded down to the 20% surplus, which will then be added to again as the new contract gets underway.

spot1034

Reed_Richards said:

Can you find out what your Assumed Annual Consumption  is before deciding whether or not to accept?

Also, will the 5% interest on excess money held be added to accounts monthly or only at the end of the contract? If the latter, it would all probably be lost if the company goes under. 

CRISPIANNE3

Reed_Richards said:

Can you find out what your Assumed Annual Consumption  is before deciding whether or not to accept?

I went on a cash back site today and it automatically gives you the EAC when using a comparison site. Mine is 4100 against Symbio who have it has 4950. 

jrio

The confirmation response doesn't improve on the lack of clarity of the email, as you are thanked for your consent in rejecting the change on the site, and the email response is titled "Consent Confirmation".

The 4 bulleted points under "Fact", also strongly hint at protesting too much.

Gerry1

jrio said:

The confirmation response doesn't improve on the lack of clarity of the email, as you are thanked for your consent in rejecting the change on the site, and the email response is titled "Consent Confirmation".

Yes, I blew a fuse when it appeared that they'd said I'd agreed when I'd rejected the change.

However, the email did say 'We acknowledge your decision to continue using the current billing methodology.' so I've saved it for future reference.

cannugec5

QrizB said:

Is 7100kWh/yr a realistic estimate of your usage? If so I can't see how £65/mo (£780/yr) can cover it, that's a rate of 11p/kWh even if there's zero standing charge.

Their estimate of £964.09 seems more reasonable, which would be £80/mo.

Thank you for doing the maths. I couldn't get my head round it.
The 7100 kWh/yr is the figure I gave them when I joined based on my previous suppliers figures, so I cannot complain about that. However we  have made effort to reduce consumption so it is now excessive. Not their fault!

My Tariff is 14.76 p per day and 12.173p per kWh.

So, the £65 per month was somehow too low for the estimated/ anticipated usage but is appropriate for the  current actual usage. I am OK with that.

I will soon be paying more, but possibly would have ended up in debt by the winter anyway if this change hadn't happened..

The important thing is that the tariff has not changed - that is what I was suddenly fearing.

Thank you!

WBCPB

Is there an android app for this mob, i cannot find it in my google play store?
Regards

niktheguru

WBCPB said:

Is there an android app for this mob, i cannot find it in my google play store?
Regards

yes, there is. Its under the name "symbio energy", not surprisingly!

WBCPB

niktheguru said:

WBCPB said:

Is there an android app for this mob, i cannot find it in my google play store?
Regards

yes, there is. Its under the name "symbio energy", not surprisingly!

And you think i did not search for that, i only get a business app and am being told " this app is not available for your device" (Samsung J5 2017 )
Regards

spot1034

If, like me, you've been on a fixed tariff and the existing fixed direct debit arrangement, I suppose it boils down to this. Up to now, assuming usage has been roughly what you estimated when you joined, payments will have been very close to the sum actually owed. Under the new system you will pay a bit more and build up a surplus but will get 5% interest on this. 

It's probably down to whether you're on a tight budget and can't really afford the extra outlay or whether the money would just be sitting uselessly earning nothing in your own current account so you might as well lend it to Symbio for a 5% return. In reality of-course the sum will be tiny so just look at it as a few units of electricity you'll effectively get free. I'd be inclined to go along with this if it means getting a better deal than I can get elsewhere.

Of-course all this assumes the surplus will be easily retrievable if you decide to move on. Perhaps that is the biggest unknown factor in all this.