Symbio Energy feedback

Stratus

Interesting comparison of summer estimates by Symbio 2020 and 2021:

July 2020 EAC -4%
Aug 2020 EAC -16%

July 2021 EAC +35%
Aug 2021 EAC +45%

Mister_G

Yes, there's no doubt that they're on a money grab.  I've just got my August bill and it's for about 100% more electricity that I actually used last August!

Still, it is cheap electric and at the end of the year I only actually end up paying for what I have used.

SPOWER

Got my bill through just now and I can't make head nor tail of it.  I will be glad to see the back of them and I just looked on Trustpilot and saw a review from 12 hours ago saying it perfectly.  A scam.  Good riddance Symbio Energy company.

niktheguru

SPOWER said:

Got my bill through just now and I can't make head nor tail of it.  I will be glad to see the back of them and I just looked on Trustpilot and saw a review from 12 hours ago saying it perfectly.  A scam.  Good riddance Symbio Energy company.

Here we go, you're back! 
If you felt so strongly about them since the last time you should have never rejoined, cheapest or not cheapest.
You signed up on a variable tariff, and now irritated that they've changed the rate.
Yes they do their overestimation thing but you already full well know this. And weren't you a previous customer?
So why are you now looking at trustpilot again?

We all know their practices are dubious, but i'd be interested if there is anyone who has been "scammed by the company" and upon leaving is out of pocket.
Given the fail safe mechanisms of the ombudsman, i'd say most peoples are actually quids in by the time they leave, i know I was. Yes it may be a little hassle, but money talks.

A lot of their latest new tariffs are much less competitive, so people will leave in their masses when they're not the cheapest. Theres no loyalty in this game.

SPOWER

I always look up Trustpilot about Neon Reef and Symbio.  Sometimes just for validation about what I think and sometimes for a laugh to see what other people write.  I go on Tripadvisor reviews as well about Haven Holidays to see what people write, even though I know they are great.

jbuchanangb

Likewise I have received a bill from Symbio. This is the first one which has used the actual reading to apply a credit to the account. They have correctly applied the credit for the difference between their estimate for July and the actual consumption using my reading. I have incorporated a minor change into my trusty spreadsheet which will perform the same calculation month by month. Their estimate for August is higher than I would expect, but if the process works, they will apply a credit to the account when they have my reading at the end of the month. This looks like a manageable process.

niktheguru

jbuchanangb said:

Likewise I have received a bill from Symbio. This is the first one which has used the actual reading to apply a credit to the account. They have correctly applied the credit for the difference between their estimate for July and the actual consumption using my reading. I have incorporated a minor change into my trusty spreadsheet which will perform the same calculation month by month. Their estimate for August is higher than I would expect, but if the process works, they will apply a credit to the account when they have my reading at the end of the month. This looks like a manageable process.

This is exactly the process.
Its an overcomplicated way of doing it, but relatively easy to understand what is going on.
As long as you have a fixed direct debit it is a relatively academic process, the key is giving regular meter reads on the last day of the month, and everything should stay in order.

merchcon55

I'm not a big reader of Trustpilot, but was curious to see what comments were like for Symbio. At the top of the Review page Trustpilot have the following message:

Warning! We’ve detected misuse on this page

This company has been publishing public replies that are in breach of our guidelines. 

We strongly oppose any attempts to silence consumers’ freedom of speech. As a public, open, review platform we believe strongly in consumers having the ability to leave feedback - good or bad - about a business at any time, without interference. 

We have removed the business’ public replies that breach our guidelines and we'll continue to monitor this profile and take additional actions if needed.


I'm guessing the comments omitted would have made an interesting read

Reed_Richards

For a likely explanation of "breach of guidelines" see: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/05/Symbio-rapped-over-response-to-negative-reviews/?_ga=2.86563672.1759331104.1615419698-87684323.1596027200 

c1995

c1995 said:

Swipe said:

My house sale completes on Tuesday and I'm leaving these clowns. I called up and they want me to email them the buyers names and email address. What a load of rubbish. All they need is my final meter reading and a photo. It's up to the buyers to register with them, not my issue.

Same here, its a joke. I've just moved out of a rental and they've said the same to me - I gave them my ex Landlord's details but as you say a final meter reading and photo and final bill sent should be the process

Well I received my final bill 1.5 weeks after moving out and received my £70 of credit a couple of days letter. Not too bad really! 

In the middle of this at the beginning of August they had sent me a bill for August and said the direct debit would be taken. However I called to ask and they said to cancel the DD as I had moved out. It took me a few attempts to get through (going to voicemail after 15 minutes of holding, which is poor) but all in all a better experience than I thought it would be.

Gone for the cheapest dual fuel fixed in my new area which is with Avro Energy. Bye for now Symbio!