Symbio Energy feedback

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After moving house I had my final bill Monday last week but still waiting on my refund

*j*

Yes, I read through the new conditions up to 10.2 as that was all that was visible (approx 5,000 words).  Thanks for posting the rest, up to 22.10.  I'll read them later. I picked out some of them, here is one...

5.2.1: .....As a smart meter customer, you agree that: • If there is a problem with your smart meter, we may use outside resources to resolve it. Any charges incurred while repairing the meter must be borne by the customer.

One good reason to refuse a smart meter!

Reed_Richards

On my August bill Symbio calculated that I had a credit balance of over £100.  I decided to ask for this money to be refunded (given that this was calculated on the basis of a large over-estimate of how much electricity I would use in August).  I tried calling their Customer Services on 3rd August but did not get through after 15 minutes on hold, so I was then offered the option of leaving a message, which I did.  I backed this up with an email to the same effect, asking for a refund.  The following day I got a call back from Symbio but it transpired that my request had already been processed.  On 12th August I got an email confirming a refund had been made and the money arrived on my bank account on 13th August.  So in this instance I got perfectly respectable customer service.  

devondiver

Reed_Richards said:

On my August bill Symbio calculated that I had a credit balance of over £100.  I decided to ask for this money to be refunded (given that this was calculated on the basis of a large over-estimate of how much electricity I would use in August).  I tried calling their Customer Services on 3rd August but did not get through after 15 minutes on hold, so I was then offered the option of leaving a message, which I did.  I backed this up with an email to the same effect, asking for a refund.  The following day I got a call back from Symbio but it transpired that my request had already been processed.  On 12th August I got an email confirming a refund had been made and the money arrived on my bank account on 13th August.  So in this instance I got perfectly respectable customer service.  

 Wow! Well done you. As a matter of interest I have just tried the same with my 'new' supplier (PFP - but not relevant to my question) and was met with -

"As per OFGEM regulation we have to keep at least 2 month worth of credit on your account and this is a further reason why we cant refund you"!

Can this possibly be true?

niktheguru

devondiver said:

Reed_Richards said:

On my August bill Symbio calculated that I had a credit balance of over £100.  I decided to ask for this money to be refunded (given that this was calculated on the basis of a large over-estimate of how much electricity I would use in August).  I tried calling their Customer Services on 3rd August but did not get through after 15 minutes on hold, so I was then offered the option of leaving a message, which I did.  I backed this up with an email to the same effect, asking for a refund.  The following day I got a call back from Symbio but it transpired that my request had already been processed.  On 12th August I got an email confirming a refund had been made and the money arrived on my bank account on 13th August.  So in this instance I got perfectly respectable customer service.  

 Wow! Well done you. As a matter of interest I have just tried the same with my 'new' supplier (PFP - but not relevant to my question) and was met with -

"As per OFGEM regulation we have to keep at least 2 month worth of credit on your account and this is a further reason why we cant refund you"!

Can this possibly be true?

Looks like they're pulling a fast one on you....and there was you thinking symbio were the only terrible suppliers!

 https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-if-you-are-owed-money-your-energy-bill

SPOWER

Today I got my email from them confirming another supplier is taking over my supply and was asked to confirm this to them along with the reason I was leaving.  They also want a photo of my final meter reading despite me having one of their own smart meters.  They won't be getting any photo from me.  Hoping they don't refund my credit balance so that I can claim 2 x £30 payments from them and then it's good riddance.  

Reed_Richards

devondiver said:

Reed_Richards said:

On my August bill Symbio calculated that I had a credit balance of over £100.  I decided to ask for this money to be refunded (given that this was calculated on the basis of a large over-estimate of how much electricity I would use in August).  I tried calling their Customer Services on 3rd August but did not get through after 15 minutes on hold, so I was then offered the option of leaving a message, which I did.  I backed this up with an email to the same effect, asking for a refund.  The following day I got a call back from Symbio but it transpired that my request had already been processed.  On 12th August I got an email confirming a refund had been made and the money arrived on my bank account on 13th August.  So in this instance I got perfectly respectable customer service.  

 Wow! Well done you. As a matter of interest I have just tried the same with my 'new' supplier (PFP - but not relevant to my question) and was met with -

"As per OFGEM regulation we have to keep at least 2 month worth of credit on your account and this is a further reason why we cant refund you"!

Can this possibly be true?

Remember that Symbio, as they do, wildly overestimated how much electricity I would use by the end of August, compared that against my payments which, month-in-advance, should cover me until the end of August and still concluded I had a credit balance - which they paid me back.  In reality I still have a large credit balance because I won't use nearly as much electricity in August as their estimate thinks I will.

slimbuck

devondiver said:

Reed_Richards said:

On my August bill Symbio calculated that I had a credit balance of over £100.  I decided to ask for this money to be refunded (given that this was calculated on the basis of a large over-estimate of how much electricity I would use in August).  I tried calling their Customer Services on 3rd August but did not get through after 15 minutes on hold, so I was then offered the option of leaving a message, which I did.  I backed this up with an email to the same effect, asking for a refund.  The following day I got a call back from Symbio but it transpired that my request had already been processed.  On 12th August I got an email confirming a refund had been made and the money arrived on my bank account on 13th August.  So in this instance I got perfectly respectable customer service.  

 Wow! Well done you. As a matter of interest I have just tried the same with my 'new' supplier (PFP - but not relevant to my question) and was met with -

"As per OFGEM regulation we have to keep at least 2 month worth of credit on your account and this is a further reason why we cant refund you"!

Can this possibly be true?

I'm not sure there is any Ofgem regulation as such, but it is a term you expressly agreed to when you left Symbio and chose PFP to become your supplier.

11.4 If you are a current customer paying by Direct Debit and request a refund of a credit balance on your account, we will refund the balance less 2 month’s Direct Debit to  ensure  winter  usage  is covered.

https://pfpenergy.co.uk/app/uploads/2019/03/Domestic-Terms-and-Conditions-v7.0-1.pdf

slimbuck

SPOWER said:

Today I got my email from them confirming another supplier is taking over my supply and was asked to confirm this to them along with the reason I was leaving.  They also want a photo of my final meter reading despite me having one of their own smart meters.  They won't be getting any photo from me.  Hoping they don't refund my credit balance so that I can claim 2 x £30 payments from them and then it's good riddance.  

I think we have already established that Symbio Energy rarely, if ever, looks at any photo you send them.
If the software requires you to submit an image to progress, just send any image file of your choosing.

In regards any compo, if Symbio are not refunding you your money, I doubt they will be too keen to pay you any of theirs. Quite a few posts in this thread already talk about this.

SPOWER

Hi.  Thanks for information.  The Terms and Conditions that were forced upon me by their portal does mention refund and compensation.  (Guaranteed Standards)

4.4.11: Refunds – You can ask for any surplus funds back at any time after the billing cycle. Any excess funds held by Symbio Energy at the end of a contract will be automatically returned upon issue and settlement of the final bill. If Symbio delays in this, the customer is entitled to compensation for Symbio’s failures.