Symbio Energy feedback

slimbuck

matelodave said:

They  are in bother again - https://email.ofgem.gov.uk/1QCB-7I2PH-FS2G9O-4JCHAN-1/c.aspx?_externalContentRedirect=https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/symbio-energy-final-order?utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotMailer&utm_campaign=Daily-Alert_18-08-2021&utm_content=Symbio+Energy%3a+Final+Order

Ofgem are probably rightly concerned as Symbio has failed to pay £450k FIT payment that was due a week ago. Symbio say they won't pay it until next month.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-orders-symbio-energy-make-ps450000-payment-government-renewables-schemes

In the meantime, I suspect Symbio customers will see yet  another massive cash grab from their monthly bills to meet this debt.

slimbuck

Swipe said:

Oh dear. There must be a reason why they are withholding this requested information.

Probably because you can't really provide a cash flow forecast that show you plan to meet your debts as they fall due by ever increasing the amount you collect from customers bank accounts by ever increasing the amount of energy you estimate they will use.

But that seems to be the underlying reality with Symbio.

Swipe said:

I just hope I get my final bill credit refund before they go under.

"Don't worry, your money's safe" to quote the late, great Jim Bowen.

You've got the time it takes for Symbio to pull the plug to see whether you will get your money now, or have to wait as long as it takes for some poor soul to try and unwrangle the Symbio accounts.

Don't forget, compo payments are not covered if the supplier pulls the plug.

SPOWER

slimbuck said:

Swipe said:

Oh dear. There must be a reason why they are withholding this requested information.

Probably because you can't really provide a cash flow forecast that show you plan to meet your debts as they fall due by ever increasing the amount you collect from customers bank accounts by ever increasing the amount of energy you estimate they will use.

But that seems to be the underlying reality with Symbio.

Swipe said:

I just hope I get my final bill credit refund before they go under.

"Don't worry, your money's safe" to quote the late, great Jim Bowen.

You've got the time it takes for Symbio to pull the plug to see whether you will get your money now, or have to wait as long as it takes for some poor soul to try and unwrangle the Symbio accounts.

Don't forget, compo payments are not covered if the supplier pulls the plug.

I loved that quote.  Jim Bowen.  Sunday afternoon.  You don't get nothing, for 2 in a bed.  I will go and look up that on you tube

slimbuck

slimbuck said:

matelodave said:

They  are in bother again - https://email.ofgem.gov.uk/1QCB-7I2PH-FS2G9O-4JCHAN-1/c.aspx?_externalContentRedirect=https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/symbio-energy-final-order?utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotMailer&utm_campaign=Daily-Alert_18-08-2021&utm_content=Symbio+Energy%3a+Final+Order

Ofgem are probably rightly concerned as Symbio has failed to pay £450k FIT payment that was due a week ago. Symbio say they won't pay it until next month.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-orders-symbio-energy-make-ps450000-payment-government-renewables-schemes

In the meantime, I suspect Symbio customers will see yet  another massive cash grab from their monthly bills to meet this debt.

This isn't the first time Symbio has been late meeting it's payments.
You may recall back in January, Ofgem proposed hitting Symbio with a £100k fine for repeatedly missing payment dates last year.

i.e.
Symbio failed to make FIT payments on time in August and November 2020.
Symbio failed to make Renewables Obligation (RO) payments in full by the late payment deadline of 31 October 2020.
Symbio failed to make an RO mutualisation payment due by 31 August 2020

Symbio did eventually make all those payments albeit late, informing Ofgem that were able to do so because they had taken on new customers, and collected more payments from existing customers.
Presumably, they did not explain to Ofgem that they only secured those new customers by offering them loss-making, introductory tariffs, or how they went about collecting more payments from existing customers..

Ofgem iniitially offered Symbio a 15% reduction in the £100k fine if Symbio agreed to accept it. Symbio failed to respond, so in May this year, Ofgem hit them with the full £100k fine.

[Deleted User]

SPOWER said:

If you want warm home, look elsewhere.  You will go grey within weeks.  

Just asking what I thought was a legitimate question about WHD.   According to 

https://www.energy-review.co.uk/suppliers/symbio-energy-review/

they don't

but according to

https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/energy-suppliers

they do.

I don't see any mention of it on Symbio's site so the odds are that you are correct

This was the reason for my question.

SPOWER said:

Octopus, octopus, octopus.  I've said it once, and I've said it twice.  Don't go to this rubbish.  

So Octopus are rubbish as well (better cross them off my list as well).  Are there any suppliers out there that you can recommend and why?  Or are they all rubbish these days?

Many thanks for your thoughts and advice.

MWT

DerwentMailman said:

SPOWER said:

Octopus, octopus, octopus.  I've said it once, and I've said it twice.  Don't go to this rubbish.  

So Octopus are rubbish as well (better cross them off my list as well).  Are there any suppliers out there that you can recommend and why?  Or are they all rubbish these days?

I would suggest you take suggestions from more than one source perhaps...

The way prices are heading, the Octopus 'Go' or 'Go Faster' tariffs are going to take some beating if you are looking for a decent price from a supplier that does have a future beyond the next winter...

niktheguru

matelodave said:

They  are in bother again - https://email.ofgem.gov.uk/1QCB-7I2PH-FS2G9O-4JCHAN-1/c.aspx?_externalContentRedirect=https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/symbio-energy-final-order?utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotMailer&utm_campaign=Daily-Alert_18-08-2021&utm_content=Symbio+Energy%3a+Final+Order

It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out. Surely with the influx of customers in recent months and their generous overestimation they should have enough cash flow.

if only they stopped being so lax when people left and avoided compensation payments perhaps they’d have more.

devondiver

niktheguru said:

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?

....and there was you thinking symbio were the only terrible suppliers!

On the contrary old bean. If you ferret through all my back posts, as you do, I'm sure you'll find I mention my suspicions on at least one occasion.

devondiver

slimbuck said:

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

Thanks for this. I'm afraid I don't normally bother with T &Cs, safe (really??) in the knowledge that we are protected by the old Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 now replaced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Stupid, I know but there you go.

niktheguru

devondiver said:

On the contrary old bean. If you ferret through all my back posts, as you do, I'm sure you'll find I mention my suspicions on at least one occasion.

As you’ve experienced a lot of these smaller suppliers have dubious practices, it’s just not one or two. Well, at least it’l give you an opportunity to keep an eye on and warn people away from another suppliers forum page going forward!