Symbio Energy feedback

MWT

ivanleo said:

I'm not sure that's correct, otherwise someone with thousands of pounds of credit could lose out due to incorrect bills. I read OfGem's policy of protecting credit balances to mean that the actual credit balance as per the supply contract, rather than whatever random numbers the failed supplier's billings system happens to throw out.

lisyloo how long did you stay with EON?

The Administrators do still have an obligation to be accurate when agreeing the final creditor balances, and they should respond to complaints by creditors about inaccuracies.

The bit that is missing is that the Ombudsman service cannot deal with complaints against a failed supplier as they no longer have a supply license.

So although it is still worth talking to the SoLR about issues with the final balance and the final meter readings, there isn't always going to be a route to escalate the complaint to the Ombudsman if the complaint centres around a billing issue with the failed supplier.

Do try if you wish, and do let us know how it goes, as it helps inform those who also encounter problems.

lisyloo

ivanleo said:

MWT said:

You can certainly try and yes, E.ON may decide that it is easier to resolve it than argue about it, but they are not obliged to deal with complaints against the failed supplier other than matters that are still on-going, like a faulty meter for example, not previous billing errors.

They do have a responsibility for agreeing the meter readings though which can help in some cases.

So yes, do raise a complaint if you want, and do keep us updated as it progresses and there is still considerable uncertainty about how the Ombudsman will view different complaints so each case adds to our knowledge...

I'm not sure that's correct, otherwise someone with thousands of pounds of credit could lose out due to incorrect bills. I read OfGem's policy of protecting credit balances to mean that the actual credit balance as per the supply contract, rather than whatever random numbers the failed supplier's billings system happens to throw out.

lisyloo how long did you stay with EON?

I was never with eon, but they sent me a refund (for Symbio) in December (an incorrect one).
symbio have admitted the bill was incorrect (in email).
i went Symbio -> pfp -> neon reef -> British Gas.
fortunately mostly I owe them.

ivanleo

lisyloo said:

ivanleo said:

MWT said:

You can certainly try and yes, E.ON may decide that it is easier to resolve it than argue about it, but they are not obliged to deal with complaints against the failed supplier other than matters that are still on-going, like a faulty meter for example, not previous billing errors.

They do have a responsibility for agreeing the meter readings though which can help in some cases.

So yes, do raise a complaint if you want, and do keep us updated as it progresses and there is still considerable uncertainty about how the Ombudsman will view different complaints so each case adds to our knowledge...

I'm not sure that's correct, otherwise someone with thousands of pounds of credit could lose out due to incorrect bills. I read OfGem's policy of protecting credit balances to mean that the actual credit balance as per the supply contract, rather than whatever random numbers the failed supplier's billings system happens to throw out.

lisyloo how long did you stay with EON?

I was never with eon, but they sent me a refund (for Symbio) in December (an incorrect one).
symbio have admitted the bill was incorrect (in email).
i went Symbio -> pfp -> neon reef -> British Gas.
fortunately mostly I owe them.

If your refund from EON was incorrect, I think you should take it up with them. Just send them copies of the correspondence from Symbio where they admit the readings are wrong.

lisyloo

ivanleo said:

lisyloo said:

ivanleo said:

MWT said:

You can certainly try and yes, E.ON may decide that it is easier to resolve it than argue about it, but they are not obliged to deal with complaints against the failed supplier other than matters that are still on-going, like a faulty meter for example, not previous billing errors.

They do have a responsibility for agreeing the meter readings though which can help in some cases.

So yes, do raise a complaint if you want, and do keep us updated as it progresses and there is still considerable uncertainty about how the Ombudsman will view different complaints so each case adds to our knowledge...

I'm not sure that's correct, otherwise someone with thousands of pounds of credit could lose out due to incorrect bills. I read OfGem's policy of protecting credit balances to mean that the actual credit balance as per the supply contract, rather than whatever random numbers the failed supplier's billings system happens to throw out.

lisyloo how long did you stay with EON?

I was never with eon, but they sent me a refund (for Symbio) in December (an incorrect one).
symbio have admitted the bill was incorrect (in email).
i went Symbio -> pfp -> neon reef -> British Gas.
fortunately mostly I owe them.

If your refund from EON was incorrect, I think you should take it up with them. Just send them copies of the correspondence from Symbio where they admit the readings are wrong.

Thanks, I have done that.
I’ve sent them my calcs as they presumably won’t know details of my Symbio tariff (sub 12 p/kWh !!!)

ivanleo

lisyloo said:

ivanleo said:

lisyloo said:

ivanleo said:

MWT said:

You can certainly try and yes, E.ON may decide that it is easier to resolve it than argue about it, but they are not obliged to deal with complaints against the failed supplier other than matters that are still on-going, like a faulty meter for example, not previous billing errors.

They do have a responsibility for agreeing the meter readings though which can help in some cases.

So yes, do raise a complaint if you want, and do keep us updated as it progresses and there is still considerable uncertainty about how the Ombudsman will view different complaints so each case adds to our knowledge...

I'm not sure that's correct, otherwise someone with thousands of pounds of credit could lose out due to incorrect bills. I read OfGem's policy of protecting credit balances to mean that the actual credit balance as per the supply contract, rather than whatever random numbers the failed supplier's billings system happens to throw out.

lisyloo how long did you stay with EON?

I was never with eon, but they sent me a refund (for Symbio) in December (an incorrect one).
symbio have admitted the bill was incorrect (in email).
i went Symbio -> pfp -> neon reef -> British Gas.
fortunately mostly I owe them.

If your refund from EON was incorrect, I think you should take it up with them. Just send them copies of the correspondence from Symbio where they admit the readings are wrong.

Thanks, I have done that.
I’ve sent them my calcs as they presumably won’t know details of my Symbio tariff (sub 12 p/kWh !!!)

I'd send them a copy of the disputed Symbio bill as that shows the applicable tariff. I suspect they won't be willing to take your word for it.

lisyloo

I didn’t expect them to either (although it was a very low rate).

I’ve had an answer from both ombudsman and Symbio now. 
they say they won’t revise below 250 units and that’s Ofgem reGulations (shame they didn’t just say that in July).

the ombudsman says it’s up
to new supplier (in this case pfp) to pick up the new “transfer” reading when it’s below 250 difference.
I don’t have a final bill from pfp but my account says I owe them a small amount.

At least I can forget about Symbio now - hoorah

ivanleo

lisyloo said:

they say they won’t revise below 250 units and that’s Ofgem reGulations (shame they didn’t just say that in July).

That's interesting, did they cite the regulations? I'd be curious to read up on them.

MWT

ivanleo said:

lisyloo said:

they say they won’t revise below 250 units and that’s Ofgem reGulations (shame they didn’t just say that in July).

That's interesting, did they cite the regulations? I'd be curious to read up on them.

There are a few documents around with more detail on the process, this is a draft version of one of them:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2019/06/rec_resolution_of_cfsb_problems_schedule_0.pdf

The short version is that they will only review if the allowed tolerance is exceeded, which is 250kWh for electricity and around 1200kWh for gas (it varies a bit depending on the gas meter being metric or imperial)

ivanleo

Thanks for the link, it says this:

Where the difference between the Energy Supplier’s view of consumption and that derived from the initial Switch Meter Reading is 1,200 kWh or less for a gas RMP or 250 kWh (250 units) or less for an electricity RMP, then the Energy Supplier shall not dispute the Switch Meter Reading unless the Consumer specifically requests a new Switch Meter Reading, but shall instead attempt to resolve the dispute with an accommodation e.g. cash allowance to the Consumer, thus retaining the initial proposed Switch Meter Reading. No further action is then required.

So basically it says they should try and solve matters informally, rather than tell you it's tough luck. It also implies that if the consumer explicitly requests a new Switch Meter Read and does not accept an informal accommodation, then a dispute should be initiated.

lisyloo

The ombudsman confirrmed it was the regulations and the new supplier should pick up the new reading.

accommodations seem unlikely to happen with bust suppliers.

in my case I’m happy to pursue this with pfp as I owe them money so the shoe is on the other foot.