AVRO refuse to refund credit - beware

Mikeg31

Pleased to see your submission. I have suffered from Avro's over-estimations and when their renewal suggestion went up a silly amount I informed them I was off. I owed them £68 with one more payment to go which would left a final clearance of about £50 or thereabouts.
I paid the outstanding amout by bank transfer more than 10 days ago, sent them an email with a copy of the payment reference and guess what I got today. An email arrived informing me that I am in arrears to the amount of £68 which could allow them to object to my transfer. I used the same details as 10 DD payments so it never bounced.
They don't check, they estimate wildly and they threaten. I look forward to closing the account with them asap. I will take final readings on switchover day, send photos of the meters to them and my new provider and let them pick the bones out of that!

nigelbb

formbyian wrote: »

1) Why should I have to pay for electricity/gas I have not used ? Some people may prefer to pay the same amount every month but prefer to pay for what I HAVE ACTUALLY USED. There is no point in providing meter readings if the energy company is just going to ignore them.

Historically this was always the way that you were charged for gas or electricity. You paid in arrears on presentation of the quarterly bill. It was only those with a poor credit history who were obliged to pre-pay. However all that changed with privatisation & all this ridiculous artificial competition. The finances of the small energy suppliers are so dodgy that to ensure they have the cash flow to pay the generators for energy they need customers to give them interest free loans by keeping their accounts in credit.

lopsyfa

I have a bit of sympathy for the posters. I was with Avro Energy until last week and at a point during the last summer I had like £162 credit with them. I called to have some of it refunded and they said no. How about reducing the direct debit slightly, also no. You have to wait for days to get the no - the people on the phone can't make any decision. It felt like an adult talking to a child about what can't be done.

I wouldn't have really mind it if not for the various threads complaining about the difficulty in getting the credit back once you end up leaving. This contrasts with the other suppliers that I have been with in the past that allow you to adjust the direct debit (within a limit) online or by calling.

I am now with Shell Energy with the variable direct debit that take exactly the usage every month. This is not for everybody though - you need to be able to manage your money to pay the higher cost in the winter months.

lopsyfa

If they still refuse to refund your credit on time, from tomorrow you can get some compensation

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5996206/energy-customers-to-get-automatic-compensation-for-switching-issues-mse-news

deux_x_m

I do have some sympathy as I was also with Avro, having switched with MSE Energy Club last year. I switched again and they were informed on 1st March. I knew my account was about £90 in credit as per the February statement.
I didn't really give it much thought as I was expecting the credit amount to be refunded. I was more that a little upset when they took March's direct debit as usual, more than 2 weeks after the account was closed. Obviously I should have cancelled the direct debit, but I shouldn't have had to.
I emailed as was told to wait for up to 8 weeks for my final bill to be generated. The bill is now generated and my account is £171 in credit, but so far no news on it being refunded to me.
I've emailed them tonight and will call them on my next day off if there is no news.

nigelbb

deux_x_m wrote: »

I do have some sympathy as I was also with Avro, having switched with MSE Energy Club last year. I switched again and they were informed on 1st March. I knew my account was about £90 in credit as per the February statement.
I didn't really give it much thought as I was expecting the credit amount to be refunded. I was more that a little upset when they took March's direct debit as usual, more than 2 weeks after the account was closed. Obviously I should have cancelled the direct debit, but I shouldn't have had to.

You should have got your bank to refund you under the Direct Debit Guarantee as Avro had no right to take a payment after you ceased to be a customer.

Benight

nigelbb wrote: »

You should have got your bank to refund you under the Direct Debit Guarantee as Avro had no right to take a payment after you ceased to be a customer.

Poor advice, sorry.
Do you have a source for you assertion?

Note:
Avro may charge £20 for each DD attempted collection that fails (or is reversed without due cause)

nigelbb

Benight wrote: »

Poor advice, sorry.
Do you have a source for you assertion?

Note:
Avro may charge £20 for each DD attempted collection that fails (or is reversed without due cause)

It's difficult to see how I could put it more clearly other than "Avro had no right to take a payment after you ceased to be a customer".

deus x m was in credit on their account to the tune of £90. They were no longer a customer yet still Avro took a monthly DD payment to which they had no right as the OP was no longer a customer. Subsequently Avro produced a final bill & deus x m was £171 in credit but this was 8 weeks later & still they haven't refunded.

Avro state they may charge £20 for each DD attempted collection that fails (or is reversed without due cause). Then not being entitled to take the DD payment because deus x m is not a customer is very much due cause for the payment to be reversed.

Benight

nigelbb wrote: »

It's difficult to see how I could put it more clearly other than "Avro had no right to take a payment after you ceased to be a customer".

deus x m was in credit on their account to the tune of £90. They were no longer a customer yet still Avro took a monthly DD payment to which they had no right as the OP was no longer a customer. Subsequently Avro produced a final bill & deus x m was £171 in credit but this was 8 weeks later & still they haven't refunded.

Avro state they may charge £20 for each DD attempted collection that fails (or is reversed without due cause). Then not being entitled to take the DD payment because deus x m is not a customer is very much due cause for the payment to be reversed.

I'm sorry but I did not question the clarity of your post.
I simply asked you whether you had a source for your assertion.

Restating a fallacy does not add any more validity to it, as neither does those who presumably were taken in by your comments and elect to thank you for it without delay.

:cool:

nigelbb

Benight wrote: »

I'm sorry but I did not question the clarity of your post.
I simply asked you whether you had a source for your assertion.

Restating a fallacy does not add any more validity to it, as neither does those who presumably were taken in by your comments and elect to thank you for it without delay.

There is no fallacy. Avro had no right to take a payment. As soon as the contract for energy supply ceased the DD should have ceased too. The DD was a payment in advance for energy not yet consumed as Avro were no longer supplying energy there was no need for an advance payment. It's more likely to be a !!!! up on their part rather than a deliberate act to grab an interest free loan but is undoubtedly illegitimate.