Symbio refusing the switch

helpthetenant

Since 90% of posters here were suggesting to

1) Bend my back and pay the ransom before the switch.

2) Send a cheque, with a plus about £20 to be on the safe side.

3) Don't cancel my DD.

4) This is a battle I can't win.

Here is for you guys to read, they sent be an email apologising:

"Thank you for your kind e-mail and communication therein. We would like to apologise for any delay in responding to you and for the fact that you have needed to contact us. We understand your concern and acknowledge the points raised in your communication.

Reference to your email, we apologise for the inconvenience caused, however we kindly request you to reapply for a switch, we wont object it.

We would like to inform you that we will issue you a final bill once we receive validated closing meter readings from your new supplier. "

niktheguru

helpthetenant said:

Since 90% of posters here were suggesting to

1) Bend my back and pay the ransom before the switch.

2) Send a cheque, with a plus about £20 to be on the safe side.

3) Don't cancel my DD.

4) This is a battle I can't win.

Here is for you guys to read, they sent be an email apologising:

"Thank you for your kind e-mail and communication therein. We would like to apologise for any delay in responding to you and for the fact that you have needed to contact us. We understand your concern and acknowledge the points raised in your communication.

Reference to your email, we apologise for the inconvenience caused, however we kindly request you to reapply for a switch, we wont object it.

We would like to inform you that we will issue you a final bill once we receive validated closing meter readings from your new supplier. "

I don't think anyone was suggesting you bend your back over anything. You were just getting the hump because they blocked your switch.

I know I just suggested you actually work out your usage accurately (which in fairness to you, you did do but just didn't tell us originally as the details were scant) and discuss it with symbio to see if you could pay what you owe or come to a resolution. Paying what you owe now or after a final bill is neither here nor there as you're going to need to pay it. I disagreed with paying extra as then it produces more hassle trying to get the money back from them once you've moved.

Cancelling a direct debit is never a good idea, especially if you're in debit. As if a company wants to mess with you it'll end up with problems with credit ratings etc, which yes you can get overturned, but it is unnecessary extra stress/hassle. Granted, symbio being so disorganised probably wouldn't be competent enough to do anything with your credit file!

Congratulations on a favourable outcome anyway. Regarding it being a "battle you cant win". I would hardly call this a battle. It sounds like they made a mistake, you contacted them, and they rectified it.

I find with symbio, most of the aggression that people state on here is either because they end up speaking to some imbecile that isn't very helpful (been there....and yes it is annoying), or they get angry because they dont receive a reply immediately.....almost always because they only contact them by email and expect an instant reply. With these sorts of things its always good to send an email or letter so its in writing but to also give them a call and speak to someone to see if you can come to a quick resolution.

Symbio undoubtedly will go out of business at some point, probably soon as people move away as their fixes end. They are not for the average consumer as their customer services and billing arent great. But they are cheap. and thats why we've stuck with them.

Harryo

Thanks Gerry1 - noted.

Thanks also niktheguru. Tried phoning them a few times a couple of months ago over a couple of other matters and gave up in the end as they did not answer. I'll see if they respond to email and then decide how to handle it. Thing is I am on furlough so I will enjoy any challange I face as the grey matter is a bit bored. I take photos as a matter of course as usually they wont accept just a reading.

niktheguru

Harryo said:

Thanks Gerry1 - noted.

Thanks also niktheguru. Tried phoning them a few times a couple of months ago over a couple of other matters and gave up in the end as they did not answer. I'll see if they respond to email and then decide how to handle it. Thing is I am on furlough so I will enjoy any challange I face as the grey matter is a bit bored. I take photos as a matter of course as usually they wont accept just a reading.

Why don't you try now. I just gave it a call as wanted to see what it was like. First call got automatically disconnected at 1minute. Second try i got through to someone in 30seconds. 
No i do not work for symbio! (who would want to be associated like that!)

helpthetenant

niktheguru said:

helpthetenant said:

Since 90% of posters here were suggesting to

1) Bend my back and pay the ransom before the switch.

2) Send a cheque, with a plus about £20 to be on the safe side.

3) Don't cancel my DD.

4) This is a battle I can't win.

Here is for you guys to read, they sent be an email apologising:

"Thank you for your kind e-mail and communication therein. We would like to apologise for any delay in responding to you and for the fact that you have needed to contact us. We understand your concern and acknowledge the points raised in your communication.

Reference to your email, we apologise for the inconvenience caused, however we kindly request you to reapply for a switch, we wont object it.

We would like to inform you that we will issue you a final bill once we receive validated closing meter readings from your new supplier. "

I don't think anyone was suggesting you bend your back over anything.

nooooooo

helpthetenant

Update

Symbio changed their mind again, and they objected the switch again.

So, let's recap: My contract with Symbio was supposed to end on 31 Jan 2021.

On the 18 Jan I switched to Neon Reef. But the day after Symbio objected, asking me to pay £26. I didn't pay, thinking that they are not allowed to block any switching. In fact on the 23 Jan, Symbio sent me an apology email saying to reapply for a switch, and they won't object it. So the same day I switchd to Green Energy. Everything seemed ok this time, and on 25 January I even payed that weird £26 to Symbio. Finally, today 27 January, I got an email from Green saying:

"Your current supplier has objected to your Electricity Switch to us, and for you to become a member of Green we need them to let you leave. You need to speak to them to find out why they won't let you leave. Once everything has been resolved, do let us know and we will restart your switch to Green. Unfortunately, they won't tell us why they stopped your switch, but the most common reasons are: Debt on your account. You have recently moved in and they need to know who you are before letting you leave. If you need any further help or assistance, get in touch and we would be happy to help.

Regards,

The team at Green"

So, in total, Symbio has managed to block/delay everything for 9 days. The battle is not won yet.

bristolleedsfan

Others have found an apparent industry requirement to leave 14 days in between switch attempts to two different energy companies after 1 switch has been cancelled ......

helpthetenant

bristolleedsfan said:

Others have found an apparent industry requirement to leave 14 days in between switch attempts to two different energy companies after 1 switch has been cancelled ......

where did you get this info from?

bristolleedsfan

helpthetenant said:

bristolleedsfan said:

Others have found an apparent industry requirement to leave 14 days in between switch attempts to two different energy companies after 1 switch has been cancelled ......

where did you get this info from?

Two people cancelled switches to Bulb/Green organised switches immediately to Scottish Power/Octopus via my friend link both switches got rejected due to what I said that you have quoted

molerat

I don't think there is a hard 14 days but all switches have to go through the industry intermediary, the keeper of the registers, who will veto a switch if another is in progress.  The energy supply industry is a bit of a lumbering old tortoise and these processes are not automatic and take time so if the previous cancellation / rejection has not been registered yet a new switch will fail.