switching from Avro

AliciaSledge · 1 September 2021 at 3:56PM

Am in the process of switching from Avro to Igloo and have been really annoyed by Avro's handling or my account. I was emailed back in May that my fixed rate tariff was coming to an end and they said they would email me if my payments needed to change. This never happened and I noticed in June that my direct debit payments hadnt changed. Avro made no attempt to contact me to let me know how much money I owed them but when i checked online I found my account was over £100 in debit. I paid an extra £100 pounds into my account on top of my monthly direct debit and decided to switch to a cheaper tariff with Igloo only to be told that Avro had objected to the switch and refused to let it go ahead. When I tried to contact them in July/August I just got an answerphone message with no option of leaving my own message or the opportunity to wait online to speak to anyone and was then cut off. I tried their online chat to be advised that it was unavailable and that email replies would be in 5 - 10 days! which i did not feel was acceptable. I didn't get a definitive reply from Avro for the reason for their objection and, after speaking to a very helpful person at Igloo, I had to assume it was because I owed money on the account and paid the total of the outstanding balance. Igloo then confirmed that the switching of my Electriccity was going through by Avro were still objecting to my Gas supply switch. There didn't appear to be any reason for this and I had to send yet another email to Avro to ask why. They came up with the excuse that Igloo had not reapplied for the gas to be switched and I had to go back to Igloo yet again to ask them to reapply. I have been extremely disappointed and annoyed that Avro let my account go so into debit without contacting me and that they were so awkward when I decided to switch to Igloo. Also, I was extremely frustrated and cross at their customer service which really seems to be non-existence. I'm not sure whether I only got answers from Avro in less than 5 days because I send copy emails to their CEO! I have never had problems like this before when switching!

GH63 · 6 September 2021 at 4:53PM

As others on this thread have posted. Avro as a commercial entity have completely disengaged from their customers, especially if i) you wish to leave and ii) they owe you money. They reject all attempts to switch unless you have a significant positive credit balance on your account, and once they get that credit balance from you then they do everything they can to avoid refunding it to you. I am almost at the stage of using the small claims service on .gov.uk to file proceedings against them. They do not answer phone and the time taken to answer emails is ridiculously prolonged, and the answer then is often unhelpful or downright misleading. Please, please if you are thinking of joining them because they look cheap, DON'T DO IT! I cannot see them being in business for much longer if their current behaviour continues. Unwillingness to refund credit balances to suppliers or customers is often an early sign of a failing business.