Why is it advised not to switch before SOLR takes control?

chris_mse

Both my suppliers have gone bust.

Utility Point SOLR is EDF for gas looks like from 18/09/2021 but I've had no communication from them
PFP energy SOLR is British Gas for Electricity from 30/09/2021

I now know the British Gas tariff but they are more expensive than Sainsburys energy (neon is cheapest but not happy going there)
I don't know the EDF tariff but others are cheaper than the published EDF tariff's.

no doubt the prices on comparison sites will keep going up and up & the sensible thing would be to sign up to a cheap tariff now.

Is there an explanation as to why the advice is to wait for the SOLR to on board the account before I switch away? The OFGEM site should really have details for those of us that want to understand in detail. Waiting till October will unnecessarily cost us hundreds of pounds over the next year, I'd like to know why I should wait especially when the SOLR is demonstrably not the cheapest.

macladd

Switching during an SOLR process can cause issues such as the switch being objected to/declined or getting dragged back to the SOLR supplier after your switch has commenced. I was with PFP and switched 2 days after they officially went down the pan. I commenced a switch to Octopus which is in progress, my supply start date is Sept 28th. Everything looks good, PFP have not blocked the switch, British Gas have said they will not object and the most recent email from Octopus confirms this and that the switch will go ahead as planned.

In the British Gas email as SOLR, their FAQ section advised against switching as it could delay the repayment of any credit balance. My credit is about £80, I am prepared to wait longer for it rather than be forced to have BG as my supplier and pay their prices. With you having 2 SOLR processes for separate suppliers it may be more challenging for you to successfully switch both fuels to suppliers of your choice but not impossible. If you are prepared for a bit of potential hassle then do it. 

chris_mse

@macladd thanks for that, that makes sense and I think I'll be doing just that.

I'd save several hundred by switching now.

PFP just took £68 by DD, I was ~ £40 in credit with them.
I'm ~ £300 in credit with Utility Point so am thinking about that.

who do you get the credit back from, BG or PFP energy administrators?

brewerdave

The other problem you will have ,is that potentially 000s of other customers will be attempting to switch at the same time for the same reason!!

worrywart_3

chris_mse said:

@macladd thanks for that, that makes sense and I think I'll be doing just that.

I'd save several hundred by switching now.

PFP just took £68 by DD, I was ~ £40 in credit with them.
I'm ~ £300 in credit with Utility Point so am thinking about that.

who do you get the credit back from, BG or PFP energy administrators?

Bag will be responsible for getting you back your refund, if you don’t go to them with the solr they may put you at the back of the queue is the concern, but they are obliged to give it back to you but it’s complicated as your accounts won’t automatically necessarily go over to them and you may have to wait for the administrators to
do so or at least that’s what happened when I was solr by Scottish power last year which proved to be a nightmare, I have found octopus the most efficient service I have had and their go tarrif not published is good.

worrywart_3

worrywart_3 said:

chris_mse said:

@macladd thanks for that, that makes sense and I think I'll be doing just that.

I'd save several hundred by switching now.

PFP just took £68 by DD, I was ~ £40 in credit with them.
I'm ~ £300 in credit with Utility Point so am thinking about that.

who do you get the credit back from, BG or PFP energy administrators?

Bag will be responsible for getting you back your refund, if you don’t go to them with the solr they may put you at the back of the queue is the concern, but they are obliged to give it back to you but it’s complicated as your accounts won’t automatically necessarily go over to them and you may have to wait for the administrators to
do so or at least that’s what happened when I was solr by Scottish power last year which proved to be a nightmare, I have found octopus the most efficient service I have had and their go tarrif not published is good.

Bag equals bg 

Gary1963

I've initiated a switch to Sainsbury's from Pfp.  I did the same when GNE went bust too. Still owe £4.90 to EDF though they have never billed me! 

annatorso

Sorry if I'm being really thick here (!) but what does SOLR stand for?? 

Alderbank

Supplier of last resort

annatorso

Alderbank said:

Supplier of last resort

Ahhh, thank you!

Biggus_Dickus

@chris_mse

There have been numerous posts on here regarding the complications that can arise when customers are part way through the process of switching away when the incumbent supplier goes bust.

Those unfortunate  customers had serious difficulty getting their ‘credit’ refunded and found themselves stuck in a financial limbo-land between the defunct supplier, the hoped-for new supplier, the SOLR and the Official Receivers. It’s an unenviable position apparently. You may encounter similar problems if you initiate a switch away from a recently defunct company before the dust has settled properly on the SOLR.

However, such is the turmoil in the Energy market at the moment it’s probably???  worth trying to bag a good deal elsewhere other than with the SOLR as soon as possible, even if it does mean waiting a long time for your credit refund.

My previous 12-month fixed tariff was Avro’s  Simple&Superglow and it cost me £1063/yr. A move to the cheapest 12-month fixed tariff now on offer (EON Next online V7) will cost me £1569!...that’s a 48% increase on the previous 12 months,...it’s a bit frightening.