Avro energy

WelshGlyndwr

i switched from eon to avro and the switch was due to go through on 28th of september. I was due to give opening reading to avro on this date and they have taken £56 in advance. What do i do, can i stay with eon?

rusty_frog

First thing I would do is get on to your bank and get them to return your money under the direct debit guarantee. 
My son did this just yesterday after Avro did much the same.
Of course you could wait weeks or months for the S.o.L.R. to sort it out if you prefer.

WelshGlyndwr

will every bank let me do this? 

QrizB

It's very unlikely that you can stay with E.ON, your switch will go through and you will end up with the SoLR.

You can try to recall your DD but you'll end up paying it eventually, in a month or three, when the SoLR bills you.

PFogg_2

I also just switched to Avro and my contract began today.  I got the email confirming it had all gone through yesterday, one day after they went bust!  I hadn't considered the payment I had already made to them, but I am requesting this back now through my bank.  Thank you for raising this!

PFogg_2

Interestingly, the person I spoke to at my bank said that the DD cannot be recovered under these circumstances i.e. a company going bust.  I am going to check the fine print as I don't have much confidence in the ability of the person I spoke to, but don't be surprised if you get 20 questions if you do go to your bank. Mine is Virgin Money in this case.

oliverbrown

I'm leaving my DD alone, I'm going to have to pay the SoLR at some point anyway.

hydratoad

PFogg_2 said:

Interestingly, the person I spoke to at my bank said that the DD cannot be recovered under these circumstances i.e. a company going bust.  I am going to check the fine print as I don't have much confidence in the ability of the person I spoke to, but don't be surprised if you get 20 questions if you do go to your bank. Mine is Virgin Money in this case.

My interpretation is that this would be correct. The direct debit guarantee is fairly limited.
https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/pages/directdebitguarantee.aspx

It essentially only covers errors. I assume you did actually authorise them to take direct debits, and that they told you both the value and the date on which it would occur? If so, no error occurred and there is no entitlement to a refund.

Notwithstanding this, if you can convince the bank that they should refund - without committing fraud - I can't see the harm, as I discuss here: 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78628240#Comment_78628240

Hammer_Time

I phone my bank and got it back the same day, however this was the same day as the d/d came out.

hydratoad

Hammer_Time said:

I phone my bank and got it back the same day, however this was the same day as the d/d came out.

Yes, it seems the banks have a little more latitude for same day recalls. For example, RBS say they can simply recall if before 8:30 PM on the day of the debit; otherwise, you have to rely on indemnity under the guarantee.

https://www.supportcentre-rbs.co.uk/Searchable/913230552/Can-I-recall-a-direct-debit.htm

What surprised me was people were managing to convince their bank to reclaim multiple payments going back several months.

oliverbrown

hydratoad said:

What surprised me was people were managing to convince their bank to reclaim multiple payments going back several months.

I wonder if the SoLR has any powers to reclaim that money. It's essentially theft as those payments were correct and due at the time they were taken.