avro refund

QrizB

Johndonuts said:

Bendo said:

You will get your money back. You just need to be patient and not expect it for perhaps 18 months.

Why 18 months? Have Octopus stated this anywhere please?

Octopus have said very little about timescales, most likely as they are entirely dependent on Avro's administrators passing over accurate account details.
However ... in previous SoLR transfers it has typically taken 3-4 months to get transferred customer accounts set up and somewhat longer than that to get balances refunded on closed accounts. 18 months is towards the higher estimates but 12+ has been seen before.

Johndonuts

Thanks for that info QrizB. It will be a trial for us to get this sorted, as we are moving home in a matter of weeks. I'm sad for those who need the money, it is wrong to leave people out of pocket in such tough times. I hope they find a way of speeding things up for the most vulnerable.

brewerdave

Aylesbury_Duck said:

designer12 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

designer12 said:

I started a switch from Avro to Sainsbury's energy (Eon) just before they went bust. The switch has gone through successfully.
The problem is that Avro owed me about £80 as I was in credit. I was told not to cancel my DD with Avro so they could issue me the refund. But then in early October they debited my account again for £85 (which was the DD payment) in early October, a few days before the switch to Sainsbury's went through. But it's not showing up on my Avro account dashboard. 
Does anyone know what I need to do so I can get my credit back? I can't contact avro as they no longer seem to have anyone answering their phones...
Thanks

Sit tight.  Octopus will be taking on the account, even though it's no longer active.  In due course, they will refund any credit balance brought across from Avro.

I am now with Sainsbury's not Octopus as I had started a switch before I realised Avro was going bust... which is what makes it even more confusing!

that's why I said, "even though it's no longer active".  Your Avro account is migrating to Octopus, and the credit will go with it.  Octopus aren't supplying your energy but there's still an account there with a balance.  At some point, Octopus will refund you and close the account.

Took Octopus 8 months to finalise my bill in similar circumstances when Iresa failed in 2018 !

oliverbrown

Johndonuts said:
I'm sad for those who need the money, it is wrong to leave people out of pocket in such tough times.

There appears to be no pressure on customers to have their direct debit set higher than that of Avro at the moment, as long as that continues to be the case until the credit balance is repaid, customers should not be "out of pocket".

The case of customers leaving Octopus is interesting as it would appear Octopus cannot honour the industry agreed time scales in this instance as it is dependant on Avro.

Johndonuts

The trouble is when you are moving home in a matter of weeks, you won't be able to work your credit down. Also you will no longer have an Octopus energy account. I'm sure others will be in this position, it is difficult to know how we will be able to sort this mess out.

wakeupalarm

Johndonuts said:

The trouble is when you are moving home in a matter of weeks, you won't be able to work your credit down. Also you will no longer have an Octopus energy account. I'm sure others will be in this position, it is difficult to know how we will be able to sort this mess out.

Surely in such situations issuing a refund to your bank account would sort the mess out?

There really is no need for these massive credit balances that all these energy companies have built up from customers. They are just using it as a cheap loan to use as working capital.

If they had these massive credit balances on customers accounts and increasing the monthly DD when there was no need, why didn't they use it to buy energy when the prices was low.  They wouldn't have gone bust as they would have hedged far into the future.  Instead, they were using it to support their family's businesses and living the good life at customers expense.
.

Johndonuts

wakeupalarm, you are spot on in what you say about these energy companies. Sadly greed is the motto for almost all big business. Some make you sick by the way they treat people.

A simple refund would be lovely, but I have my doubts about Octopus sorting this out for us swiftly.      

Bendo

Johndonuts said:

Bendo said:

You will get your money back. You just need to be patient and not expect it for perhaps 18 months.

Why 18 months? Have Octopus stated this anywhere please?

Nope. But 18 months is what it took Utilita to refund me when Eversmart went. I think Avro were bigger but hopefully Octopus are more switched on them Utilita were so who knows.

I'd like my refund sooner but frankly not budgeting to see it anytime in the next 12 months

slipthru

You could just ask the bank to do a direct debit reclaim for your last two payments as they were paid in error and then you will owe octopus a fiver.

Johndonuts

slipthru said:

You could just ask the bank to do a direct debit reclaim for your last two payments as they were paid in error and then you will owe octopus a fiver.

The bank won't do that sadly. Our bank told us that they couldn't do anything due to Avro no longer trading, I'm not even sure if that is correct? But Santander certainly passed the buck to us sorting it out with Octopus energy or Avro, who don't seem to exist. All I know is billionaire companies will owe you plenty and you have to wait 12 to 18 months to see a penny of your money, but owe them and they'll chase you like a rabid dog.