Avro Energy banned from taking on new customers - MSE News

baldrick1000 wrote: »

I was with AVRO for over a year. During this time was in credit for over £150 and my monthly payments during the peak of winter was covering my energy usage. After 3 weeks of emailing and calling AVRO to ask for the money back they refused, therefore I decided that I would move due to the rudeness of the customer service and there refusal to provide the refund. Then started a catalogue of errors made by AVRO who continued to charge me even though I had left for another company, incorrect bills even though they agreed the final readings with my new supplier. After banging my head against a brick wall, I eventually raised with the ombudsman service who found in my favour. I am waiting for the compensation!

Yes they are cheap, but with that cheap you get rude and appalling customer service. This is the first time I have written on any forums regarding this experience and hopefully I will not have to do it again, but feel if you wish to join AVRO please go in eyes wide open and be ready for a battle if you want to leave or something goes wrong.

As I often post on this forum, stick with the Big 6 and you won't go far wrong

In the meantime, the ombudsman service should have informed you the target date by which the the supplier should have completed the resolution agreed, and what to do if they fail.

Somebody mentioned above if you stick with the big 6 companies you cant go far wrong. Thats not what the 2019 Which survey found.
"Three quarters of homes are with the Big Six firms but these customers are least likely to be content. Some 69% of Big Six customers are satisfied with their provider, compared with 82% and 80% of medium and small suppliers, respectively."
https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/01/best-and-worst-energy-companies-for-2019/

Gerry1 wrote: »

The ban has been lifted and it's business as usual, but the Cheap Energy Club is months out of date, saying that "Avro has been threatened with a new customer ban by the regulator". I'm really disappointed with MSE: there's no point in customers staying with MSE if it provides wrong information. . .

I suspect that the reason MSE isn't playing ball is that Avro Energy owes commission to MoneySupermarket (MSE's "parent") which Avro has not paid. Simple revenge at CEC customers' expense.

CEC is not an Ofgem "approved" site so I guess they don't have to comply with the Confidence Code.

The Advertising Standards Agency might, however, have something to say about their "whole of market" claim if reported.

I was about to move away from Avro as the ban on new customers could have affected its cash flow and its ability to survive. But having done a comparison yesterday my estimated spend for next year is only 1% more than this so I have changed tariffs with effect from next month. This process is very easy provided you put in a date that is before the current tariff end.
As for the meter read window mentioned above I can see it would be a problem if you were on holiday but there is nothing to stop you putting readings at any time and I have never found this process confusing. When AVRO have used estimates on my bills these have always been spot on. So for now I look forward to savings for another year.

HonBJO wrote: »

We are just in the process of moving away from AVRO, to a new deal recommended on MSE Club - of course! But this decision was nothing to do with this lack of smart meters (we decided against one as unnecessary when they first arrived) but AVRO's woeful 'customer service'. For instance, the window in which to enter meter readings is very narrow at just 3 days: fair enough, maybe, except the estimates then used are more suited to a factory in mid-winter than a frugal household in May! The page for meter readings looks pretty but is not user-friendly and, when trying to ring to clarify, AVRO must have the shortest office hours in combination with the dreariest 'on hold' sound (I cannot call it music) across the industry. The quote for a new deal showed a real price-hike as well so, all in all, we are DELIGHTED TO BE MOVING AWAY. It seems that AVRO shows the same contempt for the Regulator as it does for customers, but we hope it survives, though, for the sake of its happier (ex) customers.

The reality is energy prices have risen for everyone. If you were on a previous 12 months fixed price deal which just came to an end, it will be more expensive everywhere else now, and not just with Avro.


Certainly for me, when I did a new check of the market now, Avro still comes out way cheaper than all the big 6 and still near the top in terms of price.



However, I completely agree that the customer service is lacking. It's a tricky one, if you want cheap prices, they need to cut costs somewhere. From my experience when I have had issues I have emailed avro and yes it might take a few days to get a response, but they did eventually respond. [ That was last year, and don't know what the email response times are like now.]


As for the meter reading window, you can enter a meter reading when ever you want. The only thing about the 3 day window, is that they use the exact reading if you supply it during this window. If you enter at another time, they just estimate it based on previous usage and previous readings. From my experience over past 2 years this has worked really well and better that I had previously with other suppliers.


The only thing you have to keep an eye on is your monthly DD amount and the amount of surplus cash that builds in your account. When I first joined Avro my DD was a little high, which resulted in a surplus of over £100 (even in winter) paid to them. After a few email discussions they agreed to lower the DD based on previous usage and now I keep the surplus with them alot lower.