“Avro Energy blocked my transfer as I had a debit balance of £78.92 on 19/05, due to the seasonal nature of the monthly payments scheme. My monthly DD is £82.86 and will be paid on 25/05.
It is unlawful for an energy supplier to bock a transfer if the debt is less than 28 days old, but they did anyway. (Do a search for 'Citizens Advice Switching energy supplier if you’re in debt')
They have not contacted me, they do not respond to email and the phone and webchat service is closed.
They did, however advise me via twitter that the objection has now been cleared, after I paid the amount by debit card (I found this solution to see if others had experienced the same problem - and many have!).
Avro also advised that I now have to restart the transfer and if it is not done before the next bill, the transfer may be blocked again as there will be a debt.”
“As below, I switched companies on 24th Feb....I am £326 in credit. Endless emails that don't get answered, they re hanging on to money for a reason. I have flagged it to OFGEM. No live chat and phone for emergencies only which will get terminated if not. How many closed or dormant accounts do they have credit for?”
“Absolute cowboys, the worst I have dealt with in 25 years in services, customer services needs to be overhauled by rouge traders and the billing transactions don’t add up, lost readings just a big bill after chasing them to review my account after first year.
They need shutting down and sent back to school, trading standards need to jump on this mockery of a company I was able to pay my £7000 bill that came from no where, but I feel for the people who get put in my position to no fault of there own.
Boarder line fraudsters with no care for the public and customer services with no training or understanding, ponzey scheme at its best.
Shut them down.”
“These guys blocked me from switching 6 times, and still won't let me move after paying.
They organised a smart meter installation without telling me .the check. No customer service. Terrible company and service, stay away .”
“After moving to a new supplier I'm still owed my credit balance after several weeks. Forget the ombudsman just send them a pre-action protocol demand and if they don't pay then commence proceedings in the small claims court.
After I sent them a screenshot of my online claim form they finally responded saying I'd have to wait till the following Friday to process my payment and then it could take up to 10 days for the payment to reach my bank account. No mention of compensation or interest owed so trying to weasle out of paying the full amount.
Guess what....my online claim will be actioned in the next few days. They'll end up having my court costs to pay as well.”
“The saga started back in February when an Avro operator invited me to switch my 90-year old mother’s meters over to smart meters free of charge. The installer visited and installed the meters on 9th February but could not get the readings to show on the display unit and despite two further attempts on separate occasions still has not completed the job. Despite numerous e-mails and promises to send the engineer back to finish the job nothing has happened. One of the units is in a difficult place to read under a cupboard and to make it worse the new meter was fitted in the same location but sideways on so unless you crawl on your hands and knees it cannot be easily read. The customer service from Avro and Lowri Beck their meter provider is appalling so I would like to warn everyone not to use them.”
“left Avro for a new cheaper supplier - was nearly £500 in credit
Despite three phone calls and three emails (not responded to even though reciept acknowledged) still havent got my money back yet after 7weeks.
Avoid them.”
“This would be a zero star review if possible. My late mother was ab Avro customer. I notified Avro of her passing some 6 moths ago, completed the "change of tenancy form" (sympathetic of them to require that form when transferring the account to the executors) and requested the repayment of the several hundred pound balance.
To date they have not repaid, and continue to issue estimated bills based on my mother's consumption despite the flat being empty. In 12 months since she passed, zero units of gas has been used, but every month the estimate is as if my late mother (who always had the thermostat up high) is still living there. Similarly with the electricity usage, although we are using perhaps 20% of the old usage for estate agent viewings etc.
I have asked a dozen times for current usage to be used for estimates, so that I do not need to do an hour round trip to take readings, Avro have flatly refused. They have had sight of the death certificate and are aware of the 5 or 6 readings I have supplied, but claim that they are unable to reflect the empty status of the flat in their calculations.
I have tried to speak to them, but they will only discuss emergencies over the phone. I have emailed, as requested, and they do not reply.
If I owed Avro money, not the other way round, I am sure they would be responding, seeking to agree the usage and dealing with me, but instead I have been proactively ignored.
Don't let your parents sign up as customers!”
“Wish I had read these reviews before I changed supplier seems my complaint is far from the only one!
Seem to have a tactic of get you into debt and ignore you so you are trapped!
This company take your meter readings don’t use them to bill you, let you build up a credit, ask for the money back and then they look at the readings, re issue the bills so you are then I debt and refuse to let you leave. Don’t answer emails, and can only call of you have an emergency. Complaint in with ombudsman and just had to start another complaint. This is the worst company I have dealt with.”
“Left this joke of a company in December, had to pester for a final bill which I got in march (bearing in mind it was disputed but they still wanted payment till resolved) now I am credit but cant get a response to emails, phone line only emergency calls, looking at the reviews a lot in same position, why isnt anything done about them, this is disgusting, why have regulators if they do nothing!”
“Our account was significantly in credit our direct debit was significantly higher than our monthly usage yet they refused to refund the credit. Their excuse was 'they need to hold on to it and increase it for usage during next winter' even though this was in spring!
We decided to leave and they made this as difficult as possible. When we finally received our final bill, nearly 6 weeks later they then held on to our credit for several more weeks despite this being against Ofgem rules. When we asked for the automatic compensation as set out by Ofgem they lied about the date the final bill was issued, refused to issue the compensation and still hadn't refunded the credit balance.
If you try to get in contact their phone lines are constantly blocked and the chat system doesn't work. They are blaming the pandemic for not being able to answer the phone but this has been going on for over a year now and other companies are managing to speak to their customers but Avro are just trying to save money by reducing staff levels and offering a terrible level of service.
If you do manage to get through to someone they are normally rude and arrogant.
We are now taking our complaint to the Ombudsman.”
“Absolutely appalling customer services. Cannot get in touch with anyone, despite repeated emails. They served us for a week when we moved into this house 19.2.21 and am still awaiting a bill for that week. I’ve given them a deadline by which I expect to receive it but will not be paying them anything at this rate.
Be warned!! I think if you look at the Twitter feed, their service is failing and they are probably going under.
Tried to tell me that last May’s change in Covid law and moving house was recent. CLUELESS.”
“This company is the worst company I have ever dealt with ...
No response to emails asking why they have increased my direct debit from £90 to £160 with no evidence of usage.. I live alone and they predict I will use £2000 a year consumption based on this amount ? Its ridiculous
They are basically stealing my money....
This cant be right that they block my switch twice with mo explanation and they just ignore me .... the only option is to cancel my direct debit .... AVRO call me and let me go ..I dont want to be your customer .... I don't want to give you my hard earned money so it can earn interest in your account ... if you dont respond I will go to the ombudsman”
“I PAID MONTHLY BY DIRECT DEBIT, AND IN THE PAST WITH OTHER ENERGY SUPPLIERS THEY WOULD ADJUST THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS IF YOU PAY TOO MUCH OR NOT ENOUGH. I DECIDED TO LEAVE AFTER A YEAR, AND SWITCHED TO A NEW SUPPLIER, AND FOUND THAT TO MY HORROR I HAD OVER FOUR HUNDRED POUNDS IN CREDIT, AND THEY NEVER ADJUSTED MY PAYMENTS. I HAVE TRIED TO GET A REFUND OF MY CREDIT FOR OVER TWO MONTHS, BUT THEY ARE NOT ANSWERING MY EMAILS. I AM HAVING TO GO TO THE OMBUDSMAN NOW. AVOID AVOID”
“stolen my in credit £240 over 2 years of asking for my credit I had enough so left AVRO BUT STILL THEY STOLEN MY CREDIT THEY HAVE OF MINE; THIEVES STILL NO REFUND NICKED NOW”
“The reviews here reflect my experience in complete contrast to the "reviews" that appear on TrustPilot which appear rather fishy to me - the % of top ratings, the frequency/volume and the text style having similarities for the reviews.
I resorted to the Ombudsman who ruled in my favour over a massive over-charge and failure of AVRO to communicate for over nine months. I am now almost switched to a better price at British Gas (previous supplier to us over 15 years with great prices and service)
I have a small credit balance with AVRO which I'm resigned to them them stealing from me.
As suggested in most of these posts - don't even consider AVRO”
“TERRIBLE COMPANY PLEASE AVOID.
I joined Avro energy for one month only on the 1st January 2021 and it was a big mistake. I returned to Igloo energy on the 4th February 2021. From my experience Avro energy are unprofessional and unlike Igloo energy they cannot be contacted by telephone. I received my final incorrect bill on the 12th March 2021 and was given 7 days to pay.
Please see their E mail below.
Your Final Balance
Hello Wendy Callaghan
Your final bill is now available on your account and an outstanding amount of £230.74 is now due for payment in the next 7 days.
My meter reading for the electricity when I joined Avro energy was estimated well above the actual meter reading, despite the fact that I had provided an actual meter reading. Avro energy are demanding a payment of £230.74 within 7 days for supplying my energy for one month. My current actual electricity meter reading has only just reached the figures that Avro energy used as an opening meter readings when they briefly took over my supply. I have sent both Igloo energy and Avro energy photographic evidence. Igloo energy are doing all they can to resolve the dispute, to prevent me paying twice for my energy supply. In contrast I received the E mail below on the 15th March 2021 from Avro energy. This is five days following receipt of my final bill.
Hello
7 Day Demand for Payment
I am writing to you in relation to your account with Avro Energy.
Account number :
For the property:
Debit Amount: £230.74
Despite previous notifications your Avro Account has yet to be settled. We require the debit to be paid within 7 days or your account will be passed onto external debt recovery. This will incur additional charges and will affect your credit history.
I have attached a copy of the final statement to this email for your reference (this may appear under my signature) and we require you to manually make a payment to settle the account. You can make a payment over the phone by calling our customer service team on 0330 058 2005 or online via the link below
Today the 24th March 12 days following receipt of an incorrect bill that is clearly in dispute, I have received the E mail below.
Hello,
Thank you for your email.
Your complaint is with the complaints department, they will be in contact shortly.
The debt collection agency will also be in contact shortly regarding your debt you failed to make payment for.
Kind Regards,
I have never known any company take action 11 days following sending out a bill, whether the balance is in dispute or not. Although this does not apply to me, we are in a pandemic and lots of people have lost their jobs and they cannot afford to pay once for their energy supply, never mind twice. There is no mention of what to do if I am struggling to pay the debt.
.”
“Avro are claiming to have only received our gas meter readings from Bulb (who we have switched to), and not our electric readings, even though they were all submitted in the same way. Won't accept an official statement from Bulb, and won't accept someone from Bulb calling through their industry line and telling them the readings. Tried to submit a complaint and got told that I wasn't allowed to make a complaint. Seriously. Avoid at all costs.”
“I joined Avro Energy using Look After Bills coming up to 12 months ago.
Ever since I joined I have never got my Smart meters working given all sorts of promises saying they will sort it. Now they don't even respond to my emails.
Asked if I would join again or recommend anyone to join? Absolutely not, shocking outfit sooner I get out of this contract the better.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS.”
“I use martin lewis's energy club to find best deal each year and chose British Gas this year mainly because you got 12 months cover for boiler , pluming and electric and Avro didn't seem to appear anywhere on top 20 plus couldn't find any details of costs on AVRO's website .
Avro sent an email saying sorry to see you go we'll do all we can to progress your move. A few days later British Gas said AVRO stopped my move without giving me a reason - AVRO did not tell me anything about stopping the move. When I complained they said your account is in debt and must be cleared before any move - I challenged them as I pay by direct debit and no one said clear any debt before moving - never happened before. I paid the amount in debt and because I do not trust Avro now I cancelled my direct debit at the bank - they promised they had removed the stop but British Gas say they have not. I will never use or trust AVRO again - my personal advice be warned and do not use AVRO Energy.”
