Frequently asked questions

You have an environmentally friendly option in My Account to select paperless billing. If you choose this option, we send you an email notification with a direct link every time a new bill is issued. Your online bill can also be downloaded to your computer as a printable PDF document.

If you prefer, we can keep sending you printed copies of your energy bills, even if you are using My Account to view your bills online. We reduce our carbon footprint by printing your bill statements on recycled paper.

My Account allows you to switch between paper and paperless billing at any time.

No, to avoid confusion or double-payment, My Account bill notification is delivered to one email address only. By default, this is the email address you nominate when you first register for My Account.

You can change your email address used for paperless billing, in the 'Manage my account' area of My Account.

No, so if you are unsure if your payment has been successful, look for the payment record to appear under 'My bills' in My Account. Payments we successfully receive may not be recorded in My Account until 24 hours after the payment is made. The transaction can also be cross-checked with your bank account statements.

If your bank rejects a Direct Debit payment made through My Account, you will receive a notice in the mail and details of any dishonour charges we receive from your bank. Dishonour charges will be passed on to you with your next energy bill.

If you try to make a payment without enough money in your bank or credit card account, the transaction will usually be rejected by your bank. We will post you a rejection notification and details of any dishonour fees charged to us by your bank, which are then added to your next bill.

You can re-submit the payment once you have sufficient funds in your bank account. Or you might decide to use one of Synergy's other payment options instead.

Late payment of your energy account could result in an overdue notice fee. Additional late payment charges may apply to outstanding balances over $1,000.

There are various terms describing your bill and payments, that you do not need to be concerned about. Here are a few terms you may see in your statement, explained below:

• Normal Bill - A bill that is normally generated and issued.
• Estimated Bill - In some cases your power consumption is estimated if the meter can not be accessed, and no actual reading is taken.
• Adjusted Bill - This is a common bill adjustment. It is usually the result of updated information being processed after you bill has been generated.
• Payment - Any full or part-payment made against your account.
• Payment Arrangements (Instalment Bill) - To help you through times of financial hardship, we may offer you an arrangement of payment by instalment. If you accept this offer, the amount to be paid, the number of payments, and the time limit for payment will be formally agreed. The outstanding balance reduces with each payment until the account is paid for that billing period. Part-payments will be shown in My Account.
• Miscellaneous Debits and Credits - These are abnormal adjustments to your account which could be due to abnormal charges, or government and manual rebates applied after your bill was generated, but before it was issued. Miscellaneous debits and credits don't actually appear on your bill, but do appear on statements and in My Account.
• Transfer Bills - When transferring to a new account, any amount outstanding from your previous account is issued as a separate Transfer Bill.
• Collection Letter Fee - Synergy charges an administration fee for collection letters issued to retrieve overdue payment.

Direct Debit Terms & Conditions

This agreement outlines our commitment to you, under the Direct Debit arrangement made between Electricity Retail Corporation trading as Synergy and you, and your rights and responsibilities throughout the direct debit process. 

Our commitment to you

1. We will advise you on your energy bill the amount of the direct debit and the date we will debit your bank or credit card account. We will endeavour to take the direct debit on the date shown on your energy bill but we do not accept liability or responsibility if the debit cannot be made on that day due to unforeseen circumstances.

2. Where the due date for payment falls on a weekend or public holiday, we will debit the amount the next business day.
 
3. We reserve the right to cancel a direct debit or this direct debit arrangement at any time and will notify you of this in writing.

4. We will cancel the direct debit arrangement without further notice if we are unsuccessful in debiting your account for two or more consecutive energy bills.

5. The maximum direct debit amount for a credit card is $5,000. If the amount you owe exceeds this limit, direct debit will not occur and you will need to arrange an alternate payment method.

6. We reserve the right not to offer direct debit on certain types of Synergy accounts.

7. We will provide you with at least 14 business days notice in writing if any terms of the direct debit arrangement are to change.

8. We will keep all information about your nominated bank account private and confidential, only to be disclosed where necessary to process payments, investigate disputes or where law requires disclosure. We will disclose this information at the request of you, the customer, or your financial institution in connection with a claim made to an alleged incorrect or wrongful debit.

Your commitment to us

1. Ensure that your nominated account can accept direct debits by confirming with your financial institution. You will be responsible for any fees or charges your financial institution imposes in connection with the direct debit.

2. Ensure that bank account information supplied to Synergy is correct by checking it against a recent statement from your financial institution.

3. Ensure sufficient funds are available in the nominated bank account to meet a payment on its due date. If sufficient cleared funds are not available on the day we debit your account then you will be responsible for paying any fees charged by your or our financial institution and any fees charged by Synergy.

4. Contact your financial institution directly if you are uncertain of the date that the direct debit will be processed to your nominated account.

5. Arrange a suitable alternate payment method with us if the direct debit arrangement ends for any reason.

6. Pay any fees or charges your financial institution imposes on you in connection with the direct debit.

Your rights

1. If you want to make changes to your direct debit arrangement, including deferring the withdrawal, altering the scheduled direct debit date, stopping an individual withdrawal date, suspending the direct debit request or cancelling the direct debit arrangement please contact Synergy on 13 13 53 at least five business days before we debit your account.

2. If you want to change your account details please complete a new Direct Debit Request Form and ensure that we receive it at least five business days before your next direct debit payment date.

3. Please contact Synergy directly on 13 13 53 if you believe that a withdrawal has been initiated incorrectly, or you have any questions or complaints relating to the direct debit service. If your dispute is successful, we will reimburse you by way of cheque (made payable to the electricity account holder) or electronic credit to your nominated account.

Privacy Policy

Your details will only be held by Synergy and your financial institution.  Personal information will only be provided to third parties where necessary to provide services on behalf of Synergy or otherwise as required by law. Click here to read our Privacy Policy.