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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not remind Octopus that I owe them a grand ??

43 replies

Imsupposedtobeworking · 07/12/2021 12:36

... or do they know this already ? Moved in to new place October 2020, a doer upper, so very draughty during winter months so had to keep the heating on high to ensure small kids were kept warm. Moved out of the house in Feb for 6 months whilst builders were in renovating. Forgot about electricity bill during this time as lots going on with temporary accommodation and building site on top of work, kids etc. AVRO then went bust and my account was moved over to Octopus. Looking at my Octopus account now, it states that I owe then £ 250 for September 2021 until now. The grand I owe Avro is listed in historical bills but not in the main account as what I owe them, which Ive now paid in full so account at £0 at the moment. Do I now just wait and hope they have forgotten the historical bill or will they get in touch ?

OP posts:

Lockheart · 07/12/2021 12:38

I wouldn't wait, it'll be worse if they start charging you interest or pass the debt to bailiffs. Just speak to them and ask what the situation is.

KeepYaHeadUp · 07/12/2021 12:40

I would assume it's noted somewhere. Could you have received reminders while builders were there and it's now with a debt collection agency or collections lawyers?! I suppose you could keep the cash to one side so you can pay if asked but be prepared for eye watering charges to have been added if you don't actively try to pay what you owe.

5keletor · 07/12/2021 12:42

They'll find out at some point, if they aren't already aware. I'd probably make arrangements to pay it now, even an instalment plan if that's easier.

Aderyn21 · 07/12/2021 12:44

Put the cash to one side and see what happens. Check no bills/reminders have gone astray

Mercurial123 · 07/12/2021 12:45

They haven't forgotten. I have a buy to let property and thought I was up to date with bills between tenants moving in. I owed the electricity company less than £5 which they passed onto debt collectors who were looking for nearly £100 to settle the debt.

Original poster

Imsupposedtobeworking · 07/12/2021 12:50

@Mercurial123

Are they even allowed to do that - did they advise you or simply pass onto debt collectors ? Are they even allow to charge you after a certain amount of time has passed ? Did you end up paying £ 100 or was it resolved ? Im hoping it was in your favour.

OP posts:

Mercurial123 · 07/12/2021 12:55

Imsupposedtobeworking - I'm overseas they didn't contact me by email even though they had my details. The letting agent forwarded the letter when they checked on the house.

Not sure if it's legal I just paid as they were threatening CCJ against me.

Pixiedust1234 · 07/12/2021 13:14

I would check with ofgem? Who moved you over. Did octopus take on the debt or is it still with your previous supplier and you owe it to their creditors/investors instead? Maybe octopus will pay the previous supplier that money and then start to charge you for it (which might take months). So...either ofgem or even citizens advice to find out who you actually pay

HoardingSamphireSaurus · 07/12/2021 13:19

Are they even allowed to do that - did they advise you or simply pass onto debt collectors ?

Depends on how they have contacted your, their billing and the previous letters to you. You may have missed some demands etc.

Are they even allow to charge you after a certain amount of time has passed ?

Yes they are. They have up to 6 years from the last time they can show you engaged with them / the debt. And as soon as they notice it will be on your credit history. Have you checked it recently. Most are free these days. Try Experian, see if there is anything on your record.

Fleur405 · 07/12/2021 13:27

They have 6 years to legally pursue you for this so if you choose to say nothing bear in mind that it could crop up at any time before the expiry of the period.

Oddbutnotodd · 07/12/2021 13:28

The changeover from Avro to Octopus is ongoing. Eventually the £1000 owing will come to light.

CorrBlimeyGG · 07/12/2021 13:31

Debit and credit balances haven't been fully transferred over yet. They're aware, hence why you can see the balance, but the two systems haven't yet aligned. I have a credit balance, and Ofgem have confirmed it will move across, but they don't yet know when that will happen.

luckylavender · 07/12/2021 13:33

@Imsupposedtobeworking - you know you owe the money. Better for you to sort it out now.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 07/12/2021 13:34

Keep the cash to one side in case they do chase you
You don’t have to remind them, but you have to be ready to pay if they do

HoardingSamphireSaurus · 07/12/2021 13:34

If that is the case then @Imsupposedtobeworking check your credit record to reassure yourself you haven't missed anything and then wait until Octopus gets the systems aligned.

But it won't disappear. And they have a long time to chase it down.

DontBeCatty · 07/12/2021 13:39

@Fleur405

They have 6 years to legally pursue you for this so if you choose to say nothing bear in mind that it could crop up at any time before the expiry of the period.

This might not be correct in this case. I’m not sure. You can’t be charged for gas or electricity used more than 12 months ago if you have not been correctly billed for it before.

HoardingSamphireSaurus · 07/12/2021 13:41

Nothing OP says suggests she was incorrectly billed though, just that she owes them the money.

HollowTalk · 07/12/2021 13:44

I'd just put the money to one side if you can and then sit tight. If they ask for it they can't charge interest for that period, can they?

hivemindneeded · 07/12/2021 13:49

Pay it. The worse that could happen is they go quiet because they sold the debt on to debt collectors. It will then double.

CurzonDax · 07/12/2021 13:52

An old Avro customer here - only now have Octupus changed over our account. My DH got an email when it was first announced who would take over Advo customers. A few weeks later we hadn't heard anything else, and so he called them - they took our details to set up a direct debit, but said that everything could take a while to sort out. Therefore, we didn't pay any utility for 2 months. Our first direct debit payment came out last week. Only yesterday did the credit we had with Advo show up on our online account. Thankfully, we were £300 + in credit, which has covered the two months we didn't pay anything during the changeover (we are still a little bit in credit).

I have a feeling that it will eventually catch up with you - they are still in the process of sorting through customers taken over from Advo.

Inquisitivearchitect · 07/12/2021 13:53

Keep the cash aside.

Especially as the news media may have seen this thread and might report on customers owing £thousands etc and link to this… (sometimes they do )

Also, dealing with debt collectors is an awful experience and I wouldn’t want anyone going through that

Inquisitivearchitect · 07/12/2021 13:54

I mean, keep the cash aside to the pay your bill..

stingofthebutterfly · 07/12/2021 14:11

It'll work itself out eventually, although are you sure you haven't already paid most of it?

My Avro account was showing credit of over £1k because my monthly payments were building up but they never seemed to generate bills to reduce it. I'm sure I have a debt of £1k somewhere, to offset it.

My Octopus account is still showing zero though, so I can't check any historical debts yet.

KeepYaHeadUp · 07/12/2021 14:13

Even if they're not allowed to pass it on without notifying you by the time it's gone to debt collectors you won't get a reasonable answer / solution out of anyone. The company you owe money to will not discuss it and just refer you to the bailiffs and the bailiff won't want to hear a story they'll just want you to pay them.

blowtheroofoff · 07/12/2021 14:24

You need to pay for the energy you have used on the property and the usage will be recorded through the meter. Octopus or a debt collection agency will attempt to recover the debt at some point. Plan for this to happen

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