WTF.....Octopus Energy

[Ohbuggeritsme]

Like many others been keeping a very close eye on our energy usage over the last few months!

I check our account online weekly and submit readings every 2 weeks. Last bill was £15.40 for Gas and £52.00 for electricity.

We're £459 in credit paying £170pm DD. 2 weeks ago a fixed tariff was being offered at £263, today its being offered at £353!!!! Plus they've suggested upping our DD to £185 pm to cover our bills.

I know that they are forecasting for the winter months which is why we are trying to build up a credit, but sweet mother of God my heart sunk when I saw those figures!!!

My advice would be check the amount you'd have to pay to exit the contract early (mine's £30 per fuel I think) then take the £353 deal while it's still available. You'll be glad when your prices are fixed at around double your current payment when the variable cap shoots up in the Autumn.

In the unlikely event prices come down oh look there's a pig flying past my window you can always pay to exit your contract and take another one.

You need to compare the actual price per kilowatt hour and not the monthly amount.

This gives you the accurate figure of what your usage will actually cost you.

A variable rate tariff is probably best at the moment as the fixed kilowatt hour prices are really high.

There is also the possibility that prices will be reduced over the next 6 months.

Prices are rising again in October 22 therefore the average household bill will be £3000 or £250 per month

so raising your direct debit to take into account the price rises would be sensible

We're currently on a variable rate, have been since September or October last year when previous proivder went bust.

Not a hope in hell of us moving to a foxed rate at the moment!

Octopus have been offering some decent loyalty fixes - I got one in February that was about 15% above the April 22 price cap, but you must compare the unit prices and standing charges, not the monthly direct debit figures, these could be way out.

I would have a look at the MSE 'should I fix' advice but I suspect that fix is uneconomic compared with staying on the variable rate.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/-are-there-any-cheap--fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it--/

But Octopus have also generally been quite fair with DDs so if you're that far in front right now, they should let you have the credit back or keep the DD as it is.

Remember that you'll have at least £400 added to your account over winter and you'll be building more credit up over the next few months so you should be in a good position to keep up with your energy costs over winter.

There is also the possibility that prices will be reduced over the next 6 months.

prices are rising in 4 months time, so where are you getting the information they might decrease?

I’m on a variable tariff (gas and electric). £71 in credit. Was paying £77 per month direct debit. 2 bed terrace living on my own.

submitted a meter reading yesterday and my direct debit has gone up to £110 per month.

considering you’ve almost £400 more in credit than I have, yet you’ve been offered a fixed tariff that is almost £250 per month more than what I am now paying, I’m not surprised you’re annoyed. Obviously I don’t know the size of your home, or how many people live there, but your usage doesn’t seem to justify such a significant increase in your monthly payment.

In all fairness I'm pretty happy with Octopus. The forecast is just a suggestion, one we won't be taking them up on. It was the fixed rate more than anything - I nearly fell off my chair
I totally forgot about the £400 payment - I'll keep the credit as it is rather than taking out, sounds like we'll need a pretty high buffer thos year!

I am in credit and since DS left home we use so much less electricity. I was paying £309 per month which had gone up from £184 last year by dd. Then 2 months ago they said they wanted to increase my dd to £425 a month. I rang them and said as I had credit on my account and on October would be getting government money £400 I wanted dd left at £309. They said ok straight away. My advise is to ring them and day you want it left as it is.

@Wordlecurdle we're in 4 bedroom 3 storey house.

Old Council House with attic conversion - 2 adults and 1 child living here full time and another adult SD who stays with us every weekend. We're at work and school all day, I have everything apart from fridge/freezer switched off at plugs when not in use.

Would love to see prices come down, on everything, but can't see it happening somehow

What does your Balance Forecast look like?

I've just looked in my Octopus account and there's a link to this, it says it's a new feature. It shows a graph of the estimated bill each month based on historical usage and weather data, my current payment, and the variation in balance due to these for the next year. Although it doesn't include the £400 bill help grant.

We're currently £250 in debit and it says we'll get back up to zero in about May/June next year, which I'm fine with, although curious as to why we're getting different treatment to many who are seeing their DDs go up loads right now.

We came from Avro with a £200 credit but we did miss a month's DD during the changeover and they didn't increase the DD that was based on the old cheap fix until a couple of months ago, hence the debt built up over last winter.

@ivykaty44 sorry, I can't see the sense in that much of a hike. We are £459 in credit, we have the £400 payment being added whenever that is released, and looking through the last year's usage we won't use anywhere near the amount they are suggesting!

I think for the time being at least, my DD is staying as it is x

I just fixed with Octopus and you don't have to pay the amount that's listedon the fix.

Was paying ~£85 DD on standard variable which I put up to £115 under their suggestion. Then fixed (the quote said 185 or something) and I'm still currently paying £115 and the budget forecast looks fine.

I’ve changed my d/d to variable ie I only pay for what I use. Don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it. I have no interest in building up “credit” with energy companies.

@BarbaraofSeville it's the balance forecast that has suggested rising DD to £185. I know prices are rising but over the last two months our fixed rate options have been going down, now all of a sudden they've risen to £353. I appreciate its because come October the prices will rise again, but Jesus that's a helluva hike.

Luckily, as you know, with Octopus you can control the amount you pay, so for now our DD is staying as is

You don't have to pay the DD they are suggesting. You need to be looking at the cost per unit of gas/elec and standing charges to know if its better to fix or stay on variable. DD's can be changed/cancelled and don't really mean anything, at the end of the day you pay for what you use

I can't find the balance forecast, is it only on the desktop site?

It’s really difficult to make calculations without the unit usage

for example my week use of electric in the summer is 34kwh and I pay 43p daily charge and 27p per kwh

in the winter this increases and I’ll use 55kwh in a week in December cost last winter was £12.52

what kWh are you using in the winter each week

@InMySpareTime it's shown here

I can also see the balance forecast if I look at the account on my phone (in the web browser, not in an app). It's in the My Account section, under the bit where it tells you your monthly payment.

In mine it says the payment should go up from £227 to £232 but I'll probably just leave it as it is for now.

Not on the mobile site (safari) or the app.

Not quite the point of this thread, but we have over £900 credit with Octopus. I called them last week, and it took the grand total of 3 1/2 minutes from dialling to finishing a conversation with their call handler about refunding me one month’s direct debit of £250 to free up funds for the summer holiday.
I was so impressed.

@NorthFaceofthelaundrypile that's amazing. In all fairness my gripe is not about Octopus, just the bloody cost lol
We are more than happy with them and think we'll be staying just as we are for now.
Out of interest, how long did it take for the money to hit your account?

We are in credit (just), however we are paying £220 a month, and over the last 2 months have only used £120-150 worth of utilities, so I am expecting our credit to increase before the winter.

Octopus wanted to increase our DD to £250. DH called them, and straight away they agreed there was no need to yet (maybe in the winter months, but not yet), and so they kept DD at same amount. Honestly, the call took less than 2 minutes. Seems they're just suggesting increases for everyone right now, but have no issues with people saying, "no, not yet."

Just refuse.

EDF tried to put my usage up to £133/month on our new fix whilst also refunding us £350 because we never use anywhere near what their estimate is. I have agreed to up the payment slightly but I will simply monitor my smart metre and increase based on actual usage. Otherwise it’s just a savings account with no interest!