Octopus Energy - Flexible or Fixed rate

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If you're with Octopus for gas and electricity, are you on their fixed or flexible tarifff?

Does anyone have experience of which is the better value and the main pros and cons of each?

I'm currently on fixed rate paying about £200 energy per month.

Thinking about moving to flexible but not sure how much cheaper this may be for the risk and if the daily charges are any different.

I’m on the tracker tariff and it’s the best thing I ever did.

Apart from the dynamic tariffs I think they are only offering flexible at the moment? I am on Go which is an EV tariff, fixed for now but when my fix ends that will also be variable (just at a lower overnight rate/higher day rate).
There is a tracker tariff but that has a waiting list (I was told 6 months when I joined the list in February)
What price per unit are you being offered?

If you phone them they are very helpful and can go through the options with you

Has anyone recently been able to get a fixed rate with Octopus?

Yep I’m an existing customer who was coming off another fix and they gave me a new one.

I just got an email offering fixed in the last week or so as a “they’re back” sort of offer. Much more than my variable has been though, even at the silly peak last winter. I’m going to stay variable, they respond quickly to price changes.

I've been with them a few years now and always been on a flexible rate

We moved onto the Octopus Tracker November 2022 v1. It tracks the wholesale rate so changes more regularly than a normal tracker, which makes it cheaper. If you can get on this type I think that would be the best option, it's cheaper than the fixed we were on

My fix ended in June. This has reminded me to see if I can re-fix.

I'm on a fix that ends October - a good rate that I managed to fix before everything went crazy. Personally I always fix as I need that peace of mind and I'm an obsessive budgeter. So I will fix again if the option is available at the time.

I signed up with one a few days ago. I was on their 'price cap' one, but they offered a tariff which lower unit rates and I plugged the numbers into the MSE 'is it worth fixing' calculator, which said that it would probably be about 5% cheaper over the next year, so I've signed up to it.

However, OP, you need to make sure you compare the unit rates, not the direct debit amount, which doesn't necessarily reflect which tariff is cheaper.

I've done the same.

Me. We are electric only though. We spend approx £85 a month on electricity. That’s just now in the summer and with the reduction last month. I have just fixed at £105 a month. We pay £100 direct debit anyway. It may or may not pay off over the course of the year but I am happy for now. It’s got a £75 exit fee.

What is the unit cost that you have fixed at?

It was 29. something. I can’t remember what was after the 29.

We’re on Intelligent Octopus, the flexible tariff. It’s a bit more than the fixed in the day but super cheap between 11:30 and 4:30 when we charge our car. You can set an app to charge the car just at the cheap rate. I also not delay set the dishwasher and washing machine to get the cheap rate. Only been a few months but already massive savings from Eon. And customer service is excellent.

I'm having a bit of trouble with them. We have a dual fuel, which was £153 per month, until a couple of months ago, when they put it up to £370.

In December, I was £800 in credit, now, I'm £800 behind. I work abroad and have asked my wife to take readings, but it's like pulling teeth and she always gets the electric dials wrong.

Anyway, about ten days ago, I gave a reading. It was 2,000 units less than their estimate, their estimates are always very high.

I emailed and asked why I'm paying £3,000 pa for gas alone, when the dual fuel cap is £2,500 and wholesale prices have dropped. Also, why was there a £1,600 difference in what is on account.

I got a reply: Sorry you are struggling to pay, would you like to submit a reading?

I'm away again and will try again, when I get home.

The cap isn't £2,500, it's a cap on unit price, not usage. If you use more, you pay more. It's a common misconception that your bills are capped at £2,500 but this is absolutely not the case. That figure is based on what an 'average household' will use over a year.

@SinnerBoy

The price cap is a cap on the rate, which translates into the £2500 based on 'typical use'. If you use more than that, it costs more than that.

But if you don't know if the correct readings have been submitted, you don't know if £153, £370 or something else is the right amount to pay. If they think you are £800 in debit at this time of year, they will want to put your payment up a lot, because you should be in credit right not.

Can your DW send you photographs of the meters, so you can upload the numbers, if this is something she's unable to do herself?

Or you could get a smart meter. Then you don't have to worry about ever needing to read your meters as they do it themselves every 30 minutes.

Thanks, I have sent photos in the past, when they accused me of fraud. My wife read 60,000 instead of 50,000. I insisted that they sent a meter reader, which they didn't.

A smart meter probably won't work, as were in a mobile and radio dead spot.

I'm kind of hoping that it's just taking time for the most recent reading to filter through. As I said, they always over estimate by a large margin.

If they think you are £800 in debit at this time of year, they will want to put your payment up a lot, because you should be in credit right not. No, because we’re only just leaving winter, so you’d expect to be in debit, then credit be restored over the summer when usage is low. I’ve been in debit for three months, but their model says I will be back in credit in June - in fact, they’re suggesting I reduce my payments by £40 pm.