Why am I charged more than the price cap?

[hoowhoo]

Hi all, is anyone on flexible octopus and can explain why I'm being charged more per Kwh than the energy price cap? I've got a discount for night usage which is no use to me.

Has anyone successfully managed to move tariff's with them? I'd rather be on a set rate as I don't do washing between 12-6am.

Hoping to call them tomorrow but not sure what to say!

You're on an economy seven tariff. Do you have a storage heater?

Where you’re on an economy 7 tariff, so it’s up to the company how they distribute the cost of the price cap. Is there a reason you’re on that tariff? Do you have electric heating?

E7 is for people who use a lot of electricity overnight - in the past that was people with night storage heaters because they use electricity overnight.

It's unlikely to be good value for anyone else - you need to be put on the standard variable rate.

Did you get transferred to Octopus after Avro collapsed? We did, and they put us on an economy 7 tariff, though we weren’t on one before. Our heating is gas and we don’t run appliances like washing machines or dishwashers overnight so no reason to suppose we’d want economy 7. I spotted that there were night and daytime rates on their first email after taking over, queried it and was told it would be changed.

in June This year I realised they were still charging us economy 7 and thought it would be a quick email to rectify their mistake. They have been incredibly difficult. They insist that because of the type of meter we have it was right for them to put us on economy 7. I’ve asked them to point me to the legislation which allows this, no response. I asked them how they can put me on a tariff which charges different rates at different times without telling me when the cheap rates are, no response. They eventually agreed to change it to a flat rate and backdated it to October because I’d asked them to do this at the time. The rate they used was more expensive, so though we’d only had 25% of our usage at the night rate we we were charged extra when did this. I’ve asked them repeatedly ask them to explain to explain. They insist it was the equivalent rate at the time but I can’t see how this is right if economy 7 is cheaper when we hardly use any electricity overnight. They now say that they’ve changed the tariff as I requested so they want to close the complaint. I’ve told them not to and that I’m still waiting for an explanation of how economy 7 was cheaper! I hope that we’ve just been unlucky and that you have a better experience with them.

A long time ago, I moved into a house with E7 for no good reason - our neighbours told us it was much cheaper, and we believed them for YEARS. When we moved, the house had E7 and storage heaters - we got rid of them and the E7 - our bills plummeted even though we had gas CH radiators everywhere instead of just three storage heaters.

The price cap is not an upper limit. It's an average amount so it does not mean that is the maximum anyone will pay.

But the unit rate is capped and this is what the OP is questioning

Ah I see. Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to everyone. The price cap does not apply if your on a fixed-term energy tariff (ie a tariff with a fixed end date). Also if your tariff is exempt from the price cap, for example, some green and special time of use tariffs.
Either way- I'd be unhappy too.

Do what is the point of it then?
It's meaningless.

Your day and night rate probably averages out at below the cap, but obviously they have put you on the wrong tariff if you don't have storage heaters. Hope you have more luck sorting it than the previous poster.

The issue here is the OP is on the economy 7 rates, so that's why the day rate is above the cap. Call supplier and change to the normal standard rates.

@PrioritiseCalm it's not meaningless at all. If I use 100kw then obviously I'm happier paying 40p for a kw than £1 ....

Someone living in a 6 bedroom house with a multigenerational family, several adults working from home and lots of kids wouldn't be capped at the same actual bill as 2 adults with no kids, both working out of the home for example that would be ludicrous

Contact your local Citizens Advice and ask to speak to their energy team. It’s free.

E7 rate isn’t protected by the unit rate cap as such

Im with EDf I was on E7 two tarriff rate but I no longer had storage heaters as I had gas installed
my rate was 35.9 day rate and 14p night rate

in September I asked to switch tarriff to the SVR of 32.9 so I had to have a smart meter installed
I had a smart meter installed and suddenly they can’t switch my rate to the SVR only a single E7 rate which On Oct 1St went to 45.9
but I’m not even gettting a night rate to soften the blow

i could see there was a problem and put in a complaint
At first EDF couldn’t understand what I was telling them it took 3 weeks and numerous calls to get them to understand what I was telling them
so I put in an official complaint as I have a contract which has the agreed rate on it

i demanded that I got the meter checked and the guy said nothing wrong with the meter it’s the people in the smart team
They then acknowledged that there was a problem and they tech have found out what the issue is and they have sent it to the not so smart team to sort it out

but my complaint still stands and I’m paying 13 per kWh more than what I should be

OP put in a complaint as it forces them to o something
ask to switch to the SVR which is around 32p per kWH
your on a 2 tarriff E7 rate

If you have storage heaters then that's why you have an Economy 7 tariff. If you don't have the heaters then you're better of on a standard tariff

Also E7 is what is classed as a deemed tarriff
it’s what they often put you on if they don’t know if you have gas or if you are out with a supplier that went bay
They assume your an all Electric property and make use of an E7 tarriff

If you are not an all electric household economy 7 is going to be more expensive.

Hi everyone, we don't have a storage heater and no reason to be on one! We changed to octopus and I believe they may have changed our account when we came off the fixed tariff. I'm outraged to be honest how devious!

They charge us for gas too so must know that!

octopus told me that “the standard tariff for a meter with a profile class of 2 (2 rate eco 7) is an eco 7 tariff”, and “this is why you were put onto that as standard for your meter”.

This was when they took over our supply after Avro failed, so it was done automatically, we didn’t have the opportunity to choose a tariff. I wonder whether there are more people on economy 7 tariffs without realising it our there.

Our house is old, so I assume that decades ago when storage heaters were popular previous owners installed them, with the meter was changed so that it was able to charge for usage at different times. It’s never been a problem selecting a flat rate tariff before, while the meter gives separate numbers for day and night usage I’ve always just used the totals .

had no idea that the fact my meter shows day and night usage figures I’d be put onto an eco 7 tariff without my consent after a supplier went bust until recently, I’d urge anyone in the same situation to check.

They've also just tried to double our direct debit!

We got moved from Avro to Octopus and went onto a standard tariff, so it can be done.

How long have you been with Octopus and how long have you lived in your current home? Do you have a smart or standard meter?

You want to switch to the standard tariff as you have no reason to be on Eco 7, they should be able to do this without issue, but if they don't, email them making it clear it's a formal complaint, then if they don't do it within 8 weeks, you can use external methods, such as www.resolver.co.uk or a complaint to OFGEM.

Thank you everyone so much. They've been trying to raise our bills from 130pm to 240, and now trying to raise again to 490! I feel shocked and disappointed - I will call them this morning, armed with your wisdom!

We also joined them a year and half ago and they put us on this tariff - fine when it was fixed but we haven't been moved over and given the energy crisis seems as if they profiteering from us

You should be able to find your estimated annual usage somewhere on your bill.

You can use that to work out what you should be paying, taking into account any debit or credit on your account and the £400 winter bill credit. I'm surprised they're wanting to take too much, they've seemed very fair with us in the year we've been with them.

We built up a £300 debt on switching from Avro as they didn't up our payments for a few months and also missed a payment due to DD taking a while to be set up. They recalculated the DD and added about £30 on for a year to catch up by the middle of next year. Since then, they've reduced our DD twice to account for the £400 and because our usage is a little less than they've assumed.

But I don't understand how you've stuck to an Eco 7 tariff for at least 18 months when it's always been more expensive than standard if you're not using a good proportion of your electricity at night?