AVOID OCTOPUS ENERGY AT ALL COSTS

[MargotLemon]

I am documenting this experience as a matter of serious concern regarding Octopus Energys handling of customer accounts, billing accuracy, and conduct during a disputed issue.
At the time of our enquiry, our account held in excess of £1500.00 in credit. Upon formally requesting a refund of these funds, the companys position changed abruptly and without adequate explanation. We were susequently informed that we were instead in debt, allegedly due to an error in meter readings - an error acknowledged to have originated on their side.
Under UK consumer protection principles, including the expectation of fair, transparent, and accurate billing, it is wholly unacceptable for a supplier to retropectively alter a customers financial position due to its own internal error without providing clear, detailed evidence. The lack of transparency and failure to properly substantiate this claim raises serious concers.
Furthermore, Ofgems standards of conduct require energy suppliers to treat customers fairly, communicate in a clear and honest manner, and take appropriate steps to resolve disputes. In this case, those standards were not met. Our reasonable requests for clarification were not addressed satisfactorily, and instead of engaging in a fair dispute resolution process, the company escalated the situation prematurely.
Most concerning was the repeated reference to potential debt collection action while the matter remained formally disputed. Such conduct appears disproportionate and inappropriate, particularly given that the issue stems from the suppliers own admitted error. This approach can resonably be perceived as intimidating and inconsistent with the obligation to treat customers fairly.
This experience raises serious questions about billing integrity, complaint handling procedures, and regulatory compliance. Customers should be able to trust that their supplier will manage accounts accurately and resolve errors responsibly - especially where significant sums of money are involved.
Based on this experience, i strngly advise others to exercise extreme caution, maintain detailed records of all communications, and be fully aware of their rights when dealing with this supplier.

So after correcting the meter reading issues, do you agree that you were in debt but feel aggrieved that you thought you had credit to claim back?

Was this billing error corrected within the required 12 months? Is it a smart meter?

What stage is your complaint at currently; is it now with the ombudsman?

(You might want to report your post and ask MNHQ to move it to a more appropriate section such as Property or Chat.)

I assume you built up credit because Octopus Energy were not taking the money due out of your account. You wanted to remove those funds but they were actually owed more than that amount because of a failure to deduct your bill payments. It seems reasonable for them to take the amount owed from your account it's not like they suddenly demanded you pay them £1500 it was already allocated to pay your bills.

I actually got a £5k wipe off from octopus via ofgem - and very quickly like 2 weeks! - my smart meter unbeknown to me hadn’t been functioning properly and all my bills had been estimates , which I hadn’t noticed - as to be fair I hadn’t looked at it after we moved in when it was working correctly - I presumed it was working ok -I have octopus both for gas and electric - if it had been functioning correctly and not getting estimates I would have noticed that the previous people had left the very old school electric underfloor heating on permanent but low - hence not really noticing it and that my bills would have been actually horrendous. After 3 years they actually sent someone round because of having no proper reading ( but hadn’t flagged this in the meantime) checked the meter and said it wasn’t connecting and the reality was it put me £7k in debit!!! After paying a lump sum I decided to reach out to ofgem who found in my favour and octopus wiped it .

lol thought you were getting free electricity and now they’ve caught the error you are mad 🤦‍♀️

I have been with Octopus for years, and I find them excellent.

An issue did arise at one point with a meter error, and they told me that my account was £5k in debit. I pointed out that this wasn't really likely given that we had been in credit until very recently and our usage hadn't changed. They looked into the matter and resolved it without further ado.

Did you not wonder why you were building up so much credit?

Octopus are by far the best operator in my experience.

And you want Mumsnet to do what?

Your grammar is appalling btw.

Yes similar with me- see my post below- it was 80% their error but I admit 20% mine for failing to spot estimates for 3 years- but was still sorted via ofgem quickly and with minimal fuss . Ofgem were really good too can I say . Both in writing and on the phone ( they called me just to clarify a few things)

I have to email Octopus every month asking them to bill me because they just let credit build up otherwise. It’s very frustrating. They tell me that if 1 of their hourly meter syncs fails then the whole bill does not send. Seems a crazy system to me.

@MuckSavage Criticising someone's spelling, grammar or punctuation on Mumsnet is a serious breach of netiquette. For some people here English may not be their first language or they may have other issues like arthritis etc. Its a chat forum not the Oxford Union.

Who made you the posting police?

Octopus have always been amazing for us. They are one of the companies with consistently highly rated customer service. I am disabled and they’ve always refunded me promptly if I request money to be returned to me and even sent me a free heated throw when we had a particularly awful cold spell a couple of years ago.

I loathe the radio adverts, but as a company I find them fantastic. Someone in the UK answers the phone, our electric charger was installed almost immediately and our bills are less than most people we know.

You don’t get to say they made a mistake so you must keep the money.

I've found them to be the best of the bunch tbh. Usually they give you a meter showing you how much you're spending? What happened, do you think?

I've had problems with them recently as DM moved in to a care home and they then sent a letter to say that they needed to increase her direct debit despite the fact that the energy use had gone down massively. When I phoned them they said that it was nothing to with me (despite having POA) and that they could make no changes - when I asked them to confirm that meant they wouldn't be increasing the DD they said that they would - apparently that is no change!!! Eventually they backed down when I said that the press and Ofgen would think it was an appalling treatment of an elderly and vulnerable lady who had lost capacity but it left a really nasty taste in my mouth.

Interesting first ever post...

I find octopus excellent. However I keep control of my bills and meter readings, which is something that a surprising number of people seem not to do and then are surprised when they get a large bill. So many people seem to ignore their fuel bills and just pay their DD without checking exactly how much they owe.

I pay a monthly DD and submit my fuel readings every month, after which octopus sends me an immediate statement so I know exactly how much I have in credit. I daresay I could submit more often if I wanted. I decide my DD amount and have sometimes requested a refund which I have immediately received. But I do not have, and refuse to have, a smart meter, so I avoid the problems they seem to cause.

Whenever I have an issue or question for Octopus I email - they email back the next day. I find them really helpful.

I find them great. We have a smart EV tariff and an export tariff with them for solar so quite complicated billing but no issues at all.

I'm assuming you weren't submitting meter readings so they were estimating your usage, obviously they can't then pay you without checking the actual meter.

I think they’re the best utility provider out there. They’re innovative and have by far the best pricing on the market for me (someone with an EV and solar panels). They’ve always let me pick my DD amount and I’m currently paying much less than they’re recommended, and they are happy to let me do that.

I’ve recommended them to many of my friends and family and will continue to do so.

I hate energy companies but Octopus isn't that bad.

I spent nearly 6 months arguing with BG about them not releasing a meter to octopus because they'd overestimated the previous tenants debt - which they'd been perusing legally - and despite them having photos of meter readings 6 months ago they were being dicks.
They did pay me some compo and price match Octopus too. They also managed to overbill me despite them being given readings so they also refunded me an amount too.