Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Somewhere within all the [FT?] press articles covering the Avro move there was a reference to existing Octopus customers on fixed rate tariffs having to take a charge in order to pay for the SoLR take-over.  May be I misread it but it seemed clear enough at the time. It would be nice to be wrong on this occasion since contractually I don't see how it could be justified unless there is something in the T's and C's that I have missed.

I think you've misread it. The ex-Avro customers will lose their fixed tariffs and will be put on a deemed tariff that Octopus will agree with Ofgem, but it will almost certainly be set at the price cap (Edit: you can see here that they will be moved on to Flexible Octopus, £10 below the price cap). The only way existing fixed rate Octopus customers will have to pay more for their energy than contractually agreed is if Octopus itself goes bust. New fixed rate tariffs from Octopus will probably become more expensive as a result of the takeover and Flexible Octopus is also likely to rise (Edit: this cannot now be done for 6 months) - otherwise ex-Avro customers would just freely move across.

Telegraph_Sam said:

"if the average of the peak and off-peak rates (currently 14.3p based on the new tariffs, 9p based on my existing tariff) is lower than the cheapest single rate on offer (currently 16.5p), then I would stick with it - assuming I am allowed to do so"

Based on either the existing "old" tariffs and/or the current new tariffs still being on offer at renewal time?

The 14.3p average is based on the September 2021 tariff (used the 4H0230 tariff as the 3H0330 tariff no longer exists), and the 9p is based on my current prices (December 2019 tariff)

Rocox

Former Avro customer here. Is the cheapest option for me to stick with the Flexible Octopus tariff for the next 6 months and reassess?

Telegraph_Sam

It seems to be nice to be wrong on this occasion even if in the longer term = at renewal time at the end of the current fixed rate contract it is likely that the choice of what is on offer will be less favourable as a result of the "Avro penalty". May be things will have settled down a bit by then.

When you say "assuming I am allowed to do so" this implies that perhaps you may not (be allowed ...)? !

masonic

Rocox said:

Former Avro customer here. Is the cheapest option for me to stick with the Flexible Octopus tariff for the next 6 months and reassess?

Effectively Flexible Octopus cannot now be increased for 6 months as it is a SoLR deemed tariff (it's only £10 below the price cap apparently anyway). Some of the supply problems that have resulted in current pricing look as though they'll resolve in early 2022, so I think it is likely there will be cheaper fixes available in 6 months than there are today. There are still small suppliers offering cheap deals, but I'd be wary of those!

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

When you say "assuming I am allowed to do so" this implies that perhaps you may not (be allowed ...)? !

I was talking about renewing Go Faster. I do not meet the eligibility criteria, so I'm not taking it for granted that they'll let me continue beyond May next year when my contract expires.

[Deleted User]

Telegraph_Sam said:

It seems to be nice to be wrong on this occasion even if in the longer term = at renewal time at the end of the current fixed rate contract it is likely that the choice of what is on offer will be less favourable as a result of the "Avro penalty". May be things will have settled down a bit by then.

When you say "assuming I am allowed to do so" this implies that perhaps you may not (be allowed ...)? !

There may well be a cost to Octopus that it will seek to recover from Ofgem. If Ofgem agrees to recompense Octopus for the additional costs that it has incurred then Ofgem will spread the cost all suppliers and all energy consumers.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/media/press-releases/failed-energy-suppliers-cost-consumers-255m-since-2018-says-citizens-advice/

QrizB

A question for the current Octopus customers. My switch completes tomorrow. I've seen people talking hereabout an Octoups App but I can't see one for Android in the Play store; there's one from Octopus US but not a UK one. Which app should I be looking for?

masonic

QrizB said:

A question for the current Octopus customers. My switch completes tomorrow. I've seen people talking hereabout an Octoups App but I can't see one for Android in the Play store; there's one from Octopus US but not a UK one. Which app should I be looking for?

They have an iOS app, but the Android app is still in development. The website is fine for my needs.

[Deleted User]

QrizB said:

A question for the current Octopus customers. My switch completes tomorrow. I've seen people talking hereabout an Octoups App but I can't see one for Android in the Play store; there's one from Octopus US but not a UK one. Which app should I be looking for?

As above for IOS.   Octopusenergy

Account information is also available online which if set up also includes 30 minute usage data.

Umiamz

QrizB said:

A question for the current Octopus customers. My switch completes tomorrow. I've seen people talking hereabout an Octoups App but I can't see one for Android in the Play store; there's one from Octopus US but not a UK one. Which app should I be looking for?

If the Android one, when available, is anything like the iOS one, you're not missing anything. It's pretty much the Octopus website in a wrapper. There's no biometric authentication and it's slower than the website, so I've taken to using the website instead.