Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Northern_Wanderer

Telegraph_Sam said:

I'd be prepared to "lose out" in terms of p/kWh gas over the summer if in return I got a better deal over the winter - such as being protected by a 11 p cap for 12 months. The problem is to establish if this is definitely what the current Tracker version offers

There are so few choices, V3 could be withdrawn at any time....and replaced with a higher cap, then you might kick yourself by how much you "lose out". I'm not going to get into a discussion about the cap changing on the current version. It's all a gamble, only you can decide.

https://octopus.energy/tracker-faqs/

Alnat1

@Telegraph_Sam  could be dangerous is a bit drastic. There's no exit fee, you can switch to another tariff immediately should the cap or fees change to an unacceptable level, not a great problem really.

Telegraph_Sam

The "danger" is - obviously - that if I switch to Tracker Gas and subsequently decide that I want something else, by then the choice will be even less than now.even if the switch itself is painless.
I am waiting for Octopus to revert to me on the subject of the "life" of the present Tracker  cap. It is obviously not a simple question.
Underlying this is the basic question: Does the cap apply to the unit price, or in some way to my total annual spend?  If the latter does that mean that if I reach the spend limit in the course of a Tracker contract, Octopus would simply stop charging me regardless of my ongoing consumption? This strikes me as unlikely

SJMALBA

Telegraph_Sam said:

The "danger" is - obviously - that if I switch to Tracker Gas and subsequently decide that I want something else, by then the choice will be even less than now.even if the switch itself is painless.
I am waiting for Octopus to revert to me on the subject of the "life" of the present Tracker  cap. It is obviously not a simple question.
Underlying this is the basic question: Does the cap apply to the unit price, or in some way to my total annual spend?  If the latter does that mean that if I reach the spend limit in the course of a Tracker contract, Octopus would simply stop charging me regardless of my ongoing consumption? This strikes me as unlikely

The cap is in respect of the unit rates.

See 'Octopus Tracker' thread for lots of discussion on the unit rate cap.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

This from Savers United would seem to contradict hopes that Tracker's cap would be any longer than Flexible's

"I spoke with Octopus CS a couple of hours ago regarding tracker, no problem if I want to switch tariff (gas only) but could not guarantee the 11p cap. Just said that markets are so volatile that the cap could increase anytime but that I would be given at least 30 days notice, added that if after 4 weeks it was not working I could switch to another tariff. 
Said the cap would likely change in October in line with Ofgem changes"

I agree with k_man's observations above. Speaking to the OS person on these matters is not very confidence inspiring.  In the circs going by precedent alone (no increase in cap during the lifetime of a particular version) could be dangerous. Worth investigating further though.

Octopus CS have come up with a few howlers recently, like "everyone was moved onto Tracker v3 when it was released". The precedent that has been set makes this low risk, but not zero risk. There is no way of guaranteeing you pick the best tariff.

bristolleedsfan

Subject of product caps, friend not from forum with go faster 2030 hours due for renewal next month, after being given typeform asking what make of EV have, sent screenshot of Agile 35pkWh maximum guarantee asking is the cap fixed 12 months, reply was subject to change.

Followed up with screenshot of reply someone here had that unit rates are protected for 12 months asked "would that apply to me"

Reply  " As Agile is not a fixed tariff the cap on this can change, though we do try and avoid this, would always give notice to customer, I am sorry if this has not been made clear"

Telegraph_Sam

I'm anything but convinced that there is one official Octopus hymn sheet.  I have been pursuing similar lines of enquiry and was told that Tracker (i.e. not Agile) would have a 12 month cap fix. I hope they don't have second thoughts.

masonic

Keep any evidence that you were told the cap would be fixed. If needed, it can be used to argue that they should honour it in your case. It's rather easy for them to do so for one customer who was misinformed as a gesture of good will.

Telegraph_Sam

I agree and have put what I wss told in sn email. It would be relevant to know if in the past there are examples of specifically Tracker customers having their terms amended less than 12 months into the contract.

MWT

Telegraph_Sam said:

I agree and have put what I wss told in sn email. It would be relevant to know if in the past there are examples of specifically Tracker customers having their terms amended less than 12 months into the contract.

There will be no such examples as they have not done that for the V1 & V2 tariffs as the subsequent versions were released.

If you want to wait for absolute certainty on this point you'll probably find that V4 is out before you make a decision...