Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Umiamz

There are other threads for the smart meter paranoid

I'm happy with my Octopus smart meter tariffs - they are saving me a bomb

spudpie

Umiamz said:

There are other threads for the smart meter paranoid

I'm happy with my Octopus smart meter tariffs - they are saving me a bomb

The smart meter isn't saving you a penny. Switching things off is saving you the money. I don't need any kind of gadjet to tell me to switch something off. What I posted is fact. 

Umiamz

spudpie said:

The smart meter isn't saving you a penny. Switching things off is saving you the money. I don't need any kind of gadjet to tell me to switch something off. What I posted is fact. 

Yes, it is thanks to the smart meters. I'm on Agile Octopus where the price changes every half hour. I can charge my EV for less than 1p/kWh some days. Occasionally the price will go negative and I get credited for the electricity I use.

For gas, I'm on Tracker, which changes every day. It's currently 1.96p/kWh.

MWT

spudpie said:

The smart meter isn't saving you a penny. Switching things off is saving you the money. I don't need any kind of gadjet to tell me to switch something off. What I posted is fact. 

No, not a fact when it comes to Octopus.

Having the smart meters allows me to use the Agile tariff and I'm saving £5-10 a week as a result.

Nothing to do with switching stuff off, all about the variable tariff that is impossible without a smart meter.

Tonight they will be paying me to use power, thanks to an excess of wind generation...

fifthofwhisky

spudpie said:

I wouldn't bother with any kind of smart meter. They can be used to switch off your power supply remotely by means of the mobile phone network. This may well happen in the future when we have controlled power outages as demand for electricity  outstrips supply. In my opinion they could also be hacked by unfriendlies to do the same. Even though they are supposed to have been  tested against being hacked, I firmly believe anything can be hacked. 

Any idea what communication network smart meters use? Is it basically the same as a mobile phone?

Gerry1

fifthofwhisky said: Any idea what communication network smart meters use? Is it basically the same as a mobile phone?

Arqiva will provide the network for Scotland and the north of England using long-range radio communications.  Telefónica’s network will cover the rest of England and Wales using O2 cellular radio communications (technology typically used in mobile phone systems) plus “mesh” radio technology to supplement connectivity in a small number of hard to reach locations.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/426135/Smart_Metering_System_leaflet.pdf

Cardew

tom1211940 said:

Hi im with octopus energy/gas. if you sign up using my link below, you can receive £50 credit to your account.

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Joined today @ 00:32 and got in 10 spam message in 13 minutes!

livethedream

spudpie said:

There's a new version out now, Exclusive Octopus 12M Fixed February 2020 v2. 

My renewal e-mail received 45 days before the end of my current 12 month fix offered the 12M Fixed Feb 2020 v1 rates.
When I then checked the latest offering for my postcode directly on the Octopus website I was still offered only the v1 rates - and similarly only the v1 option was offered within my own Octopus account pages.
Having seen the v2 now being quoted on here I called them and queried how I now get the cheaper v2 rates and why was I not being offered them ?
I was then promptly offered the v2 rates without further discussion.

MWT

livethedream said:

spudpie said:

There's a new version out now, Exclusive Octopus 12M Fixed February 2020 v2. 

My renewal e-mail received 45 days before the end of my current 12 month fix offered the 12M Fixed Feb 2020 v1 rates.
When I then checked the latest offering for my postcode directly on the Octopus website I was still offered only the v1 rates - and similarly only the v1 option was offered within my own Octopus account pages.

'Octopus 12M Fixed February 2020 v1' was the correct one to offer for your renewal and also for any direct new orders,

'Exclusive Octopus 12M Fixed February 2020 v2' is not generally available and is one of the tariffs usually only offered on the switching sites.

No harm in asking though

oldflame

I changed to Octopus 9 months ago and had no problems with them until I decided to switch because I found a cheaper supplier. I noticed that they took an extra monthly direct debit payment AFTER my account was closed so I was then £80+ in credit to them. When I rang I asked why this was and they said it was a mistake but they couldn't refund me the credit until they got readings from my new supplier. I said that I had given the new reading to the new supplier two weeks earlier and I could let them know what they were but they said they could only accept them from the new supplier. I was then cheerfully told it can take up six weeks for a reading to appear and for credits to be refunded.  So I waited a further four weeks and had to contact Octopus again. It was only when I started talking about the interest they owed me that they finally agreed to refund my credit. Octopus are not to be trusted. I wouldn't use them again if this is how they treat customers who are leaving.
BTW - I notice that all the suppliers have a star rating on the Cheap Energy Club, how can I vote for the suppliers I have used?