Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Telegraph_Sam

Seems to me that the more you are willing to "skew" your lifestyle the greater the savings that you can make from TOU-ing.   For me personally that would be the tail wagging the dog which is why I have been considering the alternatives.  I have used Citizens Advice on occasions for this but cannot recall seeing any mention of Symbio.

niktheguru

masonic said:

So in essence they adjust your DD to keep your account in credit by an amount that exceeds a month's usage? As opposed to having 3 or 4 month's credit build up over the summer to offset winter usage as happens with a conventional DD. Yes, this would be a non issue for me, and would have ended up with them in January after my previous supplier went bust if it hadn't been for the opportunity to recoup my losses with some Octopus referral credit and the prospect of TOU to make further savings.

Not quite, they’d overestimate the first month so you overpaid, the difference would be reconciled in the following month as long as you gave a meter reading, however their estimate for the subsequent month would be even higher thus you being billed even more, and the pattern would continue so many people would end up with significant credit balances, which they would then find difficult to get refunded, particularly when switching away as symbio don’t seem to be very good at producing final bills in time, and thus not refunding back very quickly. I got round this by agreeing a fixed direct debit after they massively rogered me at the start by getting my EAC  wrong (5x higher) and my first direct debit was over 250 quid! Ended up getting part refunded after many phone calls. Then kept a very close eye and ensured my balance was usually in slight debit. Was an interesting experience but would use them again if I found them to be much cheaper.

Telegraph_Sam

I think I'd pay extra in order not to have to endure such treatment. So far I have got Octopus to agree to me maintaining a +/- zero balance once a month.

Telegraph_Sam

I thought I'd celebrate the switch to Tracker by submitting an "opening" meter reading - and was rewarded (for the 2nd time) by a £1 win on the Wheel of Fortune. The credit will unfortunately screw up my financial calculations 

masonic

niktheguru said:

masonic said:

So in essence they adjust your DD to keep your account in credit by an amount that exceeds a month's usage? As opposed to having 3 or 4 month's credit build up over the summer to offset winter usage as happens with a conventional DD. Yes, this would be a non issue for me, and would have ended up with them in January after my previous supplier went bust if it hadn't been for the opportunity to recoup my losses with some Octopus referral credit and the prospect of TOU to make further savings.

Not quite, they’d overestimate the first month so you overpaid, the difference would be reconciled in the following month as long as you gave a meter reading, however their estimate for the subsequent month would be even higher thus you being billed even more, and the pattern would continue so many people would end up with significant credit balances, which they would then find difficult to get refunded, particularly when switching away as symbio don’t seem to be very good at producing final bills in time, and thus not refunding back very quickly. I got round this by agreeing a fixed direct debit after they massively rogered me at the start by getting my EAC  wrong (5x higher) and my first direct debit was over 250 quid! Ended up getting part refunded after many phone calls. Then kept a very close eye and ensured my balance was usually in slight debit. Was an interesting experience but would use them again if I found them to be much cheaper.

Ok, that would be annoying. The bigger risk with such a high credit balance is if the supplier goes bust it can take months, in extreme cases over a year, to get the money back.

bristolleedsfan

masonic said:

 I don't have a battery or EV, but use little electricity between 4-7 pm and get up earlier in the morning than most people.

Electric heating ????

bristolleedsfan

Telegraph_Sam said:

 I have used Citizens Advice on occasions for this but cannot recall seeing any mention of Symbio.

Symbio only show on Electricity only comparisons being as they do not currently supply Gas

Neon Reef E only - 12 month Fixed North East 13.41 per kwh SC 14.25 per day

bristolleedsfan

masonic said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

Horses for courses. I seem to remember Avro and Outfox the Market being the closest fixed rate rivals with no exit fees but reviews and feedback didn't motivate me to join either..

  Outfox has had an actual problem with lack of customer service, bad enough that Ofgem took enforcement action, but a lot of bad feedback comes from unreasonable customer expectations.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78208674/#Comment_78208674

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/energy-companies/which-energy-survey-results-ajqM43e6ycY8    11 March 2021   1. Outfox the Market  Customer score 82%

masonic

bristolleedsfan said:

masonic said:

 I don't have a battery or EV, but use little electricity between 4-7 pm and get up earlier in the morning than most people.

Electric heating ????

Yes, although I'm down to <5 kWh/day on heating now, despite the cold spell. That will fall away completely over the next couple of months. Whether Agile will work as well for me in the depths of winter remains to be seen - it certainly wouldn't have this winter passed, as prices really spiked just as my usage would have been highest (same with the Tracker). So it may be that I fix for the winter and TOU for the rest of the year.

bristolleedsfan said:

masonic said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

Horses for courses. I seem to remember Avro and Outfox the Market being the closest fixed rate rivals with no exit fees but reviews and feedback didn't motivate me to join either..

  Outfox has had an actual problem with lack of customer service, bad enough that Ofgem took enforcement action, but a lot of bad feedback comes from unreasonable customer expectations.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78208674/#Comment_78208674

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/energy-companies/which-energy-survey-results-ajqM43e6ycY8    11 March 2021   1. Outfox the Market  Customer score 82%

What a transformation! I guess being prevented from taking on new customers is a good incentive to invest in customer service.

Telegraph_Sam

I have always felt that rather more "weight" ought to be given in search engine rankings to customer service feedback.
Octopus tell me that at 4 pm each day they publish the next day's Tracker prices, somewhere on the website. But they don't say where. Has anyone sussed this out?