Octopus Energy reviews: Give your feedback

Telegraph_Sam

Simple: It's what you call the market  place, made more transparent by the (better) search engines. Everyone decides in their own interests (surprise). If the point comes where the differential between fixed and variable tariffs, or between exit fees and no exit fees,gets so great, then the likes of me change their decision. To the ultimate point of getting a smart meter    Not forgetting that the very "cheapest deals" probably come with dodgy customer service. Classic balancing act trade-off.

masonic

bristolleedsfan said:

masonic said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

Simple: As long as there sre a few fixed rate no exit fee deals on offer I can save myself the hassle of evaluating alternatives with all the factoring in of the variables that is involved. With the probability of having to repeat the exercise as things change. There is a value in avoiding hassle which I would be prepared to pay a "modest" premium for. I regard no exit fees as a sign of confidence by the supplier in his offer rather than having to lock customers in to an inferior package when they get disillusioned.

Well yes, if you exclude all the cheapest deals it is much easier to convince yourself you are on a good one already

Or if pick tariff(s) with no exit fees that is  handy to keep conversation about tariffs ongoing The no brainer for most people who would not benefit from Agile, wants a fixed rate with no exit penalties, does not want to go with Symbio would be to get a Smart Meter installed for Go/Go Faster Tariff currently around 13.95 kwh rate level 12 month fixed ( end of conversation about tariffs, enjoy the summer and probably winter as well)

The longer dilemma continues fixed rate tariffs have been increasing in price, everybody knew that would happen from April 1st onwards tariffs from energy companies with reasonably decent reputation that were below old  energy price cap level would increase in price to be above old cap level and below new cap level

Agree this looks like a good option, mostly looking ahead to next winter. If you use >15-20% of your energy during the cheap period (depending on option picked, 3H/4H/5H) then it would even match Symbio's cheapest fix (which has crept up in price just in the last few days). I was looking to spend the summer on Agile and switch to Go Faster in the winter but given the price trends I am tempted to lock in now in case the rates for Go are put up.

Telegraph_Sam said:

Not forgetting that the very "cheapest deals" probably come with dodgy customer service. Classic balancing act trade-off.

I've switched around for the very cheapest deals for over a decade, and mostly customer service has been good, some new suppliers have excellent CS. CS generally bears no relationship to price, with the rather more expensive big 6 suppliers having a poor record. I do have reservations about the very cheapest supplier of the moment - Symbio - but this isn't CS-related, it is due to them picking up huge regulatory fines which I think put them at significant risk of going out of business. Should this happen towards the end of the year when suppliers tend to be under greater pressure due to high energy demand in the market, a cheap deal can very quickly turn into an expensive deemed tariff from a supplier of last resort, which you can get stuck on for 1-2 months.

Telegraph_Sam

I agree that what may be the best deal at the beginning of the (summer) season may not be in the autumn and one makes one's choices accordingly at the time, exit fees permitting. One can only go by feedback and comments on CS, with some of the very cheapest sharing the "honours" with the big 6. Hopefully there is neutral ground in between when the time comes.

masonic

masonic said:

bristolleedsfan said:

masonic said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

Simple: As long as there sre a few fixed rate no exit fee deals on offer I can save myself the hassle of evaluating alternatives with all the factoring in of the variables that is involved. With the probability of having to repeat the exercise as things change. There is a value in avoiding hassle which I would be prepared to pay a "modest" premium for. I regard no exit fees as a sign of confidence by the supplier in his offer rather than having to lock customers in to an inferior package when they get disillusioned.

Well yes, if you exclude all the cheapest deals it is much easier to convince yourself you are on a good one already

Or if pick tariff(s) with no exit fees that is  handy to keep conversation about tariffs ongoing The no brainer for most people who would not benefit from Agile, wants a fixed rate with no exit penalties, does not want to go with Symbio would be to get a Smart Meter installed for Go/Go Faster Tariff currently around 13.95 kwh rate level 12 month fixed ( end of conversation about tariffs, enjoy the summer and probably winter as well)

The longer dilemma continues fixed rate tariffs have been increasing in price, everybody knew that would happen from April 1st onwards tariffs from energy companies with reasonably decent reputation that were below old  energy price cap level would increase in price to be above old cap level and below new cap level

Agree this looks like a good option, mostly looking ahead to next winter. If you use >15-20% of your energy during the cheap period (depending on option picked, 3H/4H/5H) then it would even match Symbio's cheapest fix (which has crept up in price just in the last few days). I was looking to spend the summer on Agile and switch to Go Faster in the winter but given the price trends I am tempted to lock in now in case the rates for Go are put up.

I decided to take the plunge and moved from Agile to Go Faster 3H from 03:30 yesterday. My first 4 weeks on Agile were not too bad considering the spike in prices, 13.3p average, but much of that was down to the price plunge I benefited from at the very beginning, last week's average was 15.2p. My first day on Go Faster came out at a 9.7p average, and I would have made a 12% saving in the previous 4 weeks not considering any load shifting I could have done (I tended to make use of the cheap pricing at 3-4pm on Agile as well as the early morning).

Agile prices should come down this month, and my usage in the early morning will drop in the summer, so with very low summer usage I could end up paying slightly more, but looking ahead to next winter I think I'll be glad to have locked in these prices.

Umiamz

masonic said:

I decided to take the plunge and moved from Agile to Go Faster 3H from 03:30 yesterday. My first 4 weeks on Agile were not too bad considering the spike in prices, 13.3p average, but much of that was down to the price plunge I benefited from at the very beginning, last week's average was 15.2p. My first day on Go Faster came out at a 9.7p average, and I would have made a 12% saving in the previous 4 weeks not considering any load shifting I could have done (I tended to make use of the cheap pricing at 3-4pm on Agile as well as the early morning).

Agile prices should come down this month, and my usage in the early morning will drop in the summer, so with very low summer usage I could end up paying slightly more, but looking ahead to next winter I think I'll be glad to have locked in these prices.

Despite what I said a few weeks back I also took the plunge after being on Agile for a couple of years and moved to Go Faster 5H from 20:30. Already saving around 20% a day. I've also moved from Tracker to Flexible Octopus for gas - that's now 2.88p/kWh as opposed to 3.3-3.4 p/kWh.

I may change back in a few months, depending on the market...

Telegraph_Sam

I'd be interested to know what conclusions you eventually come to (if any of thr Go's are worth it if one's early morning consumption is practically zero)
I got my first Tracker invoice yesterday. Interestingly the invoice said  "..you're already on our cheapest tariff..."  I wonder how they can compare it with Agile & Go & co.

bristolleedsfan

Telegraph_Sam said:

I'd be interested to know what conclusions you eventually come to (if any of thr Go's are worth it if one's early morning consumption is practically zero)

Octopus Go 12.93pkwh  inc vat, North East region fixed 12 months outside of 5pkwh rate slots that is "similar" rate to 12 month fix you seemingly had from April 2020, that rate is even more fantastic now

Umiamz

Telegraph_Sam said:

I'd be interested to know what conclusions you eventually come to (if any of thr Go's are worth it if one's early morning consumption is practically zero)
I got my first Tracker invoice yesterday. Interestingly the invoice said  "..you're already on our cheapest tariff..."  I wonder how they can compare it with Agile & Go & co.

I think every single statement that I've had from Octopus, regardless of tariff, has said that I'm already on the cheapest one, even when it's clear that I'm not!

When I start doing longer journeys again it will be ideal on Go Faster to have that 5 hours at 5.5p to charge my Leaf.

niktheguru

Telegraph_Sam said:

I'd be interested to know what conclusions you eventually come to (if any of thr Go's are worth it if one's early morning consumption is practically zero)
I got my first Tracker invoice yesterday. Interestingly the invoice said  "..you're already on our cheapest tariff..."  I wonder how they can compare it with Agile & Go & co.

It's irrelevant when you use your energy. At this present time octopus go is cheaper, and go faster is even cheaper.....no question. As the peak rate charged for 20 hours in the day is still better than any fixed/variable/tracker unit rate currently offered by octopus.

My month on tracker has been quite an expensive one, compared to symbio who I was with before that which was cheap as chips (10p/kwh), but now feeling much happier with a peak usage tariff at 14p/kwh and an off peak of 5p where I will now be doing the car charging, dishwasher and washing machine/dryer activity. Whether it'll be cheaper than my previous symbio tariff I'm not sure, but the cheapest tariff with them from may was going to be 12.9p/kwh....so thought I'd see if I could get cheaper with octopus.


Oh, and Sam in your case octopus won't be comparing your tracker tariff with agile/go....they can't as they don't have 30min usage data from you so it will only be a comparison between their mainstream tariffs. (Technically all the tou tariffs are still beta anyways)

Telegraph_Sam

That was the tentative conclusion I was coming to: You can't compare Smart with non- Smart consumption without jumping through a lot of hoops.
That said, I wouldn't object to paying a bit more than Symbio but it would be interesting to. be able to compare  and monitor Tracker with the Go's even if it meant making some assumptions along the way. Get a feel for what incentive there would be to go smart. Is there a practical way of doing this?