Octopus Tracker

northernstar007

ive just had my bill in for april and again i am getting charged avg useage, the total price for the month on the app is the same as my bill but usage is being avg, ive given up 
on 13th april for example 8.96p kw i blasted it 7.70kw charged 3.71kw thats just 1 day another day i scored i done loads of cooking 6.09kw charged 3.67kw @14.47p
i might aswell just use electric as much on high days as on low it makes no difference imo
and this is the same as my gas usage, getting cheesed off but still loads cheaper than svr i been charged avg electric 13.54p kw and gas 3.71 kw

will this be a issue if i go on agile

masonic

northernstar007 said:

ive just had my bill in for april and again i am getting charged avg useage, the total price for the month on the app is the same as my bill but usage is being avg, ive given up 
on 13th april for example 8.96p kw i blasted it 7.70kw charged 3.71kw thats just 1 day another day i scored i done loads of cooking 6.09kw charged 3.67kw @14.47p
i might aswell just use electric as much on high days as on low it makes no difference imo
and this is the same as my gas usage, getting cheesed off but still loads cheaper than svr i been charged avg electric 13.54p kw and gas 3.71 kw

Did you not submit manual readings either side of days you cared about as suggested previously?

northernstar007 said:

will this be a issue if i go on agile

No, because Agile does not use meter readings for billing, so no bill will be produced without complete consumption data for the period. You might have a problem with not being billed if there is an underlying problem with Octopus receiving your consumption data.

northernstar007

no i didnt put new readings in just once a month on the 1st, life shouldnt be around keep putting readings in to keep my bill upto date the odd day i have scored with usage and price
im still on the old cheaper tracker tariff till nov i dont want to open a can of worms with octopus

masonic

northernstar007 said:

no i didnt put new readings in just once a month on the 1st, life shouldnt be around keep putting readings in to keep my bill upto date the odd day i have scored with usage and price
im still on the old cheaper tracker tariff till nov i dont want to open a can of worms with octopus

Have you tried not submitting any manual readings? This could cause a bill to be generated before all of the consumption data is available.

northernstar007

i will give that a try for this month, i will wait till the bill has been produced then stick my readings in
that could be the issue as i'm putting my readings in 1 min past midnight on the 1st

northernstar007

also ive noticed since the clocks went forward, on the app its showing usage from the previous day as today for 1 hr eg yesterday 11pm-midnight on todays readings, could this be a error on my meter sys

Telegraph_Sam

I am struggling to follow the reasoning here, e.g. Agile not using meter readings for billing. That apart,  my experience might be relevant - frequent feedback from Oct Compare saying that it can't do the Tracker : Agile comparison due to lack of consumption data for a named date in the recent past. [I am on Tracker]. My normal smart reading date is tomorrow. I am on the point of submitting a manual reading now. If there is some mystery over missing data then I should have at this (monthly) reading to fall back on.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

I am struggling to follow the reasoning here, e.g. Agile not using meter readings for billing. That apart,  my experience might be relevant - frequent feedback from Oct Compare saying that it can't do the Tracker : Agile comparison due to lack of consumption data for a named date in the recent past. [I am on Tracker]. My normal smart reading date is tomorrow. I am on the point of submitting a manual reading now. If there is some mystery over missing data then I should have at this (monthly) reading to fall back on.

For billing Agile requires every half hour consumption amount and doesn't use index readings at all. The consumption for each half hour is multiplied by the rate for that half hour and the total is what you are billed. 

Whereas Tracker requires index readings and daily smart consumption readings for the whole billing period to apportion usage to the correct day. A bill generated without the latter will just use industry averages for the daily breakdown. If you'd rather get a bill on a specific day at the potential expense of not being charged the correct daily rate for units then your approach is fine. You might not have any accuracy issues if your data is available by the time the bill is calculated.

Telegraph_Sam

Thanks for the clarification. I take this to infer that if I would like to have the certainty that my bills relate to the meter readings (manual and/or smart) then that would be a reason for preferring Tracker (as is) to Agile. I suspect that keeping tabs on Agile's billing requires more dedication than for the average Tracker? Are there "reasonable" checks that achieve this?

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Thanks for the clarification. I take this to infer that if I would like to have the certainty that my bills relate to the meter readings (manual and/or smart) then that would be a reason for preferring Tracker (as is) to Agile. I suspect that keeping tabs on Agile's billing requires more dedication than for the average Tracker? Are there "reasonable" checks that achieve this?

Agile bills definitely do not relate to the meter readings, only consumption data. But index readings are generated from the same consumption data. Reasonable checks would involve having knowledge of your usage, checking the bill is in line with Octopus Compare, etc. Ultimately you have to have some faith that the meter is accurately measuring what you use, as you don't have an independent meter to check against, and if consumption was not measured accurately, likely, neither would the index readings.

When I'm not experiencing billing problems, I pay no attention to the index readings at all and certainly don't submit any manual readings. This includes when I am on Tracker.