Octopus Energy takes on Avro customers

WeeManMike

Well, if it puts anyone's mind at ease, I've literally come back from a few weeks away from the world with very minimal contact with the news and HOLY S**T what's happened!!

I had been given a move date to Avro from Igloo of 3rd Oct and I thought all was well, ooooh how wrong was I!

Anyway, I'm sitting tight waiting for confirmation from Octopus that they have taken over my account, otherwise it's sit tight for even longer waiting for Ofgem to give my Igloo account to another supplier instead.

Oh how I'm wishing for my hot tub, minimal mobile signal and no tv in the valleys of Wales once again. 

LippyDoodle

WeeManMike said:

Well, if it puts anyone's mind at ease, I've literally come back from a few weeks away from the world with very minimal contact with the news and HOLY S**T what's happened!!

I had been given a move date to Avro from Igloo of 3rd Oct and I thought all was well, ooooh how wrong was I!

Anyway, I'm sitting tight waiting for confirmation from Octopus that they have taken over my account, otherwise it's sit tight for even longer waiting for Ofgem to give my Igloo account to another supplier instead.

Oh how I'm wishing for my hot tub, minimal mobile signal and no tv in the valleys of Wales once again. 

Blimey I bet it was a shock!  anyhow, welcome aboard lol.

Ultrasonic

xlnc99 said:

Ultrasonic said:

@xlnc99 in posts above you keep focusing on the cost per kWh for gas and electricity but it is vital for any meaningful comparison that you factor in the standing charge too. 

On the Neon Reef question, like others here they seem like a pretty big gamble right now in terms of not going bust soon, and it also forces the complication of having gas and electricity supplies with different companies.

I dont understand but i dont really look too much at standing charges. The reason why - its a very small tiny percentage of your overall cost. Even a very very high standing charge per day results in a small amount of the course of the year. Ive done calculations with a very low standing charge and a high charge but it really makes little difference to the overal bill. KWH is the main thing to look at

No, the total cost is. Say one tariff has a unit price that is 0.5p cheaper but the standing charge is 10p more, which is better? It's not obvious and will depend on each individual's usage.

As a generalisation, the standing charge will be a more significant proportion of the total cost for those that use a lower total amount of energy than those who use a lot. For context, I'm a low energy user and on my current tariff the standing charges account for about 28% of my total bill.

I'm just trying to help you here. I appreciate it's tempting to try to simplify things by just looking at the unit prices but if you really want to know you're getting the best deal then you need to look at the full picture. 

xlnc99

Ultrasonic said:

xlnc99 said:

Ultrasonic said:

@xlnc99 in posts above you keep focusing on the cost per kWh for gas and electricity but it is vital for any meaningful comparison that you factor in the standing charge too. 

On the Neon Reef question, like others here they seem like a pretty big gamble right now in terms of not going bust soon, and it also forces the complication of having gas and electricity supplies with different companies.

I dont understand but i dont really look too much at standing charges. The reason why - its a very small tiny percentage of your overall cost. Even a very very high standing charge per day results in a small amount of the course of the year. Ive done calculations with a very low standing charge and a high charge but it really makes little difference to the overal bill. KWH is the main thing to look at

No, the total cost is. Say one tariff has a unit price that is 0.5p cheaper but the standing charge is 10p more, which is better? It's not obvious and will depend on each individuals usage.

As a generalisation, the standing charge will be a more significant proportion of the total cost for those that use a lower total amount of energy that those who use a lot. For context, I'm a low energy user and on my current tariff the standing charges account for about 28% of my total bill.

I'm just trying to help you here. I appreciate it's tempting to try to simplify things by just looking at the unit prices but if you really want to know you're getting the best deal then you need to look at the full picture. 

I see - i guess for me because there is more emphasis on energy as a lot is consumed the standing charge is insignificant in regards to that. But i do understand your point.

xlnc99

Does anyone here get the warm glow discount either for themselves, their parents or grand parents?

What exactly the the criteria -

Both parents retired, older then 70, one has severe issue with health and registered disabled. 

I realise you also need to register the priority services again too with your new provider

bristolleedsfan

xlnc99 said:

Does anyone here get the warm glow discount either for themselves, their parents or grand parents?

What exactly the the criteria -

https://utilityswitchboard.com/gas-electricity/providers/octopus-energy/warm-home-discount/

niktheguru

xlnc99 said:

Does anyone here get the warm glow discount either for themselves, their parents or grand parents?

What exactly the the criteria -

Both parents retired, older then 70, one has severe issue with health and registered disabled. 

I realise you also need to register the priority services again too with your new provider

You seem to be going at a hundred miles an hour desperate to find a very cheap deal that doesn't exist.

As many have said to you already, the wholesale prices have soared in the last few months. Most of the small companies who haven't sufficiently hedged their energy in advance or who had been giving loss leading deals (likely to siphon off money to their other "advisory" companies) have either gone bust or are going to go bust shortly.

There were some half decent deals with sainsburys energy, but these have since gone. For most the standard variable rate is the cheapest at the moment as most fixes are higher priced. Saying that in 6 months time no doubt the SVR is going to shoot up, so wether its worth fixing now and paying slightly higher but knowing it wont shoot up in 6 months is a gamble you'll have to work out for yourself if its worth it.

Like you said it may be worth moving to neon reef as they seem like the last of the energy suppliers to have a rate lower than the SVP....but given its sister company utility point recently folded, the writing is probably on the wall for them too, but saying that even if you get 1 month cheap it might be worth it, but not if you already have a large credit balance with your current company. Then if neon go bust, it may start ot become messy getting your credit back (even though its protected)

There are no secret comparison sites. The ones usually recommended here are the citizens advice switching tool, switch with which and MSE cheap energy club. But as people have said, the tariffs are changing so quickly it is essential to check the utility providers websites too to check that any deal still actually exists and is open to new customers. 

My advice would be to stick with octopus until your credit balance has been transferred then reasses.

xlnc99

I have decided - Its just too messy. Large balance of 700 credit with AVRO. Their gas is not the worst of prices, even though the electricity is quite big. But winter relies more on gas then electricity for me so i think ile stick with OCT for winter and change after when i get my ducks in a row for a more fixed term contract

Just to confirm - OCT cannot increase their price until April even though they have given us variable. Is that correct?

niktheguru

£700 credit!! you need to make sure you're not giving companies so much of your money at any one time! No wonder you're trying to shave 1-2p off each kwh energy!

Yes the prices shouldn't increase till april, saying that there are no exit fees, so you can leave whenever you want.

wiseonesomeofthetime

As the tariff is variable, I guess they could increase it to the Cap, however, I doubt they will.

A lot will depend on the terms agreed with Ofgem, I assume.