Fixed price deal tariff being increased

rnicho99

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

I am contacting octopus today to ask for their legal teams contact information and to do a subject access request. I have started the process of filling out the small claims court documents as well

You do not need to contact their legal team for an SAR.

Any legal claim should be sent to their registered office.
Octopus Energy Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales.Registered number: 09263424.Registered office: UK House, 5th floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1NN.

Thanks for that. I was just getting the SAR from octopus and asking for the legal team's contact information separately. I also wanted them to know that i am planning to take it to court to see if it prompted them to give me a resolution before we get to that

When you say "wanted them to know" do you mean a nicely worded letter? You specifically need to send them a Letter Before Action first, giving them time to respond, you need to give them a minimum of two weeks to respond to that before you commence court action.

I wasn't aware that was the process. Thank you for that. I will do that first. It will be nicely worded, I have had too many nasty customers myself to become one of them

MattMattMattUK

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

I am contacting octopus today to ask for their legal teams contact information and to do a subject access request. I have started the process of filling out the small claims court documents as well

You do not need to contact their legal team for an SAR.

Any legal claim should be sent to their registered office.
Octopus Energy Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales.Registered number: 09263424.Registered office: UK House, 5th floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1NN.

Thanks for that. I was just getting the SAR from octopus and asking for the legal team's contact information separately. I also wanted them to know that i am planning to take it to court to see if it prompted them to give me a resolution before we get to that

When you say "wanted them to know" do you mean a nicely worded letter? You specifically need to send them a Letter Before Action first, giving them time to respond, you need to give them a minimum of two weeks to respond to that before you commence court action.

I wasn't aware that was the process. Thank you for that. I will do that first. It will be nicely worded, I have had too many nasty customers myself to become one of them

You need to send them an LBA giving them two weeks to respond laying out on what basis you plan to claim against them in the small claims court. Have you worked out the legal basis for your claim?

rnicho99

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

I am contacting octopus today to ask for their legal teams contact information and to do a subject access request. I have started the process of filling out the small claims court documents as well

You do not need to contact their legal team for an SAR.

Any legal claim should be sent to their registered office.
Octopus Energy Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales.Registered number: 09263424.Registered office: UK House, 5th floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1NN.

Thanks for that. I was just getting the SAR from octopus and asking for the legal team's contact information separately. I also wanted them to know that i am planning to take it to court to see if it prompted them to give me a resolution before we get to that

When you say "wanted them to know" do you mean a nicely worded letter? You specifically need to send them a Letter Before Action first, giving them time to respond, you need to give them a minimum of two weeks to respond to that before you commence court action.

I wasn't aware that was the process. Thank you for that. I will do that first. It will be nicely worded, I have had too many nasty customers myself to become one of them

You need to send them an LBA giving them two weeks to respond laying out on what basis you plan to claim against them in the small claims court. Have you worked out the legal basis for your claim?

Im trying to get some legal advice from citizens advice on all of this. The basis of the complaint is being Mis-sold a product and then this being backed up with a contract matching what I was told over the phone and not being informed verbally or in writing that the price is subject to change based on the market cap

Astria

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

I am contacting octopus today to ask for their legal teams contact information and to do a subject access request. I have started the process of filling out the small claims court documents as well

You do not need to contact their legal team for an SAR.

Any legal claim should be sent to their registered office.
Octopus Energy Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales.Registered number: 09263424.Registered office: UK House, 5th floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1NN.

Thanks for that. I was just getting the SAR from octopus and asking for the legal team's contact information separately. I also wanted them to know that i am planning to take it to court to see if it prompted them to give me a resolution before we get to that

When you say "wanted them to know" do you mean a nicely worded letter? You specifically need to send them a Letter Before Action first, giving them time to respond, you need to give them a minimum of two weeks to respond to that before you commence court action.

I wasn't aware that was the process. Thank you for that. I will do that first. It will be nicely worded, I have had too many nasty customers myself to become one of them

You need to send them an LBA giving them two weeks to respond laying out on what basis you plan to claim against them in the small claims court. Have you worked out the legal basis for your claim?

Im trying to get some legal advice from citizens advice on all of this. The basis of the complaint is being Mis-sold a product and then this being backed up with a contract matching what I was told over the phone and not being informed verbally or in writing that the price is subject to change based on the market cap

I doubt citizens advice with you free legal advice on a matter such as this, so you might want to contact a solicitor before you take Octopus to the small claims court. How much is your actual loss that you are claiming for?

bristolleedsfan

rnicho99 said:

Dolor said:

rnicho99 said:

Dolor said:

rnicho99 said:

Hi, I have the same issue. I have just spoken with the ombudsmen, and they agreed with my claim. However, they have said the maximum fine they can pay is £125 which is nowhere near the extra costs I have incurred. Can anyone help with where I go now with this. I have seen people suggest getting a solicitor, but I have no idea where to start with this.

The difference with my case is I signed up over the phone, and they didn't mention that the price changes they have admitted this on one of my email correspondence with their complaints team. However, when their complaints team contacted me they told me "we are just going to tell the ombudsmen that you signed up online" which they did right underneath the email saying i did it over the phone.

Any help or advice anyone can offer would be much appreciated.

Thanks

The Ombudsman doesn’t issue fines: it is not a Regulator. The £125 would be regarded as a ‘goodwill payment’ for customer service failings. If you have lost out financially, then The Ombudsman would normally expect the supplier to cover the extra costs that you incurred in addition to the goodwill payment. For example, correcting an erroneous bill. What was The Ombudsman’s Final Decision (written) on your case: if you have actually submitted one?

If you can demonstrate that you have actually incurred a financial loss then normally you would make a claim in the Small Claims Court (no solicitor needed). You can use The Ombudsman’s Final Decision in support of your case. However, before you do so you need to be 100% sure of your facts. If your case is thrown out you might up paying the supplier’s legal fees.

Thanks for the advice. I will have a look into how to submit a claim with small claims court now. I have been sent the decision from the ombudsman service now and it's awaiting my response to accept, challenge or decline their decision.

What does it say about the supplier correcting any billing anomalies?  If you decline the Final Decision then your complaint is effectively struck out: that is, neither the supplier nor The Ombudsman will take any further action. If you go to Court, the supplier can still refer to the Decision that you declined to accept as part of its defence against your claim. 

Here is the conclusion submitted by the ombudsman

"Conclusion

I have explained that I am not able to agree to your request for your account to be placed on the original quoted tariff prices and have highlighted that as this is a business decision of Octopus that this is outside of the Ombudsman Services remit.

The best outcome I have seen Octopus offer was following complaint made after first Price Promise rate increase, there was not a lot of difference between July 2021 Price Promise Tariff and 2 year fixed July version available at the time,

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78690521/#Comment_78690521

Chrysalis

rnicho99 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

rnicho99 said:

I am contacting octopus today to ask for their legal teams contact information and to do a subject access request. I have started the process of filling out the small claims court documents as well

You do not need to contact their legal team for an SAR.

Any legal claim should be sent to their registered office.
Octopus Energy Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales.Registered number: 09263424.Registered office: UK House, 5th floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1NN.

Thanks for that. I was just getting the SAR from octopus and asking for the legal team's contact information separately. I also wanted them to know that i am planning to take it to court to see if it prompted them to give me a resolution before we get to that

Yes give them a hint of your intentions, someone on here did the same last year and Octopus caved without it going to court as a result.

rnicho99

rnicho99 said:

Hi, I have the same issue. I have just spoken with the ombudsmen, and they agreed with my claim. However, they have said the maximum fine they can pay is £125 which is nowhere near the extra costs I have incurred. Can anyone help with where I go now with this. I have seen people suggest getting a solicitor, but I have no idea where to start with this.

The difference with my case is I signed up over the phone, and they didn't mention that the price changes they have admitted this on one of my email correspondence with their complaints team. However, when their complaints team contacted me they told me "we are just going to tell the ombudsmen that you signed up online" which they did right underneath the email saying i did it over the phone.

Any help or advice anyone can offer would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Quick update on this. I sent an email to octopus legal team informing them of my intention to go to small claims court. They contacted me the next day and changed my tariff to a 2020 tariff. Backdated it to the start of my contract in August 2021 till sept 2023. I am now massively in credit from being largely in debt. They also applied the £125 credit as an apology. 

Thank you all for your help and advice 

ariarnia

thank you for coming back to update. i'm sure anyone else in the same kind of situation will find it useful if they are looking for help like you were

Unclefoobar

This was sent to me from Octopus. I did look for it on the Ombudsman website but couldn't see it (admittedly didn't look very hard)

bristolleedsfan

Interesting the part about Octopus explaining that the tariff was only available via its website. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79815706/#Comment_79815706