Dispute With Octopus Energy

NotForQuitting

I recently moved home (in July) and set up a new electricity account with Scottish Power, however their billing did not take effect until three weeks after my move in date.

On the day I moved in I provided both Scottish Power and Octopus with the gas and electric meter readings. I was away from home on the switchover date so could not take readings.

Octopus have billed me for over £70 for the three weeks after I had moved in but I can see that they were basing this on a closing electric meter reading (estimated) which was higher even than what the actual meter reading was (which I entered on the Scottish Power website) 7 weeks after the switchover date.

I have disputed this with Octopus and they have now amended the bill using that reading (i.e. actual reading 7 weeks later) as their closing reading.

Obviously this has reduced the bill but it is quite obviously still not correct. Scottish Power estimate is that I use an average of £55 per month over the full year so there's no way the Octopus bill for the middle of summer can be accurate.

My question is where I stand legally if I simply refuse to pay the Octopus bill (I have no contract with them) and they're also still billing an unnamed occupant (presumably the previous resident) at my address for over £300. Will they be able to rack up late charges, debt collectors fees, etc and will I be legally liable for this?

I have no intention of paying both Octopus and Scottish Power for the same energy usage.

dbks

NotForQuitting said:

I recently moved home (in July) and set up a new electricity account with Scottish Power, however their billing did not take effect until three weeks after my move in date.

On the day I moved in I provided both Scottish Power and Octopus with the gas and electric meter readings. I was away from home on the switchover date so could not take readings.

Octopus have billed me for over £70 for the three weeks after I had moved in but I can see that they were basing this on a closing electric meter reading (estimated) which was higher even than what the actual meter reading was (which I entered on the Scottish Power website) 7 weeks after the switchover date.

I have disputed this with Octopus and they have now amended the bill using that reading (i.e. actual reading 7 weeks later) as their closing reading.

Obviously this has reduced the bill but it is quite obviously still not correct. Scottish Power estimate is that I use an average of £55 per month over the full year so there's no way the Octopus bill for the middle of summer can be accurate.

My question is where I stand legally if I simply refuse to pay the Octopus bill (I have no contract with them) and they're also still billing an unnamed occupant (presumably the previous resident) at my address for over £300. Will they be able to rack up late charges, debt collectors fees, etc and will I be legally liable for this?

I have no intention of paying both Octopus and Scottish Power for the same energy usage.

If you do not pay Octopus Energy, you will be in debt to them.

You will not pay Octopus and Scottish Power for the same energy usage.

worrywart_3

Firstly you were  on a deemed contract with octopus as they supplied the house when you moved in prior to choosing your own supplier or you wouldn’t have had a supplier so you do have a contract with them. If octopus and Scottish power are now using the same end and start reading which you say they are the. You are not paying twice for the same usage. They only estimated because you didn’t provide a reading so the estimate may have been on the previous owners usage, not their fault if you failed to provide a reading in good time it would be checked by an industry standard to see if it matched usage by the property, unless Scottish power rates are substantially less then as long as they are using the same start and end reading your not going to achieve much? 

worrywart_3

In answer to your question you need to pay someone for this electricity and as Scottish power and octopus have agreed a start end read then unless you want to fight it to get it changed and put in dispute you need to pay it needs to be so much out for them to do this , yes they can add debt fees etc.

QrizB

NotForQuitting said:

Obviously this has reduced the bill but it is quite obviously still not correct. Scottish Power estimate is that I use an average of £55 per month over the full year so there's no way the Octopus bill for the middle of summer can be accurate.

You say "obviously" but there's nothing obvious about it.

What were the meter readings and date when you moved in? What were the readings and date when you switched to SP? What tariff was Octopus charging you for that period?

[Deleted User]

If the opening reads (for Scottish) are the same as the closing reads (for Octopus) match then I'm not sure what the problem is.  I assume that you set up an account with Octopus when you moved in before initiating a switch away to Scottish Power.

Are you dual fuel BTW?

You would have had a window of 5 days either side of the switch date advised to you 21 days later so I assume that Scottish Power deemed the opening reads for your account on your behalf as you were unable to provide the opening reads yourself.  This deemed opening read should be the same as the read Octopus have used to close your account for the 3 week period they provided you with energy.  If it isn't then complain for sure.

  

NotForQuitting

[Deleted User] said:

If the opening reads (for Scottish) are the same as the closing reads (for Octopus) match then I'm not sure what the problem is.  I assume that you set up an account with Octopus when you moved in before initiating a switch away to Scottish Power.

Are you dual fuel BTW?

You would have had a window of 5 days either side of the switch date advised to you 21 days later so I assume that Scottish Power deemed the opening reads for your account on your behalf as you were unable to provide the opening reads yourself.  This deemed opening read should be the same as the read Octopus have used to close your account for the 3 week period they provided you with energy.  If it isn't then complain for sure.

  

My point was that the opening and closing readings for the two suppliers don't match and Octopus are using a closing reading higher than what the actual reading was 7 weeks later. Scottish Power don't appear to have amended this with Octopus (which in my interpretation is equivalent to a 7 week billing overlap, though I have asked SP to raise a dispute).

worrywart_3

No because you said octopus have amended it to the same as Scottish power opening reading yes it’s too high to be correct for octopus but it’s the same as Scottish power opening read so your only paying for the energy once if the closing read with octopus matches then opening read of Scottish power, so it really doesn’t matter unless the Scottish power tarrif os considerably different to make such a difference in what your owed you are only paying for those units once, you would have been paying twice PRIOR to the amendment 

BeerSavesMoney

NotForQuitting said:

On the day I moved in I provided both Scottish Power and Octopus with the gas and electric meter readings. I was away from home on the switchover date so could not take readings.

Octopus have billed me for over £70 for the three weeks after I had moved in but I can see that they were basing this on a closing electric meter reading (estimated) which was higher even than what the actual meter reading was (which I entered on the Scottish Power website) 7 weeks after the switchover date.

Sorry if I missed it but what are the opening readings for Octopus? Do they match the readings taken on the date you became responsible for bills at this property?

Edit: just to clarify the opening meter readings for Octopus should be those taken on the date you moved in. Then the Scottish Power opening readings will be for those taken on the day they took over your supply. 

If you provided a reading to Octopus when you opened a new account with them when you moved in, it sounds as though the estimated readings used for the closing Octopus and opening Scottish Power statements are causing the issue? Are these higher than the current readings at the time?

t0rt0ise

It seems to me that you confused the issue by giving the reading when you moved in to both suppliers. Scottish Power did not need those readings and you should have only opened an account with Octopus. And then when the account is set up, do a normal change of supplier process to SP. So now you need to write a formal complaint letter to Octopus giving the relevant readings.. the reading when you moved in and the closing reading that Scottish Power are using. 

NotForQuitting

t0rt0ise said:

It seems to me that you confused the issue by giving the reading when you moved in to both suppliers. Scottish Power did not need those readings and you should have only opened an account with Octopus. And then when the account is set up, do a normal change of supplier process to SP. So now you need to write a formal complaint letter to Octopus giving the relevant readings.. the reading when you moved in and the closing reading that Scottish Power are using. 

I arranged the account with Scottish Power as soon as I moved as I had an account with them at my previous address (and also gave them the closing readings for my old address at the same time). At the time I'd never heard of Octopus Energy and wanted nothing to do with them. I stuck with SP on the understanding they're a major well known and reputable company with a reputation to protect and I'd read horror stories about tariff hikes with some of the smaller energy companies (that are now dropping like flies).

My problem is that Octopus are billing be based on a meter reading as it was almost 2 months after Scottish Power started billing me at this address (and at the moment they seem to be trying to pass the buck for this onto each other).