Octopus Loyalty 12m

tlcgrantham

SuperHans1 said:

I keep hearing about this Octopus tracker but how do I find out more about it? There are no rates published until you sign up as far as I can see from the Octopus site? Is it currently cheaper than the price cap?

Tracker tariffs reflect daily wholesale prices and go up or down each day accordingly and  are currently capped at 40pkw/h for Electricity and Gas 11pkw/h. I’ve been on Gas Tracker for 10weeks and paid an average of around 5pkw/h so far. 

bristolleedsfan

SuperHans1 said:

I keep hearing about this Octopus tracker but how do I find out more about it? There are no rates published until you sign up as far as I can see from the Octopus site? Is it currently cheaper than the price cap?

Standing Charge on tracker version for new tariff switches is 13.3p per day (£4.00 per month) more for electricity than flexible Octopus where loyalty bonus is applicable -.existing customers 8 months+

I would suggest that actual ongoing tracker rates, tomorrow. today. yesterday and day before that etc are more relevant consideration than an average that someone achieved for a period previously which may/may not be repeated in near future particularly as June was always expected to be more expensive than May, and July expected to be more expensive than June.

https://energy.guylipman.com/sm/electracker  - My average rate 12 May-12th June - 22.33p kWh + Vat, all days since then have been more expensive.

https://energy.guylipman.com/sm/gastracker

Spoonie_Turtle

Loyal Octopus fix is 40% more for us.  I just can't countenance unnecessarily paying so much more during these months - 41.44p/kWh rather than the current 29.23p we pay now.  It's so unintuitive.  But maybe time to crunch some numbers, with dire predictions for the next year; currently the prediction is not until next July that the cap is looking to be back down to 'only' 40% more than current (obviously that can change - but that goes either way, up or down).  Hmmm.

Tracker was looking appealing but the official line is we would have to agree to an eventual smart meter, which we really don't want.  (We're not exactly Octopus' target customers!)

Alnat1

What is the reason you don't want smart meters?

I'm trying to understand what it is that puts people off having them.

Spoonie_Turtle

Alnat1 said:

What is the reason you don't want smart meters?

I'm trying to understand what it is that puts people off having them.

In short, too much potential to go wrong.  We've been badly stung by a missed faulty meter in the past and in combination with an unhelpful supplier it's frightened my parents into not wanting to change anything now that we have a clear, simple meter that works properly.  That experience is also why we appreciate Octopus' method of easily allowing submission of meter readings, and they are responsive to changes (so far only in terms of buildup of credit / debt, but it feels reassuring that if meter readings started looking strange, they'd likely flag it up).

I personally like the idea of a smart meter but from what I have read, the reality is not quite as brilliant as I had previously thought, and even if I got over some of my reservations my parents are extremely unlikely to be persuaded - it's their house, I just deal with the energy to take one thing off their plate.

Alnat1

ok, I understand. My dad won't have one either, he seems to think it's a security risk and other people can read his info.

I did try and explain to him it's only the same as his water meter that the company can read remotely but he said that's not the same lol.

tlcgrantham

A smart meter is not required for Tracker tariffs 

bristolleedsfan

tlcgrantham said:

A smart meter is not required for Tracker tariffs 

Customers who get given an account specific tracker switch link have to agree to T+C as per screenshot.

Whilst it is true Octopus have not enforced that condition previously, it should not be assumed they will not do so in the future, while someone can then switch to another tariff  based on current day and most recent days tracker electricity is becoming more expensive then flexible particularly when existing customer is getting £4 per month loyalty discount on flexible ....

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79284405/#Comment_79284405

"Looking like around 8.4p tomorrow for Gas by the way, following a somewhat similar pattern to last week"


 

Alnat1

I emailed them to ask for a switch but I had seen the declaration page and confirmed the points within my request. It took a week for the change to happen.

Spoonie_Turtle

tlcgrantham said:

A smart meter is not required for Tracker tariffs 

I e-mailed them to ask a few questions about the tariff when considering it (during a cheaper lull - right now it's not looking so attractive!) and as I said, the official respinse was that we'd need one "eventually".

However the screenshot @bristolleedsfan has provided is interesting; I had considered the possibility of whether we could simply switch tariff should they wish to enforce the installation requirement and that declaration appears to show indeed it is, and hopefully without being deemed an Awkward Customer taking the mick.

Very interesting indeed - I would assume Octopus would honour their cap for existing customers for the term of the Tracker tariff, even if they were to replace it with a new tariff with a higher cap (or no cap at all).  Looks like Tracker might be back into consideration after all.

Alnat1 said:

ok, I understand. My dad won't have one either, he seems to think it's a security risk and other people can read his info.

Thankfully that's not one of my parents' concerns as far as I know (nor one of mine of course) - rather the opposite, it stopping transmitting / the supplier being unable to read it.