Octopus/smart meter/exporting electricity

SevenOfNine

Octopus aren't replying to emails & facebook contact also unhelpful. Briefly:
Switched to Octopus in April 2021
Smart meter installed April 2022
Solar panels installed Aug 2022

Request to export got a bit muddled as installer hadn't sent a specific document required by DNO so Octopus could not obtain export MPAN. All sorted & we asked Octopus reapply to DNO for export MPAN & also to change our tariff to Octopus Outgoing Fixed.

Noticed on our account a week or so ago that Octopus had welcomed us as "new transfer customer & transfer to take place Monday 24 Oct" (yesterday). We emailed & asked questions given that we're NOT new customers, which they've failed to respond to.

On 24th we received an email advising on process we should follow as 'new' customers, give them meter readings & also forward them to our 'previous' supplier!  We've been paying bills with smart meter readings on for 3 months now, they clearly manage to take readings from it. With no clue as to what on earth they're doing it seemed best to supply energy readings today.

Is it normal for Octopus to treat current customers as 'new' when all we've done is tell them to change our tariff to Octopus Outgoing Fixed now that DNO have confirmed all paperwork is in order.  Phoned this morning but all we get now is a recorded message saying they're aware there's an issue with our smart meter, directed us to "smart.help", where we followed instructions to answer questions & submitted the response.

We seem to be going round in circles, is it 'normal' to put in a simple request to export & change tariffs to be treated like we're transferring from Octopus to Octopus. This is frustrating & annoying. Is it even possible to speak to a PERSON who can explain this daft situation, or is this 'normal'?

Boffinboy24

This will be your export meter - I have just had the exact same issue by the sounds of it, the comms via email all read as if you are a new import customer. In the app or website you should see a second electricity meter, which has the export tariff on, where you can add a meter reading. Unfortunately I have had lots of problems, and am still not set up after several weeks even with the right paperwork. First they couldn’t find the meter, then it was set up as an import tariff, then I couldn’t submit a meter reading. I’m still waiting. I have found Twitter support most helpful and consistent. I’m hoping to be sorted soon… though wondering if I should have gone for outgoing fixed rather than agile with current wholesale prices!

SevenOfNine

Thanks Boffinboy24, at least reassured we're not unique with this muddle over 'new customer'.

We found a link via google search on how to get an export reading from the smart meter, & the Octopus site had an area where you could submit an export reading.  In it we saw that our electricity reading of 01458 had been entered there (not by us), so we entered the export reading, which was 00268 & submitted it.

I'm less than impressed with Octopus communication though (non existent), good website but it ends there!

Boffinboy24

Best of luck with it! As I say, I'd recommend messaging on Twitter if you can. Once I got in to direct messages there the cases seem to be handled by a single individual, so you get some continuity at least, even if it does take time. I think they have huge demand at the moment from people like us who realize they are (typically) the best option in terms of tariffs for solar and or / battery users.

Raxiel

Oh dear, I applied to Octopus for Outgoing last Friday after receiving my MCS certificate and DNO letter from my installer, and this isn't filling me with much confidence.

I did have discussions with them back in late August / early September about switching to Agile incoming and every communication took many days to respond to, eventually gave up after the price cap was announced.

SevenOfNine

Boffinboy24 said:

Best of luck with it! As I say, I'd recommend messaging on Twitter if you can. Once I got in to direct messages there the cases seem to be handled by a single individual, so you get some continuity at least, even if it does take time. I think they have huge demand at the moment from people like us who realize they are (typically) the best option in terms of tariffs for solar and or / battery users. 

Followed your advise Boffinboy & went through their twitter DM's. Great idea. Got a quick reply & advised he/she would be helping me (as you say, at least I won't be 'pass the parcel between assorted operatives'), told they had updated our a/c & could see we'd submitted both energy readings & the export reading "had been updated". I did reply pointing out that we 'updated' incorrect info that we hadn't entered in the first place! Whatever their auto system does, it's not working properly.

I can see on our a/c they've acknowledged we're on an Outgoing Octopus Fixed until 24.10.2023 @ 15p kWh, but there still seems to be a problem "Enabling Export Functionality".  It has 5 'steps' & is stuck on the third.  We've decided to enter current export readings every few days seeing as it still doesn't seem able to take 1/2 hourly readings from the smart meter in order to credit us.

An email has also followed, same explanation regarding being referred to as 'new' customers as you'd given. We're 'new' in that we are 'new' to EXPORTING with Octopus. I'm sure they could make the information clearer so current customers aren't left wondering what on earth they're doing.

Thanks for your help, I agree, twitter is the way to go. Good luck Raxiel, I hope yours goes smoothly (I'm not holding my breath that Octopus have wholly sorted this out - until I see export credits on my monthly bill). 

Alnat1

Try entering meter readings for both import and export in a few days. With Octopus it will often (not always for some reason) generate a bill.

SevenOfNine

Deleted this post, Smart meter is working correctly. Octopus a/c indicates "receiving half hourly readings".

Exiled_Tyke

I've always phoned Octopus and always had great service.  I think it's just email they seem to be pretty poor at. 

[Deleted User]

If you have a smart meter, there is no need to enter any readings. For export, it will use the reading from the day the export MPAN was issued - or am I missing something?  

Raxiel

Well, on my Octopus account page, the Box for the Electricity (import) account has, for the last week, had a little progress bar saying an Export MPAN has been requested. Today it says it has been raised (11 days after I first applied for the outgoing tariff) and now says they are enrolling it in their system, which should take a couple of days.

There is a new, third box with the new MPAN and 'your switch is on track' progress bar that  has jumped straight to step 3 of the switching process, saying they'll have me on supply... in a couple of days.

So far so good. If it completes on Thursday it will have taken less than 2 weeks (and only 15 days after commissioning)