octopus energy non refund

aw11

I have been fighting with Octopus for six weeks now and they refuse to refund me credit monies. I thought this was a consumer right?

molerat

Depends on why they are refusing.  They can refuse to refund if it is justifiable.

Have reported for moving to the energy board.

Alnat1

With 3 big winter bills still due for Jan-Mar is it likely you would use up most of the credit you're wanting to claim back?

Perhaps if you could give us some figures, how much your account is in credit, how much you pay monthly and how much you used (kWh) over last winter, then we can calculate where your account is likely to end up.

bristolleedsfan

Being as they say the following, also they do not consider credit balances when calculating budget monthly DD going forward for the same reason, they should only be refusing a credit refund if meter readings are not up to date at time of applying for credit refund.

badger09

I’ve had ‘partial refunds of credit’ from Octopus in August & November and on my account, they’re offering another. They’re suggesting leaving a credit balance with them, as I would expect. I’ve had no problem obtaining my refunds. 

Perhaps if OP provides some figures we can help. 

MalMonroe

aw11 said:

I have been fighting with Octopus for six weeks now and they refuse to refund me credit monies. I thought this was a consumer right?

Hi, I'm with Octopus and every time my account was in credit I asked for it back they did return it - except on one occasion they didn't - and ignored my requests.  So I sent an email to Greg Jackson, CEO. The very next day I had a refund and an email - not from Greg but from a member of Octopus' staff to say sorry, they were refunding me and also applying some compensation to my account. 

I'm assuming you pay by direct debit? Sometimes if the amount is low they will ask you to leave it there because obviously everyone's usage changes over the year and it's not always a bad thing to have a small amount of credit on the account. 

If it's a large amount and you ask for it back, then they should refund it, yes.

However, if it's been 6 weeks, your usage will obviously have changed - i.e. risen, in all probability. When you ask for a refund the first thing they ask you to do is read your meters and submit those readings so they can get an accurate picture of how much they owe you. Unless you're on a Smart meter in which case they should monitor your usage themselves.

The sum you asked for six weeks ago will have changed dramatically now and they may not owe you anything. They won't now pay you what was in credit then.

They always need up to date meter readings before they refund anything.  

What I'd do in your situation is login to my account and submit current meter readings (if you don't have a Smart meter) and see what they say you owe them, or they owe you. In my experience, it doesn't matter when you submit readings but almost immediately they will respond with the amount you now owe. Or the amount you are in credit by. If you are in credit, that's when you should request a refund, if one is applicable - immediately.

If you've tried that and all else has failed you could first try contacting Greg and after that, reporting them to Ofgem but I think they're overburdened with complaints right now. And trying to switch to another provider is fruitless (I've thought about it, believe me!). I decided to stick with Octopus for a while longer after I applied for, and received, one of their electric blankets. I was quite overcome. It's actually very good quality and a real boon. 

If you are continually overpaying you can email them to ask them to change the amount. They should comply.

Hope that's helpful. My own opinion and my own experiences.

macman

Ofgem do not deal with consumer complaints.

aw11

Thanks for that - I have now written to Chief EXecutive. My account was £455 in credit and I asked for £300 on £100 DD. Not unreasonable I thought

Gerry1

You could always switch to Monthly Variable Direct Debit, i.e. paying for the exact amount you've used since the last meter reading.

That's a guaranteed way to ensure that your account won't have a credit balance but of course it does mean that you'll get higher bills in the winter.

bristolleedsfan

Gerry1 said:

You could always switch to Monthly Variable Direct Debit, i.e. paying for the exact amount you've used since the last meter reading.

That's a guaranteed way to ensure that your account won't have a credit balance but of course it does mean that you'll get higher bills in the winter.

OP is entirely correct to lodge a complaint which might result in goodwill compensation credit being as Octopus stated policy is that a credit refund can be requested at anytime which is why they do not consider credit balances when calculating budget monthly DD payments.

bristolleedsfan

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