Why are people so disparaging about IHDs?

RG2015

Thank you @[Deleted User],

It’s great knowing all this, but at the end of the day no energy company provides anywhere near what I would call an acceptable level of service and support.

Before retiring I worked for a company that provided a world class level of performance and service. Sadly energy companies are nowhere near this level.

As far as energy supply goes the service is fine, but the level of customer service and support is distinctly mediocre.

[Deleted User]

RG2015 said:

Thank you @[Deleted User],

It’s great knowing all this, but at the end of the day no energy company provides anywhere near what I would call an acceptable level of service and support.

Before retiring I worked for a company that provided a world class level of performance and service.

I would respectively disagree. No organization is ever perfect but I would suggest that Octopus is probably as good as it gets in the energy sector bearing in mind that most consumers want to pay as little as possible for their energy but expect stellar CS.

 For example, I requested a credit balance refund at 9pm last Monday evening ( a Bank Holiday) and got a response at 00:20am the following morning from Octopus Energy NZ customer service. The refund is now in my account. 

Two years ago, Octopus detected that my electricity smart meter was recording reactive energy usage from my Powerwall 2 battery. They tested alternative meters and ran a pro-active programme to replace all the affected meters. They credited my account without being asked.

Recently, I had an issue with my smart meter comms hub. Two days later, I was able to intercept an Octopus EV charger installer and I asked him if he had time to carryout a 15 minute main fuse pull. He explained that he would need authority from the Octopus smart team. If they were happy, then so was he. He could have politely told me to ‘s** o**’.

A month ago, Octopus renewed my 6p max gas tariff for a further year on the same tariff terms. 

Last week, I received a free Octopus Mini (CAD - lite) that provides real-time (within the constraints of smart metering) in the Octopus App.

If Octopus can do these things then so can other energy suppliers.

RG2015

Good to hear and this puts some evidence on Octopus being the only Which? recommended energy supplier.

I will also admit to being swayed by negative feedback on this Board. The MSE forum is usually more reliable than, say Trust Pilot, but I take your point on expectations.

MattMattMattUK

RG2015 said:

Thank you @[Deleted User],

It’s great knowing all this, but at the end of the day no energy company provides anywhere near what I would call an acceptable level of service and support.

Before retiring I worked for a company that provided a world class level of performance and service. Sadly energy companies are nowhere near this level.

As far as energy supply goes the service is fine, but the level of customer service and support is distinctly mediocre.

I agree that for most it is far from great and even the best of a bad bunch, but I also cut some of the better energy suppliers a little bit of slack due to the operating environment they have to deal with (government interference, last minute changes to things etc.) and that often they are having to deal with idiots (most of the general public), that is a tough environment to operate in.

One only has to look at the number of people who think their energy supplier is increasing prices and making huge profits, those that think that smart meters are a conspiracy, those who refused to understand energy is billed in kWh and that there is no such thing as £100 of electricity that is stable over time etc. When in a sector that is forced to deal with the general public and cannot refuse to deal with specific customers then they are always going to struggle to please. 

Chrysalis

I think IHD's would be better without cost been quoted, used for usage, not tariff or billing information.

I also think the octopus mini should be how it should have been from the start, I find it much better than the IHD I received.

For those who dont know, Octopus are trialling a product which sends usage information to your phone for the current day and live watts usage.  So no need to be sitting next to a IHD display, and with it being an app, it means octopus can provide software updates when needed.

https://octopus.energy/blog/octopus-home-mini/

victor2

Chrysalis said:

I think IHD's would be better without cost been quoted, used for usage, not tariff or billing information.

....

While I agree because the cost indicated will never quite match exactly what is billed, people aren't really interested in kWh usage, they want to know the cost.

For example, we've just got a new "smart" appliance, which uses  a small amount of power 24/7. I've monitored what its use has been overnight and the kWh figure means nothing to my OH. All she wants to know is the cost and therefore potential saving by not having it on standby.

Maybe IHD's would be more useful showing historical billed cost, with the ability to average that out over the billing period, but then people would have to typically wait a month to see the effect of their efforts to save, assuming kWh figures meant little to them - and that's before you try to explain how gas volume used is converted to kWh for billing purposes!

Swipe

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

RG2015

Swipe said:

Or maybe the energy companies just need to make more of an effort to keep people's smart meters up to date with the correct tariff info

Yes.

A good test would be is it fit for purpose.

My E.ON IHD is definitely fit for purpose and for a more detailed view the Bright app is an excellent additional tool.

We are now three weeks on from my original question, and I see exactly why people are so disparaging about IHDs

MattMattMattUK

Chrysalis said:

I think IHD's would be better without cost been quoted, used for usage, not tariff or billing information.

I also think the octopus mini should be how it should have been from the start, I find it much better than the IHD I received.

For those who dont know, Octopus are trialling a product which sends usage information to your phone for the current day and live watts usage.  So no need to be sitting next to a IHD display, and with it being an app, it means octopus can provide software updates when needed.

https://octopus.energy/blog/octopus-home-mini/

I am really surprised that the system for getting data off the HAN was not better designed, if they had made it accessible by user paring, over Zigbee, Bluetooth etc. then it would have solved a lot of issues, would have allowed a PC to draw down data easily etc. The data accessibility at the local level seems flawed.

dealyboy

@victor2 said:

@Chrysalis said:

I think IHD's would be better without cost been quoted, used for usage, not tariff or billing information.

....

While I agree because the cost indicated will never quite match exactly what is billed, people aren't really interested in kWh usage, they want to know the cost.

For example, we've just got a new "smart" appliance, which uses  a small amount of power 24/7. I've monitored what its use has been overnight and the kWh figure means nothing to my OH. All she wants to know is the cost and therefore potential saving by not having it on standby.

Maybe IHD's would be more useful showing historical billed cost, with the ability to average that out over the billing period, but then people would have to typically wait a month to see the effect of their efforts to save, assuming kWh figures meant little to them - and that's before you try to explain how gas volume used is converted to kWh for billing purposes!

I like to see the power in W or kW as it's being used, and I can obtain the accurate energy consumption in kWh and cost in four different datetime granularities, including since the last bill, which is useful. Tariff information is accurate and I receive messages from the supplier. The only criticism is that the units used does not discriminate between peak and off-peak.

What is not to like ?

The true measure of consumption is in kWh and that together with tariff and SC means that a consumer has all they need to monitor their usage. I've lost track of the number of threads where the poster measures their usage by the cost of the bill and then panics!