Octopus Energy possible overcharging

3hilton

Hi, I was originally with Avro and got switched to Octopus in Sep 2021 when Avro ceased.
I have been on Economy 7 tariff and saw Martin`s advice to check if you would be better off on a flat rate tariff. I contacted Octopus who told me yes I would as night time usage needs to be around 30% of total usage to make Economy 7 viable( Mine is 12% so have now switched tariff.
My issue is on all 18 of my Octopus invoices from Sep 2021, it states `You`re already on our cheapest tariff for your electricity usage..and we will let you know if this changes'
As they have not let me know what recompense do I have with them, as I have effectively been overcharged from their cheapest tariff for 18 months.
Thank you

MWT

3hilton said:

My issue is on all 18 of my Octopus invoices from Sep 2021, it states `You`re already on our cheapest tariff for your electricity usage..and we will let you know if this changes'
As they have not let me know what recompense do I have with them, as I have effectively been overcharged from their cheapest tariff for 18 months.
Thank you

Those statements are based on your meter profile at the time (E7), Ofgem do not require them to tell you if you would be better-off on a different meter profile...

They are also not obliged to tell you if you would be better-off on one of their beta ToU tariffs either.

They merely have to tell you if there is a better standard tariff than the one you are on for your existing meter type and payment method...

3hilton

Thanks for the quick reply.  I was hopeful that their use of the word tariff would mean just that..I was on an Economy 7 tariff when there was a cheaper flat rate tariff available.

MWT

3hilton said:

Thanks for the quick reply.  I was hopeful that their use of the word tariff would mean just that..I was on an Economy 7 tariff when there was a cheaper flat rate tariff available.

Unfortunately not, most of the language on bills around this topic and the limitations come from Ofgem, and the suppliers are required by Ofgem to respect your current meter type and the tariff you are on when making those statements.

It would be a bit of a slippery slope if they were to do otherwise as someone on E7 might well be better off on a single rate if you look at their use over summer, but come winter when the NSH goes back on they would be much worse off.

Similarly the supplier has no way of knowing if a customer has replaced all the NSH with panel heaters etc. ...

You get to choose if you want E7 or a single rate tariff, the supplier then is obliged to tell you if there is a cheaper version of the type you have chosen.

This had a lot more meaning when there were multiple fixed tariffs around, rather than just the one variable tariff...