Paying energy bills monthly on receipt

Louieg

Hi, I’ve been a customer of Shell Energy and have been happily paying for what gas and electricity I use monthly. I’m worried that the Octopus takeover will force me into a Direct Debit and Smart Meter. Are there still any other Energy companies/ tariffs where you can still pay monthly? Thank you.

QrizB

I believe Octopus allow you to pay monthly in arrears.

Having said that, Direct Debit is somewhat cheaper than pay-on-receipt-of-bill.

Also, in the next few years everyone will get smart meters.

t0rt0ise

Louieg said:

Hi, I’ve been a customer of Shell Energy and have been happily paying for what gas and electricity I use monthly. I’m worried that the Octopus takeover will force me into a Direct Debit and Smart Meter. Are there still any other Energy companies/ tariffs where you can still pay monthly? Thank you.

I'm with Octopus and they take for what I've used each month. They take it by direct debit two weeks after they've billed me. That way I get the cheaper DD rates but with the convenience of paying the full bill each month.

Spoonie_Turtle

Louieg said:

Hi, I’ve been a customer of Shell Energy and have been happily paying for what gas and electricity I use monthly. I’m worried that the Octopus takeover will force me into a Direct Debit and Smart Meter. Are there still any other Energy companies/ tariffs where you can still pay monthly? Thank you.

Octopus do Variable Direct Debit, where you get the benefit of the discounted DD rate but still only pay for what you use each month.

The way it works is you send in meter readings on the relevant day, then you are billed based on those and the billed amount is taken via DD.

I can't remember whether they do paying monthly on receipt of bill (I assume you mean paying by card or cheque or some other non-DD method?) but if they don't then Variable DD is the way to go.  You would probably have to ask for it though.

Btw once your electricity meter nears the end of its certification period they will have to replace it, and it will be a smart meter as replacement.  Your gas meter will likely be done at the same time, although if it goes wrong or becomes unsafe before the electricity meter needs replacing then obviously they'll have to do it sooner.  This is the same for any supplier, not just Octopus.

QrizB

Spoonie_Turtle said:

I can't remember whether they do paying monthly on receipt of bill (I assume you mean paying by card or cheque or some other non-DD method?) ...

They do.

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/what-payment-methods-do-you-offer/

We prefer payment by monthly Direct Debit, because it's less hassle for customers and it's easy to manage in your online account.

Octopus Energy customers can also choose to pay by bank transfer, cheque, credit/debit card, or cash via PayPoint. Customers can also switch to us with a prepay meter or request to move onto a prepay solution - read more about Octopus and prepayment meters here.

If you'd like to pay with one of these payment methods, just get in touch and we'll help.

Keep_pedalling

Regardless of your supplier at some point you will have to have a smart meter, not having one with Octopus locks you out of all their smart tariffs.

Vanillaman

"If you'd like to pay with one of these payment methods, just get in touch and we'll help!" This post is a year old, so this quote from Octopus is no longer relevent since Octopus so-called customer services has crashed big time since. They no longer respond to customers and when they do, it is a generic response so you know they haven't even bothered to read your message. Check the Trustpilot reviews on Octopus appalling customer services.

MP1995

Vanillaman said:

"If you'd like to pay with one of these payment methods, just get in touch and we'll help!" This post is a year old, so this quote from Octopus is no longer relevent since Octopus so-called customer services has crashed big time since. They no longer respond to customers and when they do, it is a generic response so you know they haven't even bothered to read your message. Check the Trustpilot reviews on Octopus appalling customer services.

It has gone downhill with their growth but my latest email was responsed to by a person within 24 hours and the issue sorted.

I have found X very good as well for comprehensive Octopus responses.

Spoonie_Turtle

Vanillaman said:

"If you'd like to pay with one of these payment methods, just get in touch and we'll help!" This post is a year old, so this quote from Octopus is no longer relevent since Octopus so-called customer services has crashed big time since. They no longer respond to customers and when they do, it is a generic response so you know they haven't even bothered to read your message. Check the Trustpilot reviews on Octopus appalling customer services.

I suspect this might actually be their AI bot assistant, which I have found frustrating as an extra layer to get through but after replying that they've not answered my query I have always had a human respond.

Twitter is still good for contacting them, as is the phone.

wrf12345

Octopus, always better to phone than chat/email... I am on variable direct debit and think it is great, always have a couple of weeks notice before they take the dosh so if something mad happens to the bill then have time to get it sorted (been fine so far). Smart meters have been great so far, daily usage/cost very useful if you are anyway on the internet or smartphone a lot.

leonj

All of them let you pay on receipt of bill, they just don't advertise it!