Octopus refused my refund request

angeljs

I'm well over £600 in credit and have asked for £300 refunded. They have just refused with no reason. Can they do this? I have a smart meter. 

Gerry1

You can always call them and switch to Variable Direct Debit.

However, expect big bills in winter and lower in summer.

Spoonie_Turtle

Is your smart meter sending readings?  Have you had a recent bill with actual readings?  And how much have your bills been recently (for once I'm asking in £ not kWh like we normally do on here!)?

bristolleedsfan

angeljs said:

I'm well over £600 in credit and have asked for £300 refunded. They have just refused with no reason. Can they do this? I have a smart meter. 

Octopus Energy general T+C merely state customer must remain in credit at all times, they consistently  answer on social media direct debit proposed monthly payment changes do not take into account credit balances due to customer can ask for credit refund at any time.

badger09

angeljs said:

I'm well over £600 in credit and have asked for £300 refunded. They have just refused with no reason. Can they do this? I have a smart meter. 

That’s very odd. I’m often substantially in credit, though below £600, & Octopus regularly offer me a refund.
In fact I’ve just checked. My account is £316.84 in credit & they’re offering me refund up to £79.18. I had a refund of £125 as recently as 23 December. 

How they calculate their recommended balance is a complete mystery but that’s for another thread. 

Please answer Spoonie_Turtles questions. 

MikeJXE

badger09 said:

angeljs said:

I'm well over £600 in credit and have asked for £300 refunded. They have just refused with no reason. Can they do this? I have a smart meter. 

That’s very odd. I’m often substantially in credit, though below £600, & Octopus regularly offer me a refund.
In fact I’ve just checked. My account is £316.84 in credit & they’re offering me refund up to £79.18. I had a refund of £125 as recently as 23 December. 

How they calculate their recommended balance is a complete mystery but that’s for another thread. 

Please answer Spoonie_Turtles questions. 

I agree, I'm £397 in credit and Octopus are offering me £293 refund automatically if I press the button

I have no wish to do that until winter is over, probably towards end of April when I will take the full amount offered 

dunstonh

I'm well over £600 in credit and have asked for £300 refunded. They have just refused with no reason. Can they do this? I have a smart meter. 

Broadly speaking, if you are using the budgeting method, you would look at May as being the month to draw any excess.   May is after the real cold spell and the month you start all over again.

January is the start of the colder but you still have Feb, March and April to deal with.   So, you would still expect to be in credit by 2-3 times your typical monthly payment at this point.

Did you put an explanation of why you wanted a refund to them or did you just ask for £300 back?    
If you have calculated it using real figures and typical use and feel that you have £300 too much based on those figures, they would rarely disagree (assuming your figures are right).   If you just asked for the £300 back with no calculations then they are more likely to say no if they think you are taking out too much too early.

SAC2334

They base the refund on you having two months worth of direct debit and will refund up to that level .
 I had £700 and they offered me £500 back a couple of months ago.Despite it being mid winter I m sticking to my £100 a month usage so I felt it reasonable to ask for for £350 which they have refunded . There is a three day lag once they do refund to cover the 3 days you can reverse it .

I would say that Octopus are probably the best supplier in offering refunds, some of the others you have to plead for it to some customer service person 

debitcardmayhem

SAC2334 said:

They base the refund on you having two months worth of direct debit and will refund up to that level .
 I had £700 and they offered me £500 back a couple of months ago.Despite it being mid winter I m sticking to my £100 a month usage so I felt it reasonable to ask for for £350 which they have refunded . There is a three day lag once they do refund to cover the 3 days you can reverse it .

I would say that Octopus are probably the best supplier in offering refunds, some of the others you have to plead for it to some customer service person 

Oh so on that basis I can only ask for £20 since my DD is only £10, oh well they will enjoy my £1000+100 octoplus (81000+points). I am waiting to ask for a refund until just before our wedding anniversary, perhaps I should start now at £20/day🙀

Spoonie_Turtle

debitcardmayhem said:

SAC2334 said:

They base the refund on you having two months worth of direct debit and will refund up to that level .
 I had £700 and they offered me £500 back a couple of months ago.Despite it being mid winter I m sticking to my £100 a month usage so I felt it reasonable to ask for for £350 which they have refunded . There is a three day lag once they do refund to cover the 3 days you can reverse it .

I would say that Octopus are probably the best supplier in offering refunds, some of the others you have to plead for it to some customer service person 

Oh so on that basis I can only ask for £20 since my DD is only £10, oh well they will enjoy my £1000+100 octoplus (81000+points). I am waiting to ask for a refund until just before our wedding anniversary, perhaps I should start now at £20/day🙀

No, it's on the basis of the refund leaving you with two months' worth of credit.  A smaller refund = more credit left, a larger refund = less credit left. 

Hence 'up to' the amount of refund that would leave you with two months' worth of credit, based on your DD amount.

QrizB

angeljs said:

I'm well over £600 in credit and have asked for £300 refunded. They have just refused with no reason. Can they do this? I have a smart meter. 

Yes they can do it.

In my experience, when asking for a credit refund Octopus will generate an interim bill based on current readings.

When were you last billed? Did it use smart meter readings, your readings or estimates?