Octopus Energy Balance Forecast

Target101

Is it possible for me to adjust the monthly payment amount on the octopus energy websites balance forecast feature to a very low amount? Currently I’m on the flexible octopus tariff, and I’m considering inputting only £5 per month (the lowest option) instead of the recommended £73. I plan to redirect the money saved into a high-interest instant access savings account. When octopus eventually notify me about the insufficient payment and request immediate payment, can I then fulfil the outstanding payment with no penalty charges and no negative impact on my credit score and therefore create some saving from the interest accrued? Is anyone else doing this sort of thing?

masonic

Why not move to variable direct debit? When a bill is issued, any negative balance will be cleared a couple of weeks later and no credit will be carried on your account.

mebu60

Is it worth the hassle? If it goes on for 4 months you might break £3. 

MikeJXE

Not me I wouldn't want the hassle I prefer a quiet stress free life

 I am currently £300 in credit and my usage is less than my DD at the minute

 Come end of April I will ask for a refund of £250+ and confident I will get it 

QrizB

Target101 said:

Is it possible for me to adjust the monthly payment amount on the octopus energy websites balance forecast feature to a very low amount?

Yes, so long as your account remains in credit.

Target101 said:

When octopus eventually notify me about the insufficient payment and request immediate payment, can I then fulfil the outstanding payment with no penalty charges and no negative impact on my credit score and therefore create some saving from the interest accrued?

Or you could simply ask for a refund of your credit balance today.

Spoonie_Turtle

I do this, although the DD is £10 not £5.  When I first started, it was £3*.  I get cashback on the card payment, and the savings interest is a more recent bonus (relative to when I started). 

*The DD was automatically bumped up after the £66/67 government payments ended, otherwise I'd have stuck with £3.

You shouldn't wait for notification of your account being in debit and then asking for payment, though.  You should know when your billing date is, so proactively check it and top up the balance by card ASAP.

mightbedave

My monthly direct debit of £159 has been unchanged since I joined Octopus in June 2021 and obviously energy prices have risen a fair bit since then. I now have a negative balance of £1300. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to pay that off if I wanted to but am earning 5% interest so have just left it.

All previous energy companies have adjusted the DD very quickly if it wasn't enough but not Octopus. Will they ever change it or just keep allowing me to get into more debt with them??

wild666

I pay £57 per month and have £250 credit my monthly bill is around the £0 to £70 mark in winter, it all depends on how I use the heating. if it's warmish I don't put the heating on. My monthly gas usage is between £10 and £15 depending on the number of times I put the heating on. 

TheElectricCow

No need to mess around with the balance forecast unless you find it helpful to visualise the potential impact of any changes, that feature is purely there as a suggestion of what Octopus think is the right amount to pay (which may or may not be accurate). I don’t personally pay it much attention as their estimates for me aren’t remotely close to my actual usage.

With Octopus you can generally just change your direct debit to whatever you like via the “manage direct debit” page without any consequence, provided you are covering your bills overall. A fair few people on the forum, myself included, set it to a token value of £1 and manage any other necessary payments separately when needed. 

Extra points for paying the balance with a cashback credit card and continuing to earn interest on the payment while waiting for the CC payment to become due.

Target101

mightbedave said:

My monthly direct debit of £159 has been unchanged since I joined Octopus in June 2021 and obviously energy prices have risen a fair bit since then. I now have a negative balance of £1300. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to pay that off if I wanted to but am earning 5% interest so have just left it.

All previous energy companies have adjusted the DD very quickly if it wasn't enough but not Octopus. Will they ever change it or just keep allowing me to get into more debt with them??

How long has it taken you to build up to a negative balance of £1300? 

mightbedave

Target101 said:

mightbedave said:

My monthly direct debit of £159 has been unchanged since I joined Octopus in June 2021 and obviously energy prices have risen a fair bit since then. I now have a negative balance of £1300. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to pay that off if I wanted to but am earning 5% interest so have just left it.

All previous energy companies have adjusted the DD very quickly if it wasn't enough but not Octopus. Will they ever change it or just keep allowing me to get into more debt with them??

How long has it taken you to build up to a negative balance of £1300? 

Just over a year, I had a healthy positive balance at the start of last winter but my direct debit is basically still calibrated to 2021 prices.