Misleading Octopus Bill - No Savings on Exit Fees for Fixed Deals

Toppy765

I’ve just received my Octopus bill today which clearly states I could save £180 over the next year on gas and electricity if I move to the new Octopus Loyal deal but points out that I’d have to pay £150 exit fees to leave my current fixed deal, making the overall saving £30. But this is rather misleading as more savings could be made if I wait until exit fees no longer apply.

My fixed deal ends on 30th June and then I don’t have to pay any exit fee at all. So I should wait until 1st July and then move to the new Octopus Loyal deal, saving much more. I’ve worked out that based on my usage last year from 1st April to 30th June I’ll only pay £14 more on my current deal. So I’d be daft to move now!

So apart from bringing this to the attention of other people (and my apologies if this has already been pointed out elsewhere), if I’m correct, isn’t it very misleading for Octopus to state so clearly on their published bill that I could save some money today by changing deal, when I could save far more by waiting until the end of my deal?

Jyana

They are made to tell you about any cheaper deals that are available unfortunately, it's up to the customer to decide if it is then in your interest to change over. But, I think this one might be good for you as you don't get charged the penalty if you change within 60 days of the end of your fix, which you must be at by the end of the month (going by my early morning, precaffeinated head maths). 

https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/articles/why-do-you-charge-an-exit-fee-on-some-tariffs/

Toppy765

Thanks Jyana. I’d read their previous communication on applying exit fees but hadn’t seen this one. So does that mean I should transfer tariffs in 30 days, which would be 60 days before my current deal ends, and they wouldn’t apply the £150 exit fee?

If that is the case, then shouldn’t they state that on the bill so people don’t change tariff today to their greater cost?

Toppy765

Ah just noticed Jyana - that link states it’s for Business Customers, so doesn’t apply to me!

Alnat1

Not absolutely sure but I think the rule is that you can change 49 days before your fix ends, not 60 days.

Jyana

Yes, you should be able to swap over in the next 30 days or so no problem.

Like I say, it's Ofgem who make them report back to you on the cheapest deal they have for you. Then it's down to the customer to decide if it's worth swapping over to it. Not the best policy in some cases, as like you say it can be misunderstood by some. I haven't actually seen how the message is written as all my bills for the last 5 years (which is a far back as I can go with what I have stored on my PC) have been the cheapest deal already, so it just tells me that instead. It really should give a warning that the customer should check that changing tariff should be looked into by them though.