Large Octopus Energy bill after receiving no bill for over a year

ams_222

Hi, 
As the title suggests, I've received a large energy bill after receiving no updates from Octopus for over a year. I had the same problem with them last year after not receiving any updates and queried it to receive another large bill we were blissfully unaware of. We were told to alter our direct debit to pay off the debit, which we did. In 2024, the app said we were actually in credit so I slightly lowered my monthly contributions but in reality should have been increasing them. Important to note I am on a flexible tariff so it is subject to fluctuate.
I've called them today as there were still estimates on the bill I had received but I was told that was the correct amount. He stated he was unsure why I'd not received any bills or correspondence from them and apologised for that. I asked for any compensation and he said the most he could give was £40 (which is better than nothing but not ideal when the bill is £912). 
I recognise I'm going to have to pay this bill, but do I have any right to make a formal complaint or ask for further compensation? I can set up a repayment plan but considering this problem happened two years in a row and has negatively impacted me twice (shame on me I guess), I'd like to know my options as I feel Octopus have let me down on multiple occasions.
Thank you in advance!

Olinda99

is the bill correct ie does it match your meter readings ?

Keep_pedalling

Do you have a smart meter? Have you submitted any meter readings in this time?

ams_222

Olinda99 said:

is the bill correct ie does it match your meter readings ?

I'm not sure if I'm looking wrong (you'll have to excuse me I'm in my 20s and still trying to understand all this), but the bill has no usage amounts so I'm not sure how I'd know. The guy at Octopus said I should have given a meter reading on the day of the price increases to ensure it was accurate. and said it wasn't within the t&c for Octopus to tell us to do that. So even though I gave meter readings, they weren't on the correct dates so the whole of last year is coming across as an estimate.

ams_222

Keep_pedalling said:

Do you have a smart meter? Have you submitted any meter readings in this time?

According to the app I do have a smart meter but Octopus has never been able to get readings from it so I send them across, towards the end of the year I missed a couple of months

born_again

You need to send meter readings monthly. So you get billed monthly.

ams_222

born_again said:

You need to send meter readings monthly. So you get billed monthly.

Even when I have sent meter readings monthly, I wasn't billed, and they're still using estimates for that time in the final bill

QrizB

Octopus would normally generate a bill whenever you submit a meter reading. How have you been sending them? Via the app/website or by email?

Does your recent bill include all the meter readings you've given them for the past year?

Swipe

Take weekly or monthly readings and keep a spreadsheet updated with your current tariff rates and daily standing charges to work out how much you should be paying. That way you can use it to scrutinise any bills you receive.

ams_222

QrizB said:

Octopus would normally generate a bill whenever you submit a meter reading. How have you been sending them? Via the app/website or by email?

Does your recent bill include all the meter readings you've given them for the past year?

I have been sending them via the app. The man I spoke to at Octopus did acknowledge there was an issue and he was unsure why I never received a bill. He could also see that I'd sent meter readings

ams_222

QrizB said:

Octopus would normally generate a bill whenever you submit a meter reading. How have you been sending them? Via the app/website or by email?

Does your recent bill include all the meter readings you've given them for the past year?

To answer the second part of the question, no it doesn't look like the bill includes any of my meter readings apart from one I gave early Jan 2025