Octopus Energy lost our smart meter data for 17 months – now wants to bill on estimates

Bendo

It's hardy micro managing  as Reed posted above Eon Next sent an automated email to book an appointment when they couldn't pull data for 2 months.

Building that into the system is minimal effort and provides a good customer experience.

The mentality of people on MSE baffles me.

MeteredOut

Bendo said:

It's hardy micro managing  as Reed posted above Eon Next sent an automated email to book an appointment when they couldn't pull data for 2 months.

Building that into the system is minimal effort and provides a good customer experience.

The mentality of people on MSE baffles me.

Since you've obviously put thought into this, and concluded the effort to be minimal, how much time (and cost) do you think this would take for Octopus to implement?

matt_drummer

Do you know that didn't send an email? 

Why message after two months, why not one month, or three months?

It is micro managing, one customer out of nearly eight million.

Octopus did it after seventeen months according to the OP, seems a strange timeline, maybe they were asked earlier? Maybe this is Octopus's last resort after previous failed attempts to resolve the issue?

I agree with you, I would expect some communication from the supplier eventually.

What baffles me is why somebody would let it go on for seventeen months when they are relying on it.

We don't know what communication or clues that something has gone wrong that the OP has received.

I don't think the OP has been totally transparent with the course of events.

This is not defending the supplier so much as questioning why the OP didn't realise something is wrong.

But I think the OP did realise something was wrong, the bills were complicated and beyond their comprehension, they didn't check anything and thought everything was OK because the money was OK for them and in line with their expectations.

If the OP posted a selection of bills it would be clear what information they were given and then they could be given advice on how to proceed in their favour.

Without anything other than a complaint directed at Octopus from the OP it is difficult to apportion blame.

But I can say that I would have noticed something was wrong a lot sooner, I am surprised the OP did not.

Bendo

MeteredOut said:

Bendo said:

It's hardy micro managing  as Reed posted above Eon Next sent an automated email to book an appointment when they couldn't pull data for 2 months.

Building that into the system is minimal effort and provides a good customer experience.

The mentality of people on MSE baffles me.

Since you've obviously put thought into this, and concluded the effort to be minimal, how much time (and cost) do you think this would take for Octopus to implement?

Given it's about the most simple thing you could tack onto the logic of pull data they would just need to add a simple conditional i.e. if no data && no data in past 60 days send email.  Time, including qa CI testing etc, maybe 60 mins to code, maybe a couple of days testing and deployment.  Cost, zero given they probable have their own in house team to do it.

Like said, Eon next appear to manage it just fine but it seems some people just love poor customer service is the MSE forum is anything to go by. 

matt_drummer

Bendo said:

Given it's about the most simple thing you could tack onto the logic of pull data they would just need to add a simple conditional i.e. if no data && no data in past 60 days send email.  Time, including qa CI testing etc, maybe 60 mins to code, maybe a couple of days testing and deployment.  Cost, zero given they probable have their own in house team to do it.

Like said, Eon next appear to manage it just fine but it seems some people just love poor customer service is the MSE forum is anything to go by. 

Do you actually know that Octopus don't already do this?

I don't.

In the OP's case, they were receiving bills that were estimated in some way, we don't know how that was indicated.

They may have been sent messages informing them of the problem, we don't know.

We do know they took no action when the format of their bills changed because the net result, in monetary terms, was acceptable to them and broadly inline with the data from their GivEnergy system.

Some have assumed that Octopus have taken no action in communicating the problem to the OP, we don't know if that is true or not.

We do know that the OP has taken notice of communication from Octopus when they wanted to revise billing due to the missing smart meter data in accordance with the tariff terms and conditions.

That is, when the monetary position changed to something they didn't like.

We don't know what else happened because the OP has been selective in the information they have supplied, just enough to make it all look like a surprise and that Octopus did nothing for seventeen months.

Scot_39

Bendo said:

It's hardy micro managing  as Reed posted above Eon Next sent an automated email to book an appointment when they couldn't pull data for 2 months.

Building that into the system is minimal effort and provides a good customer experience.

The mentality of people on MSE baffles me.

The mentality of those who expect adults to be mollycoddled like children baffles me.

Contracts work both ways. Try reading the T&Cs the OP signed up for.

Everything that happened exactly as was promised and agreed to.

They wouldnt make it into court let alone win if was a business contract dispute.



I agree the rules on smart meters are poor - but the solution is to scrap them - and our imbalanced net zero renewables approach - and give everyone a simple fair price for their electricity - flat or fixed tou tariffs - that proceded them.

Not give advantages to those who can afford to game the system - paid for all too often by those eho cannot.

matt_drummer

Scot_39 said:

I agree the rules on smart meters are poor - but the solution is to scrap them - and our imbalanced net zero renewables approach - and give everyone a simple fair price for their electricity - flat or fixed tou tariffs - that proceded them.

Not give advantages to those who can afford to game the system - paid for all too often by those eho cannot.

No!

The answer is to monitor the data, just like a bank account, a credit card, anything like this.

Many people with limited resources benefit and enjoy tariffs like Octopus Agile, there is no need to deprive them of that.

Don't penalise people who can afford stuff just because they work, these people pay tax, taxes that pay for  people who cannot work as well as those that don't want to work.

Smart meters make intelligent use of energy possible, to remove them would be going backwards. They enable the use of electricity when traditionally nobody wanted it, it's a good thing.

Everything is smart these days, and on the whole, we are all better of for it.

I can correspond with you for example, instantly, no stamps, no wax, no horses, just a metal and plastic box!

MattMattMattUK

The best solution by far would to make smart meters compulsory*, then move to a ToU model across the board for energy so we all pay what the energy costs when we use it. 

*Or for those who still want to attempt to refuse a smart meter they can pay the maximum ToU rate + 100%.

Qyburn

matt_drummer said:

The fact that the OP is involved in brown energy (that is importing at a cheap price and storing it to export later at a higher price) just make it worse.

If he's on Intelligent Flux that's entirely Octopus's decision. The customer has no control, other than signing up in the first place.

matt_drummer

Scot_39 said:

Not give advantages to those who can afford to game the system - paid for all too often by those eho cannot.

You are wrong.

It is `wealth' being used as it should be, to make things better.

In four years I have gone from burning stuff, petrol, diesel and gas, to burning nothing.

Of course it cost me money, but I am no longer polluting the atmosphere where I live.

Eventually everybody will be able to do the same, just like everybody can have a car instead of a horse or everybody can have heating rather than freezing to death.

It's progress, not free in money terms, but money is just a man made idea, bits of paper, numbers on a screen. 

I realise some have more money than others and some have very little whilst others have far more than they will ever need.

But, you can't buy health, and burning stuff is ultimately bad.

It's funny, many talk of carrying on burning fossil fuels to save money, but we are the same people that in thirty years have evolved into a society that cannot live without mobile telephones and their associated costs!