Octopus still no refund after 13 days!

MWT

OK, so you have got probate, that makes things easier, has the Octopus account been transferred into the control of the estate so you can continue to pay the bills?

Sadly the meter reading will still need to be confirmed even with a smart meter as the 3rd party often makes small adjustments to the final reading.

JARING

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931992#Comment_81931992

Yes, I know how smart meters work. I once worked for a place which tested its backup generators for 4hours every month (using no grid electricity during this time). The half-hour meter data collector's "small adjustment", which had been happening for years, involved copying and pasting the previous day's consumption - assuming their meter that was faulty. Hundreds of thousands were recovered for the client in this case.

Back to Octopus, yes 13 days ago they were informed of the executor account details when the refund was requested to be paid to the same account.

debitcardmayhem

Surly the estate is still liable for the power at the house until it's sold, did you talk to the bereavement team at Octopus?

JARING

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81932037#Comment_81932037

Indeed I did talk to the bereavement team initially. They were the first ones to promise the refund would be made within a few hours.

Although it's difficult to know precisely, I suspect that by the time they got around to trying the refund NatWest, like all banks, had immediately closed the account for payments in or out.

I therefore provided the executor account details but they then said they could only send a cheque for refunds.

It then turned out that they couldn't send a cheque and had to setup a direct debit mandate in order to make a refund…WHAT…no I didn't understand it either.

Anyway, here we are 13 days late and no resolution, or timescale for a resolution to the problem.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81932000#Comment_81932000

Yes, I know how smart meters work. I once worked for a place which tested its backup generators for 4hours every month (using no grid electricity during this time). The half-hour meter data collector's "small adjustment", which had been happening for years, involved copying and pasting the previous day's consumption - assuming their meter that was faulty.

This isn't that, but that's fine, I suspect you just have to wait a little longer and it will all get sorted out.

JARING

An update. The refund came through after 15 days.

I was told it takes them 5 days to setup a direct debit that they need to make a refund. As an experiment I switched my electricity to Octopus…would you believe they managed to setup that direct debit in under one hour! It's odd that it only takes 5 days when they are returning money.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81939752#Comment_81939752

The process is different and does indeed take several days to get a payment to your account, in the same way as it can take several days to actually receive a payment from you via DD, but the good news is that you've got your refund.

Scot_39

An old EOn forum post on DD cash exchange - said it gets credited to their clearing account 3 working days after it leaves your own - (same as a BACS from a personal account - the norm before faster payments) and often than not until next day that it gets reflected in your personal account balance.

Was the 5 days to see the cash - or before they sent it ?

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81939752#Comment_81939752

"would you believe they managed to setup that direct debit in under one hour!"

No I wouldn't believe it, because it's not possible. Direct debits operate using the BACS 3 working day clearing cycle. A minimum of one cycle is required for setup, which could be 5 days if it spans a weekend. Only at the end of this cycle is the merchant notified of the success or failure of the setup, whereas you may see the pending DD listed earlier than that.

I am not surprised you had difficulty getting them to send a payment to an account other than the original payment account. They have become very strict on this due to AML legislation.

JARING

No I wouldn't believe it, because it's not possible

Ok, perhaps I should more precisely have said…at 16:37 I opened an Octopus account and at 17:46 I was emailed saying "Your Direct Debit with Octopus Energy is all set! Here's the important stuff:" giving the impression the Direct Debit was "all set".

I am not surprised you had difficulty getting them to send a payment to an account other than the original payment account

When someone passes away, banks close their account right away, so any refund has to be sent to the executor’s account, which is naturally different from the account of the person who has passed away. Considering around 500,000 people die each year, it’s not exactly a rare occurrence.

Why can't a refund be made using Faster Payments? Why go through the pain of setting up a Direct Debit account for the executor just to make a refund?