Octopus energy confusion

rog57

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on whether I should take my electricity supplier (Octopus Energy) to small claims court, or if there is another route I should take. I’m struggling to understand everything they’ve done, so I’d really appreciate some outside opinions.

Background

I have three Ombudsman decisions in my favour:

1. June 2024 – Backbilling case Octopus were ordered to:
   • Remove any previously unbilled electricity charges
   • Rebill my account from a cut‑off reading of 5972 on 6 May 2023
2. 2025 – Meter replacement case I had to go to the Ombudsman to get my faulty electricity meter replaced.The Ombudsman agreed the meter was not recording correctly and ordered Octopus to replace it.
3. March 2026 – Faulty meter billing case After the meter was replaced, the Ombudsman ruled the old meter had been over‑recording.They ordered:
   • A 40% reduction in electricity usage
   • A full rebill based on only 60% of the original consumption

Refunds of £500 and £1,000

These are important:

• The £500 was my own credit, built up from direct debits.I withdrew it into my bank account.
• The £1,000 was part of the first Ombudsman decision.It was compensation/correction ordered by the Ombudsman, and I also withdrew it.

Octopus have not explained:

• What charges originally created these credits
• Whether those charges still exist
• Whether these refunds were used to offset the April 2026 rebills
• How any of this complies with the Ombudsman cut‑off or backbilling rules

What has happened since

In April 2026, Octopus made major adjustments to my account. These included:

• Reversing and re‑adding large amounts of electricity charges
• Changing my historic consumption
• Applying new charges for periods that should be covered by the Ombudsman cut‑off
• Applying a “40% remedy” but not showing how they calculated it
• Adding a £20 “past billable date” credit without telling me

Missing data

In their latest email, Octopus admitted:

“We no longer have the data stored from before April 2024.”

This means they cannot show:

• The original consumption
• The original bills
• The data used for the 40% remedy
• The data behind the £500 and £1,000 refunds
• The evidence for the charges they re‑added in April 2026

My concerns

• They say the account is “now correct”, but they cannot show the evidence.
• They cannot provide a full transaction log for the April adjustments.
• They cannot provide a breakdown of refunds and write‑offs.
• They cannot show the original data needed to justify the charges.
• They applied a backbilling credit (£20) without notifying me.
• My app previously showed £4,339.96 for 2024 electricity, and now shows £3,070.79 for the same period — a difference of over £1,200 with no explanation.

What I need advice on

Given all of this, I’m unsure what to do next.

• Should I take this to small claims court?
• Should I escalate back to the Ombudsman?
• Or is there another route I should take?

I feel completely out of my depth and would really appreciate any guidance from people who understand energy billing or have been through something similar.

Thank you in advance.

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6666152/octopus-energy-confusion

Welcome to the forum.

Was your post written by AI? It doesn't do a very good job of getting your point across, and (having read it twice) I can't tell whether you think Octopus currently owe you money or vice-versa.

Should I take this to small claims court?

To succeed in court, you'll need to present your version of the situation. This will mean calculating for yourself what you think your energy charges should have been for the period, what you have paid to Octopus over that same period, and demonstrate that Octopus are asking (or have taken) more from you than they should.

So, you'll need a complete set of records of your meter readings for the period, the applicable tariffs, and any Obudsman-agreed adjustments. You'll also need to use these to calculate what you think your bill should be.

From what you've said, you haven't yet done these calculations.

Do you have this data? Copies of all your bills (original and corrected) for the disputed period, records of actual meter readings, copies of the Ombudsman rulings?

You will need to be much clearer with your arguments at court than you have been in this forum post, and will not be able to rely on AI to make your case for you.

Should I escalate back to the Ombudsman?

In general you'll have an easier time with the Ombudsman, as they have discretions that the court lacks.

But even there, you'll need to be clear about what you think is actually wrong.

squirrelpie

What would you expect the small claims court to do? Why are you considering it? You seem to be asking for explanations, not for financial recompense for some alleged offence.

EssexHebridean

On the face of it, it appears that they have credited above the 40% level - how much do you believe should have been credited?

Did the Ombudsman explicitly state that Octopus needed to show you calculations for the rebilling?

Is the starting meter reading for the rebilling correct?

rog57

it was written by AI just because it is too complicated for me to word so I thought ai would word it better for me. The whole problem is that nobody not even octopus can work it out as they are saying that they do not have data before 2024 we have tried sorting it with our bills but they are so complicated and confusing. We were about 600 in debt but we have had another direct debit go through of £200 since then and despite them claiming they have refunded us nearly £3000 we are now £150 in credit with a lot of pluses and minuses to our account. So yes we have gone to AI for support and have looked into it the best we can but was hoping for more ideas on what to do next

QrizB

it was written by AI just because it is too complicated for me to word so I thought ai would word it better for me.

AI definitely simplified it, but it's lost almost all of the useful information.

nobody not even octopus can work it out as they are saying that they do not have data before 2024

The information that's needed should be on your bills. Even if Octopus have somehow deleted their records, you still have your bills and that's where you will find the info.

we have tried sorting it with our bills but they are so complicated and confusing.

If you have all the bills, the originals and the later "corrected" versions, then you have the information you need.

It sounds to me as though, if you're not confident, you need someone to sit down with your bills and go through them methodically. You might find someone in your local CAB who can do this with you.

There are several people on this forum who could do it but it might take a couple of hours and I don't expect anyone here to make that commitment.

RelievedSheff

If they have refunded £3000 and you are now £150 in credit then that suggests that your debt balance was far more than the £600 you believed it to be.

Had you taken account of your energy use since the previous bill?

Does your £200 direct debit accurately reflect the cost of the energy you use each month?

rog57

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81981383#Comment_81981383

we knew our balance beforehand as we have been keeping a close eye on it since we realised we were being overcharged

ladruid

We would need concrete figures to assist. Dates, usage, rates. From this it should be pretty easy to load into a spreadsheet, add a few calcs based on the ombudsman's details and with the info all complete, give a clearer picture of what you should have got.

RelievedSheff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81981410#Comment_81981410

What is your annual gas and electric consumption in kWh and what tariff are you on?

Reed_Richards

Sad really, AI will write a message for you but it won't tell you if your bill is correct.