E-on to Octopus

daniesto · 14 July 2018 at 2:51PM

I was living in a 1 bed room first floor flat (Uxbridge) from 2013-2016. My energy supplier at the time was E-on. I was on one of those plans where I paid £39 per month (direct debit) for both gas and electricity. My job involves shift work so I am hardly at home hence very low usage of gas and electricity. In mid 2016 I moved to a 2 double bed room ground floor maisonette. This place was fairly large, from kitchen to the living room to the bath room. As a result of this and my girlfriend staying there most of the time, my energy bill (still with E-on) rose to £73 per month.
I now have moved back to a 1 bed room first floor flat. The flat is very similar to what I had in Uxbridge. I have told E-on I moved, however my direct debit is pretty much the same even though I am using very low amount of energy. E-on said they will monitor my usage for 6 months then adjust direct debit accordingly and any credit will be refunded back to me end of my contract. Anyway I haven’t signed a contract with them so I am right now on their variable plan.
I started doing some research on energy suppliers and I came across ‘Octopus Energy’. They seem to have good ratings and reviews. I got a quote from them, during this quote I put my actual energy usage (instead of an estimate), these usage figures are from my Uxbridge flat because in comparison this will be just as good. My monthly estimated came to £32 for both gas and electricity, given any variations let’s say £40. This is still cheaper than E-on. Also I gotta letter from E-on stating from August 2018 their price will increase.
I am thinking of switching to Octopus Energy. I believe they adjust the direct debit according to my usage but I am not sure if they do refund for any credit given I do not use that much energy. Also anyone here had good experience with Octopus Energy? Do you recommend it? Or do you think I am better off staying with E-on? Right now I do not want to pay £73 per month for next 6 month until they decide to change my direct debit. And these figures I used to project the price, do they come and check the meters?
I am sorry for the long story, but might as well give as many details as I can so you guys and girls can help me to decide.
Many thanks.

System · 14 July 2018 at 4:06PM

All suppliers have to refund credit on accounts. DD payments are not charges: they are just payments made on account from which charges are deducted each time a bill is raised.

Usage depends on many factors not just property size. No two flats are the same: for example, insulation varies. The 'good news' is that your present energy supplier will have access to the historical usage data for your present property going back 2 years. This is known as the Estimated Annual Consumption for Electricity and Annual Quantity for Gas. Call them and compare the EAC and AQ to the figures that you have calculated.

As far as Octopus is concerned, they are a very good supplier. Provide them with monthly readings and you will find that their account management is very good. I am with Octopus for electricity. I am about to move home and I will use Octopus for dual fuel. There is also a £50 referral link available for new customers.

daniesto · 14 July 2018 at 4:25PM

Thank you for your reply.

EAC could be very different as previous owners may have used more more energy than I would use. In this case can I suggest my monthly actual consumption then make an estimate from there?

Also you said you are with Octopus for Electricity, does separate fuel works out cheaper than dual fuel?

thanks

System · 14 July 2018 at 4:57PM

daniesto wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.

EAC could be very different as previous owners may have used more more energy than I would use. In this case can I suggest my monthly actual consumption then make an estimate from there?

Also you said you are with Octopus for Electricity, does separate fuel works out cheaper than dual fuel?

thanks

The cost of energy - and therefore the best overall deal/s - varies with usage and postcode. You need to do your own comparisons. As you are not that sure of your annual usage then I suggest that you look at suppliers that offer fixed term tariffs with no exit fees. I am moving home in 10 days time, and I have chosen Octopus dual fuel for this reason. I am currently with separate suppliers: Zog for gas and Octopus for energy. I will watch my future usage like a hawk and switch again if I can find a better deal.

You can give any consumption figures that you like but don!!!8217;t be surprised if the supplier hikes your DD based on EAC/AQ.

daniesto · 14 July 2018 at 5:27PM

good stuff, thanks.

Sosumi · 15 July 2018 at 11:50AM

Make sure your comparison figures are correct before switching. For me, Octopus Energy, despite the fact that it is plugged relentlessly by Hengus on here, would cost £273 a year more for a 12-month dual-energy fix than the one I commenced with E.ON six weeks ago.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc · 17 July 2018 at 1:54PM

daniesto wrote: »

I was living in a 1 bed room first floor flat (Uxbridge) from 2013-2016. My energy supplier at the time was E-on. I was on one of those plans where I paid £39 per month (direct debit) for both gas and electricity. My job involves shift work so I am hardly at home hence very low usage of gas and electricity. In mid 2016 I moved to a 2 double bed room ground floor maisonette. This place was fairly large, from kitchen to the living room to the bath room. As a result of this and my girlfriend staying there most of the time, my energy bill (still with E-on) rose to £73 per month.
I now have moved back to a 1 bed room first floor flat. The flat is very similar to what I had in Uxbridge. I have told E-on I moved, however my direct debit is pretty much the same even though I am using very low amount of energy. E-on said they will monitor my usage for 6 months then adjust direct debit accordingly and any credit will be refunded back to me end of my contract. Anyway I haven’t signed a contract with them so I am right now on their variable plan.
I started doing some research on energy suppliers and I came across ‘Octopus Energy’. They seem to have good ratings and reviews. I got a quote from them, during this quote I put my actual energy usage (instead of an estimate), these usage figures are from my Uxbridge flat because in comparison this will be just as good. My monthly estimated came to £32 for both gas and electricity, given any variations let’s say £40. This is still cheaper than E-on. Also I gotta letter from E-on stating from August 2018 their price will increase.
I am thinking of switching to Octopus Energy. I believe they adjust the direct debit according to my usage but I am not sure if they do refund for any credit given I do not use that much energy. Also anyone here had good experience with Octopus Energy? Do you recommend it? Or do you think I am better off staying with E-on? Right now I do not want to pay £73 per month for next 6 month until they decide to change my direct debit. And these figures I used to project the price, do they come and check the meters?
I am sorry for the long story, but might as well give as many details as I can so you guys and girls can help me to decide.
Many thanks.

Hello daniesto and welcome to the Forums. Already some excellent advice from Hengus. Thanks Hengus.

To confirm, we base our payment arrangements on current prices and past usage at the property. As Hengus says, we'll have details of what's been used previously through the EAC and AQ. Totally accept, different occupiers will use energy differently and so we use these figures as a starting point. This is why our advisor will have suggested monitoring it for 6 months. Once we've a better idea of your usage, payments can be adjusted to suit. Sending readings regularly will help build up a picture of your actual usage pattern (unless you have smart meters as these will automatically send us readings). The aim is for accounts to have as near as possible to a zero balance by the annual payment review. Any credit over a fiver at this point is automatically refunded.

If you've registered with our website, there's an online tool you can use to help give you more control over the arrangement. This includes changing the monthly amount to better suit different circumstances. This is the Direct Debit Manager. Provided accounts are billed up to the latest meter readings, payments can be changed by up to 20 per cent up or down. By up to 5 per cent up or down without readings. Before confirming the new amount, we'll let you know by how much we think the account will be in credit/debit by the annual review if the payments are changed but usage doesn't alter as expected. There's more about this tool on our website.

As you're on our Standard Variable Tariff, I can confirm these prices will go up from 16 August 18. This will also affect your monthly payments going forward. There aren't any restrictions with this tariff leaving you free to switch supplier at any time without penalty.

Hope this is of interest daniesto. Let me know if you need any more information as happy to help.

Malc

E-on to Octopus

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