Dayo - had your Octopus bill yet?

[klondike]

Just had mine. Wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Just made a one off £105 to settle. They were getting DD payments via Avro but it doesn't look like I can do much about setting one up with them at the moment. No idea if the old one will continue or not. They seem to either be in the process of changing their website or I'm in some Heath Robison halfway house at the moment.

[zoony]

I'm an Octopus customer too and so far so good but I expect that to change in the next month or so.. Well in credit so far.

[klondike]

We were both with Avro who went bust and got moved to Octopus about the end of September. My electric was about 15p a unit and is now about 20p while the gas was about 2.5p and is now about 3.75p none of which is very obvious in the bills issued. It won't be worth even looking at a move until the cap increases in April.

[Dayjo]

Hi K.
Nope... Nothing!

I left well alone. Until, in November, I noticed both companies had taken £90. 
I immediately cancelled the Avro direct debit.

I'm £250 in credit. Ready for the bill, when it comes.
Also, I've saved around 8%, so far, on their winter competition.

The gas & lecky, are being delivered as usual. The new boiler is quietly doing it's job.
All is well. So far..... 

P.S.
The website looks the same as usual. Not changed since I first moved onto it, last year...

[klondike]

There's a page that says it's in development and one that has a link to a previous version. I don't see any way on the site to set up a DD. It just says I'm paying a variable amount.

[Dayjo]

Still, not had my Avro, final bill... 

But Octopus informed me, this morning. If I stay with them, my payments after April will be £192.
Quite a difference, to September's Avro payment of £70..... 

[klondike]

I got mine eventually so I'm guessing yours will turn up. I was paying £82. Due to a misunderstanding the one off £105 payment left me in credit. I've made an interim change to the DD to £100 but they haven't told me what I will need to pay. I posted the April tariff they sent me just the other day.

[Dayjo]

AT LAST!!
After waiting 6 months. I have just received my first Octopus energy statement!

I was £81 in credit to Avro.
After 4 payments at £70, and 3 at £90.
I am still ahead by £51.

I think their future monthly payment request of £192, looks a little ott.... 

[klondike]

I was paying Avro £83 and ended up a bit in credit. They say they'll change it to £157.60 so close to double what I was paying Avro.

I hadn't changed to them long before they folded. I was with Scottish Power before and could have stayed with them on a different fix. That would have saved me some. Can't complain as what with cheap fixes and cashbacks over the years I did pretty well in the past.

[Dayjo]

I was with Avro, just over four years. At monthly rates no-one could match.
It was good, while it lasted.... 

[klondike]

Read back and saw you said you'd been charged by both Avro and Octopus. Checked to see what I'd been charged and I was paying Avro til the December 2021 DD. I paid nothing to Octopus until the £100 in March when I supposedly changed the DD. They get good reviews but it seems that their billing is rather hit and miss. Currently showing me as £10 in credit.

[Diasi]

When we were with Octopus Energy we were on a fixed kWh tariff & we were only charged for what our smart meters said we'd used for each month.

I thought that was the whole idea of smart meters but Shell, who we're with now, seem to struggle with the concept of daily smart meter readings being accurate enough to not need a fixed DD payment each month.

[klondike]

I think Octopus still let you pay that way if you want but I have no problem with a fixed DD anyway as you can just alter it if you wish. The reason I think you can is because there was a period when I had no DD with them at all and they hadn't asked me to set one up it just said I was paying them a variable amount on the account. Mind you I was probably in credit at the time.

Everything was in limbo as they had picked up the account but had no info on readings or balance when they picked it up. I was resigned to having to put up with whatever happened as switching would just make things more complex and I wouldn't save anything anyway.

[Diasi]

We didn't join Shell from an energy provider that went bust so there's no logical reason whatsoever for not billing us for what we've actually used.

That's how we pay for our petrol.

[klondike]

If that's how you want it then yes they should let you. Do they insist on a DD? If not then cancel it and make monthly transfers.

It isn't something that I'm fussed over as I prefer to have built up a surplus in the account over summer to reduce higher bills over winter anyway. I suppose I may be losing out on the 0.1% interest most banks are paying right now but I'll just have to live with that.