New Octopus Go tariff and off peak options?

[MrBadger]

I think they have over-stretched themselves with new customers and service is suffering,

Totally agree. I have been with Octopus for quite a few years now and in early days, customer support been 5 star, but recently I have needed to contact them on 4 occasions and customer support has been pants - I even needed to raise a complaint as an email query was returned late and completely unanswered - pointed me to the FAQ even though my email said that I had read the FAQ and it didn't answer my questions so needed specific answers. Totally gone to pot recently to the point that before switching to Go, I'm going to look elsewhere - I favour customer service over saving a few £.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

I'm at 1.5 weeks from an email that said they would contact me to arrange yet another appointment to try to get my meters working.

On Monday I send them a prodding email asking what was going on, and they didn't even bother to reply.

Then their CEO told me on facebook (he hangs around one of the EV groups) they reply to all emails within 4 hours.. I nearly fell off my chair. If he really believes that the company is toast because he has no clue what is going on.

I'd leave and go elsewhere but (a) they've promised to reimburse the extra I've been paying being stuck on a fixed tariff since November, and (b) smart meters are such a clusterf... I'm not sure I wouldn't be getting the same runaround off someone else anyway.

 

[Mark_T]

I'd leave and go elsewhere but (a) they've promised to reimburse the extra I've been paying being stuck on a fixed tariff since November, and (b) smart meters are such a clusterf... I'm not sure I wouldn't be getting the same runaround off someone else anyway.

... and that is a valid concern.

They should reply to emails more promptly, I'd say it is typically within 24 hours for tariff changes, but more like 48 hours for things the front-line staff cannot deal with like smart meter issues.

The mitigating factor though is your other point, unlike many other suppliers, when they do mess up or even when their contractors mess up, they do provide good compensation by way of adjustments to the bill.

I can take a few delays when I know they will make it right in the end.

Also they do make even their 'exclusive' switching site tariffs available to existing customers on request. I can forgive quite a lot for things like that.

 

[Roy W.]

... I'm not sure I wouldn't be getting the same runaround off someone else anyway.

I really do think this is the case. Over many years of dealing with utility companies, I think I’ve only ever had stellar customer service from one. Several years ago we were with a small company called Ebico, which was a not for profit company. They weren’t the cheapest, but they had very transparent pricing and great customer service.

Around five or six years ago we had a nightmare experience with First Utility that dragged on for about a year. I think they are now Shell Energy.

For me at least, (although it does seem to be pot luck) my Octopus experience has been good so far. I moved from OVO, who had been good when I was with them, but I only recently managed to get my credit balance refunded by them, probably five months after we switched. They blamed some problem with the changeover meter readings, which was laughable really as the readings came from their own smart meters!

I’d certainly agree that Octopus can be slow replying to emails, nothing like the four hours or one day that they claim. But in every case when I’ve contacted them, I’ve always got a reply, even if it was a week later. All too often small companies can start out offering excellent service, but then they run into problems scaling that up as the company grows.

For me at least, I’m currently happy with the balance of pricing and customer service I’m getting from Octopus.

If anyone thinks they’ve found the Holy Grail of energy suppliers, please tell us all!

 

[Mark_T]

If anyone thinks they’ve found the Holy Grail of energy suppliers, please tell us all!

... and then 6 months later let us know how the move to an expensive deemed tariff with a supplier you didn't choose works out after they have gone bust

No shortage of cheap start-ups eager to please, but I've stuck with Octopus as they do seem to have a sustainable business model with some innovative tariffs.

 

[DaftPunkPhunk]

Anyone got a referral code for Octopus Energy they want to share?

 

[Roy W.]

Anyone got a referral code for Octopus Energy they want to share?

Here you go, DM on the way!

 

[kevuwk]

Anyone got a referral code for Octopus Energy they want to share?

check your messages

 

[DaftPunkPhunk]

Here you go, DM on the way!

Thanks Roy, first one to send it so used yours. Sharing is caring!

 

[Roy W.]

Thanks Roy, first one to send it so used yours. Sharing is caring!

You’re very welcome @DaftPunkPhunk and thank you!

Have you got your car yet?

If you’ve any other questions or queries, please get in touch.

 

[Jason71]

The most frustrating delay for me moving over to the Go tariff has been the delay between SMETS2 meter install, and the new tariff starting.
Currently now 3 weeks in, but at least I have now had a vague promise of 'next week' and an even more vague promise of some credit to my account for the delay.
I think they have over-stretched themselves with new customers and service is suffering,

have you phoned them? After 2 weeks I called the installer who confirmed it was all done and so Octopus could blame them. Then I phoned Octopus and insisted they investigate why the data was not coming through. Was all sorted by the next day.
I find calling better than email for this stuff with Octopus.

 

[MrBadger]

Anyone else having approx 10x discrepancy between web account gas readings and billing/smart meter?

Octopus said they had resolved this for me, but just got latest bill and clearly not resolved.

Account web meter readings - 8.823kWh - wrong - approx 10x smaller than it should be


Billing daily average - 81.75kWh - inline with smart meter


Smart meter - 98.49kWh - cold day!

 

[Roy W.]

Anyone else having approx 10x discrepancy between web account gas readings and billing/smart meter?

Octopus said they had resolved this for me, but just got latest bill and clearly not resolved.

Account web meter readings - 8.823kWh - wrong - approx 10x smaller than it should be
View attachment 515950

Billing daily average - 81.75kWh - inline with smart meter
View attachment 515951

Smart meter - 98.49kWh - cold day!
View attachment 515953

Are they charging you correctly or based on the 10x smaller readings?

I've never used the web portal because I have a Hildebrand Glowstick.

 

[MrBadger]

Are they charging you correctly or based on the 10x smaller readings?

All the billing matches the larger figure - which I believe is correct as i pretty sure that I checked that it was inline with my previously monthly submissions. I use to take weekly readings but I'm past that point in life now although one day I will get around to uploading this smart data to augment what I already have on pvoutput.org

 

[Mark_T]

Anyone else having approx 10x discrepancy between web account gas readings and billing/smart meter?

The Octopus report is showing you cubic metres not kWh.

Your IHD is showing you kWh.

The conversion from one to the other varies a little each month due to changes in calorific value, but the conversion factor is roughly 11.2.

Octopus know about the incorrect designation of the portal numbers as 'kWh' and have said that will be fixed soon.

If you look at your bill on the portal you will see the detailed numbers for gas consumption where you'll be able to reconcile both the daily consumption in units and the kWh total you are billed for.

Your IHD can also show you the actual gas meter reading in cubic metres (under 'Meter Information') which will match the daily reports you see in the portal, just be aware that it does not update as frequently as the electricity meter readings.

 

[MrBadger]

The Octopus report is showing you cubic metres not kWh.

Thankyou. 8.823m3 x 1.02264 × 39.3 / 3.6 = 98.49kWh ! bang on.

So it should really be saying m3 or even better, unifying everything as kWh?



Unfortunately, Octopus now want to 'look into this issue and try to fix your smart meter' - why couldn't Octopus just have said about the web page units issue first and again today, second time around.

 

[Mark_T]

So it should really be saying m3 or even better, unifying everything as kWh?

I'd say it should be kept as m3 since the calorific value changes make it harder to reconcile the kWh numbers over different time periods.

Unfortunately, Octopus now want to 'look into this issue and try to fix your smart meter' - why couldn't Octopus just have said about the units issue first and now second time around.

There is a different support email for things like missing data and other Smart meter issues: [email protected]

I'd be inclined to use that one for smart issues and keep the normal support link for general tariff and billing queries.

A number of the delays in support response have been down to the normal front line staff having to relay these queries up the line, the new email address gets straight to the smart meter team.

 

[Mr Miserable]

Electricity bills are easy to check and anybody with a calculator can check their bill however gas bills are a little trickier because of the daily changing regional calorific value.
I wrote a program a couple of years ago that quickly checked gas utility bills which is why I know the trivia surrounding it.
The calorific value is assessed daily and published at 10:30 for each of the 13 regions.
Your utility company should use these daily figures and average them out for the period of the bill.
However, there is a little quirk on the averaging - and the OFGEM rules are very clear that the averaged figure must not be rounded but truncated. ie if over a 31 day billing period the averaged daily calorific value is 39.29, the only figure to be used in the bill is 39.2 and not 39.3 or even 39.29.

There isn't a problem with the large utility companies however many of the smaller utilitiy companies contract out their back-office billing functions and I think I have had a run-in with most of them over the years but there may be still some out there using incorrect calculations.
In the worst case I discovered just last year, a relatively large utility company, had outsourced their billing and had never checked the calculations themselves. There were numerous errors, some of them glaring, that had gone unnoticed for years.
So check your gas bill.

More info HERE Follow links for CV data for your region

 

[Mark_T]

Electricity bills are easy to check and anybody with a calculator can check their bill however gas bills are a little trickier because of the daily changing regional calorific value.

The basic check is on consumption is still easy though as that is just a meter reading.

It doesn't help when the IHD often buries the meter reading somewhere obscure and just presents the calculated kWh figure.

Still not too hard for most people to go look at the meter itself if necessary.

 

[AYYC]

Hi, I am preparing for the arrival of my Model 3 LR AWD. Its due to arrive end of March. Will be looking to install the Ohme wall charger within the next couple of weeks and now looking at my energy supplier. From my research it looks like the Octopus Go will be the best tariff for me, 4 hours nightly charge will provide approx 100 miles of range, so over 2-3 nights I can get back to 90% even after a long trip as well as my daily commute. I would be willing to have a 5 hr off-peak for 5.5p just for the additional flexibility it would provide.

I don't have a smart meter so I might have left switching a little late.

Would anyone be willing to share their referral code?