The energy crisis

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Chris

Thanks … I did eventually find the details for Outgoing though they don’t make it at all obvious during sign up that this is even an option. Not great for new build buyers who haven’t made a conscious decision to install solar panels and may not know what they need to do in order to benefit from them.

Anyway, I have signed up, and now I’m going through the rigmarole of the meters not being on the national database. No doubt this is something to do with the utter incompetence of Scottish Power, who with any luck I will be free of in a week’s time. I have sent photos of the meters to Octopus. Once the account is active I will action the switch to the Octopus Outgoing tariff and finally start getting paid for what I’m generating. Or at least, I’ll be ready to start getting paid once I have excess … at this time of year we have discovered it is best to time appliances like the dishwasher to operate from late morning to early afternoon and just use the solar power ourselves.

Does this mean that you will have lost out on any solar power payments up until now? If so, thst really isn't fair at all.

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

Does this mean that you will have lost out on any solar power payments up until now? If so, thst really isn't fair at all.

Most suppliers require you to manually claim for power generated on a quarterly basis - even if you have a SMETS2 standard smart meter which is entirely capable of automatically reporting export KWh to the supplier, at the same time as it reports import kWh (import being the electricity you’re actually buying from the grid to run your home).

Octopus is one of the few - perhaps the only - supplier that offers a tariff which will read both import and export values from your meter and pay you for the export amount, effectively buying it from you.

I could possibly get readings in to Scottish Power for what we generated over the past 8 months; it is more than 600kWh which at the rate Octopus pays would be worth around £90. However, I don’t have a starting reading for the meter so I can’t say precisely how much of that is actually ours (I’m guessing probably about 75% of it is, but can’t be sure). Also my panels aren’t registered with Scottish Power and their customer service is truly, truly awful to deal with.

Sadly I’m inclined to put it down to experience (the experience being never ever deal with Scottish Power ever again). As soon as my Octopus account is live I’ll arrange it with them and have done with it.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Chris

Most suppliers require you to manually claim for power generated on a quarterly basis - even if you have a SMETS2 standard smart meter which is entirely capable of automatically reporting export KWh to the supplier, at the same time as it reports import kWh (import being the electricity you’re actually buying from the grid to run your home).

Octopus is one of the few - perhaps the only - supplier that offers a tariff which will read both import and export values from your meter and pay you for the export amount, effectively buying it from you.

I could possibly get readings in to Scottish Power for what we generated over the past 8 months; it is more than 600kWh which at the rate Octopus pays would be worth around £90. However, I don’t have a starting reading for the meter so I can’t say precisely how much of that is actually ours (I’m guessing probably about 75% of it is, but can’t be sure). Also my panels aren’t registered with Scottish Power and their customer service is truly, truly awful to deal with.

Sadly I’m inclined to put it down to experience (the experience being never ever deal with Scottish Power ever again). As soon as my Octopus account is live I’ll arrange it with them and have done with it.

I know what you mean, sometimes life is too short to bother with these things (and I'm sure they know this). It's a shame that you stand to lose approximately £67.50 though if you owed them £67.50 you can be sure they'd be chasing you for it!

For your entertainment, here is the transcript of my web chat with Scottish Power this morning.

Conversation with ScottishPower
Started on February 16, 2023 at 11:02 AM London time GMT (GMT+0000)

---

11:02 AM | Operator: Hi there! This is ScottishPower's support Bot speaking. I’m here to answer your questions, but you’ll always have the option to talk to our team.

11:02 AM | Operator: So what brings you here today?

11:02 AM | Me: Oh my goodness this is awful - why won’t you let me just describe my actual problem instead of forcing me to choose options which don’t match, and then forcibly cutting me off? I have never experienced customer service this bad. Is there a real human here who can help me?

11:02 AM | Operator: [Article: "Raising a Complaint"]
[Article: "Not a customer yet and moving home?"]
[Article: "Leaving ScottishPower"]
More in the Help Center (https://intercom.help/scottishpower?...ource=operator)

11:02 AM | Operator: Did that answer help, or are you looking for something else?

11:02 AM | Me: Talk to a person ��

11:03 AM | Operator: We just need a bit more information to connect you with the right person
Please Select your payment method from the options below.

11:03 AM | Me: I do not have an account set up

11:03 AM | Operator: The team will get back to you on this. ScottishPower will reply as soon as they can.

11:03 AM | Me: I want to register but the house builder has sent you incorrect details about me (account name is wrong).

11:04 AM | Me: I will not click on the link to confirm ‘this is my account’ until you can put my name at the top of it.

11:12 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: Hello.

11:12 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: Good Morning.

11:12 AM | Me: Finally!

11:13 AM | Me: Are you human?

11:13 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: My name is Subhodeep and I will assist you today.

11:13 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: Yes i am human,

11:13 AM | Me: OK. This should be simple. We have moved into a new house. The house builder has sent you my wife’s name for the new account. We need it to be my name.

11:14 AM | Me: The account number is xxxxxxxx

11:14 AM | Me: They have given you the name Mrs

11:14 AM | Me: Please change this to Mr

11:15 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: sure,

11:17 AM | Me: Great. Please let me know when you have finished. Then I can go and create an online account.

11:25 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: Have you moved out from (our address)?

11:26 AM | Me: No, we moved *in* to (our address) on the (date) of June last year. We are still here. It has taken you nearly 8 months to send us a letter inviting us to open an account with you.

11:27 AM | Me: I live at (our address) and all I want is an account in the name of Mr, because my wife does not deal with household bills, I do. Please just put my name on the account and let’s get this over with.

11:30 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: As the account name is already created so name cannot be changed like that. The solution is you can ad your name on the account when your wife gets letter of authorization in pdf format signed by both of you so that we can add your name.

11:31 AM | Me: Actually the solution is for us to just go ahead and leave my wife’s name on it, pay the opening balance and then transfer to a different supplier that makes some effort to provide customer service.

11:32 AM | Me: Scottish Power has by some distance been the worst company I have ever dealt with. Thank you for confirming my decision to leave at the earliest opportunity.

11:39 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: I understand but we cannot leave your wife name like this from the account since there is huge debt on the account so if she gives letter of authorization signed by booth of you that both can handle the account then we can add your name as per GDPR guidlines,

11:40 AM | Me: You do realise that the huge debt on the account is *entirely* due to you not sending us a welcome letter for almost 8 months, don’t you?

11:42 AM | Me: I am now trying to log in, however it says it has now linked our account with a pre existing one. I don’t have a password and when I click password reset it says ‘something went wrong’. This is utterly hopeless.

11:44 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: I understand but without letter of authorization i am afraid i will not be able to proceed here to give new password link to you else it will be GDPR issue,

11:51 AM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: I have not heard from you for a while, are we still connected?

11:54 AM | Me: I have been manually collecting and inputting meter readings. Once I have finished I will be paying the outstanding balance and then arranging to transfer my account to Octopus Energy. My neighbours say they are better than Scottish Power. They certainly couldn't be any worse.

12:00 PM | Subhodeep from ScottishPower: Ok sorry to hear that from you, Is there anything else I may assist you?

12:01 PM | Me: No thanks. I wish you all the best working for your dreadful employer. I have paid the balance now and will be closing my Scottish power account as soon as possible.

I have since paid the outstanding amount (at the first opportunity, obviously, as they never allowed us to have an actual account with them before today) and started the process of switching to Octopus.

---------- Post added at 14:41 ---------- Previous post was at 14:32 ----------

Also, has anyone here recently switched to Octopus and fancies sharing a referral code with me? It looks like we both get money off if so?

[Jaymoss]

I think they need to click through the link to join so you need someone intending to join. Both get £50 iirc . You could have been referred too but if you already joined you missed the chance

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

I think they need to click through the link to join so you need someone intending to join. Both get £50 iirc . You could have been referred too but if you already joined you missed the chance

Possibly not - I just checked my account and there’s a section that says:

Forgot your referral?

Were you referred but forgot to use the referral code? It's not too late, you can still apply a referral.

‘Apply a referral’ is a hyperlink. Worth a go, on the off chance someone has a code anyway.

---------- Post added at 15:05 ---------- Previous post was at 15:04 ----------

… it seems to have worked anyway. Looks like we’re both getting £50

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Chris

Possibly not - I just checked my account and there’s a section that says:



‘Apply a referral’ is a hyperlink. Worth a go, on the off chance someone has a code anyway.

---------- Post added at 15:05 ---------- Previous post was at 15:04 ----------

… it seems to have worked anyway. Looks like we’re both getting £50

Awesome cheers Chris

And thank you also

[Chrysalis]

I was tempted but a lot of forums forbid shoving codes in peoples faces so didnt give you one, sad I missed the chance now.

Not a single family member is interested in moving so I havent managed to get a single £50.

[joglynne]

M&S Energy to close and switch customers to Octopus Energy

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...xjEWVJAHlhe1LI

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by joglynne

M&S Energy to close and switch customers to Octopus Energy

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...xjEWVJAHlhe1LI

I wonder how close to 6th place Octopus are now

[Jaymoss]

apparently with the Bulb take over they are 3rd already

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

apparently with the Bulb take over they are 3rd already

Thanks for sharing. Quite impressive as they were a start-up and not formed from the original power companies as British Gas, E.on, EDF and Scottish Power all were.

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Thanks for sharing. Quite impressive as they were a start-up and not formed from the original power companies as British Gas, E.on, EDF and Scottish Power all were.

They, and Bulb, successfully identified a gap in the market for customers wanting to buy renewable energy and get straightforward customer service while they were at it. Bulb, sadly, was found wanting on the wholesale energy buying side of its business. Its customer base is a good fit for Octopus, which offers similar green credentials, albeit with a slightly more complex tariff structure (Bulb’s was extremely straightforward - one price was it). While some Bulb customers may have been attracted by its simple pricing I suspect most won’t be in a hurry to leave just because Octopus offers a few additional options.

I was with Bulb for several years prior to my house move and was very happy with them. I was gutted for them when they went under. By the end of next week I will be with Octopus. Again, the reason for my move is the reputation for straightforward customer service, green energy and now, thanks to the solar panels on my new house, Octopus’s willingness to operate a tariff that will automatically pay me back for what I generate. Simple customer focused things like this can create a successful business over time, as their new status as 3rd largest supplier in the UK shows.

My experience of Bulb has been poor on the customer service side, hence why I moved to British Gas the other week.
Under normal circumstances I would not have considered BG as they were always more expensive, but with the current cap, thats a non issue.
I expect once (if ?) pricing returns to some sort of normality, I may have to move again (quite possibly to Octopus).