Utility Account Balance

[securespark]

I admit, this is my bad for letting it slide.

But shouldn't a highly rated company like Octopus automatically refund large balances like this?

Plus, the CS agent we spoke to suggested we had not paid our electricity bill since April. The implication was that our account was not up to date, but when we checked, it was.

Reluctance to refund, perhaps?

Maybe these companies live off their forgetful customers' positive account balances sitting there gaining them interest day by day.

We asked for a refund of all of it bar 200 quid today.

Oh no, we have to wait 10 days!

If they want your money, they get it when they ask for it. But if we want it back, we have to wait 10 days for it. Meanwhile, it's extra interest for them.

I'm going to make a very strongly worded complaint about that.

It's a Which? Recommended Provider, too.

 

[Notch7]

Wow that’s a big credit balance.

Mine is in credit by £350 but then that’s not far out given this is towards the end of the summer months where we’ve been over paying

 

[Alec_t]

My a/c with BG had been in increasing credit for a long time. It took BG many months before they reduced my DD accordingly. I had raised a complaint that their online system allowed me to increase my monthly DD but not reduce it. The complaint may or may not have triggered the reduction.

 

[Murdochcat]

At the end of October you need a credit balance of about 3 months to tide you over the winter months.

Ask for some of it back unless you live in Castle

 

[Mrs Ten Names]

I don't know if everyone has the same privilege/right, but I set the value of my own DD.
If I'm short at the end of the year, I pay the shortfall.
If I'm in credit I have the right to request the refund of the excess.
I suspect most of us can estimate the annual cost, and pitch the monthly DD reasonably accurately.
Why don't we do that?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I'm £500 in credit, with Octopus, I've never been notified by any provider, that I'm paying too much DD, it's always been down to me to notice, then reduce it myself. I three times reduced it, without an issue.

My energy bills are squared up by Octopus at least once per month, automatically (smart meters), plus additional times, if I fire off a manual reading, via their website.

Octopus, for me at least, has been one of the better companies to deal with.

 

[StephenStephen]

I set my Octopus direct debit to a very low level - it was easy to do that online.
Getting a refund wasn't as fast as it should have been - I think they use human beings for that, which always seems to interfere with Octopus efficiency.

 

[big-all]

At the end of October you need a credit balance of about 3 months to tide you over the winter months.

Ask for some of it back unless you live in Castle

i work on February and august being around zero so august sep oct working up a credit nov dec January use up the credit then feb march april into debt may june july pay it off so the average is fair all round rather than always in debt or always in credit
as for 3 months in credit iff you pay monthly averaged out d/d or s/o 1 month at most in October unless your winter consumption doubles or triples otherwise you are perpetually in credit
for example my d/d is £64' in summer around £40 average used in winter about 90 average used so only need to be 3 times the extra between bill and winter amount in credit so 3x26 or 78 or just over one month's bill as it happens £73.36 actual

so do not think months in credit think winter and summer differentials in credit as 3 months in credit means after 3 months you have used half the years allocation which you wont have
it can off course give you comfort to never be in debit and 3 moths in credit would cover that so not excessive for peace off mind