With Bristol Energy and deal up in 42 days (they keep me updated LOL)My new deal is £1 more than I am paying now and for 2 years will be taking it over the weekend if I feel better well well enough to read the fine print.
I had to take them to the Ombudsman as they really tried it on with upping the price mid contract. I thought they had gone to the wall but believe they have been taken over but kept the name.
Worst utility company I have had the misfortune to sign up to.
Lindy, As you know, l am in the same boat as you.
I am receiving emails from Octopus requesting that l set up a Direct Debit account with them. I have already given them my gas and electric readings.
The thing is and l suppose l am being a bit paranoid but l am a bit worried about just starting a new Direct Debit via an email with a company l have never dealt with before.
What if it is a scamming email? How do l know if it’s a genuine email and not a lookalike one?
I suppose l really need to speak to a human at Octopus and not fill it out via an email.
Edited to say…I have just re-read the email. I have also been put on the Flexible tariff.
I’ve been with look after my Bills for 2 years . Because eon has gone bust they transferred me to another company ( cant remember at mo ) so I’m hoping they will insure I’m with the best for me .
Honestly I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasnt with them
Susan - I was with look after my bills and some while before my fixed deal with GREEN ended I looked at various comparison sites to see which deals they may switch me to, imagine my disappointment when they switched me from a really really good deal, at least ONE MONTH before that deal ended, to another tariff with the same company resulting in a massive increase for me! I asked them if they could switch me to my preferred deal and was told No - they weren’t able to do that. So it seems they only switch to companies they get a certainly level of commission from. It’s not the best deal for YOU - it’s the best deal for THEM.
PLEASE - look at the Trustpilot reviews on this link: Look After My Bills Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of lookaftermybills.com
There are lots of other independent switching companies you can use and switch to very easily. Ask on here if you need a hand, but LAMB are NOT looking after YOU!
Thank you Lindy I will take a look .
I hated all this switching it made me worried in case I made a mistake and thought it would be the easiest way .
The current situation makes me more worried
I am afraid I am one that did not have good experience with Look After My Bills. I got a text telling me that they had found a better deal for me but if I did not want to move then text STOP before 5 pm I got the text at 7 pm, the hassle I went through trying to sort that out, the companies custoner service was appalling.
Got to say I haven’t heard from Octopus since September 29. For customers they’ve taken over from Avro, they have a webpage for information Official Avro Octopus information page - updated daily | Octopus Energy which was updated yesterday to say they will soon be sending out final bills for ex-avro customers - so after that will probably need a direct debit with them. I haven’t set a DD yet as I’d like my £100 refund from Avro settled first but I have tried to find another ‘deal’ and can’t…so it’s a suck-it-and-see situation - we’re left with no choice. I blame Boris!
Susan_m. The first thing to do if you’re going to try out the comparison sites is to find out how much energy you use annually. Have you kept copies of your bills? Or can you still access them? I’ve taken regular meter readings to check there’s nothing untoward going on here - it’s been quite useful in the past and alerted me to a faulty freezer door which caused a massive spike in my electricity. See if you can find your readings but if not, there are websites which can estimate your energy usage for you.
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Even the comparison sites are telling us that there are few deals around.
Unfortunately those of you who’s utility companies have folded prepare yourselves for considerably higher direct debits from the companies you have been moved to.
Could be a very difficult winter for many families not helped by the removal of the £20 Universal Credit boost.
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Hi
Moved from Avro to Octopus, nothing from them since 29th September.
My bill is going to rise significantly.
The causes and decisions behind this mess up where made years ago, long before Boris was responsible, these are a Cameron and May mess up.
Since 2010 we have had a very right wing Tory Party , Market Forces are everything.
This is the result, we are subject to the daily Wholesale Prices, , we closed our gas storage in 2013.
Boris is a strong Free Marketeer, he does not want to interfere.
Trying to sort it out would result in huge Tax Rises.
On a recent Martin Lewis ‘Money Programme’ he mentioned that the new company you are switched to are legally obliged to return any credit to you. It seems there are many in that situation and that’s what he said about that. I seem to recall his words were to “give it a couple of weeks”.
Do they have one of those ‘Chat online’ features on their website? That probably would confirm the email you received as genuine and it’s also possible to ‘ask’ questions and get answers quite quickly. A lot of companies now use this way of ‘speaking’ to people and from those I know who use this regularly plus my own few personal uses it does seem OK.
I used this feature when contacting BT. They usually send you a copy of the conversation via email, just for your records. (Naturally BT didn’t, but I copy pasted it anyway)
It’s also possible to take regular screenshots of that ‘conversation’ which is a definite way of keeping a record of anything that may be ‘said’ or ‘agreed’. It’s similar to those companies who state that calls are recorded when you phone them, they usually are and are available to you on request if there are any doubts causing problems. That’s older technology now, but use of modern technology is becoming the ‘norm’ and if you know how to use it to your advantage then it’s even better.
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To be honest, it’s not the pending winter that bothers me, it’s afterwards when the present cap is lifted in April.
Resurrecting this thread from LD’s post last October, I would like to show you Martin Lewis’s predictions and advice for what’s likely to happen to us all this October.
It is now predicted that our Gas/Electric will increase by another 51% in October, with another increase next January!!! How on earth are ordinary folk going to manage that sort of money on fuel alone, and that’s without so many increases on just about everything else we need too.
As is so often the case, it will be only the rich who will be OK. The likes of the ordinary family, or pensioner, will be badly affected sooner or later. It will be a worry for so many.
Take a look at this:
Martin Lewis: Is it time to fix my energy bill or should I stick on the price cap?
Updated 22 June 2022
The gas and electricity market is in crisis. Many are paying double what they were a year ago, and another huge hike is expected in October. So understandably the big question I’m being asked is: ‘Should I stick on the price cap, or lock into a fixed energy tariff?’. So let me try and answer, including a list of the top fixes to consider…
The UK energy market is broken. The theory is we’re meant to gain from competition, but there hasn’t been any – instead we have effectively regulatory-enforced high prices.
Yet as I write this (on Tuesday 21 June), many should be taking action, not because there are great deals out there, but because the latest analysis is the future looks even WORSE, with the price cap likely to rise even more than we previously thought. This means some costly fixes look like they may now be winners. Let me talk you through it.
Important: The info below doesn’t really apply to those on prepay meters or in Northern Ireland, I’m afraid.
### 1. The new prediction is the energy price cap will rise by 51% in October (to £2,980/year on typical use)
The energy price cap limits what firms can charge in England, Scotland and Wales for their default standard variable tariffs. It currently changes every six months, though that’ll soon be every three. The vast majority of homes, over 70%, are now on it – pretty much everyone who isn’t on a fix.
You’re on it if you’ve never switched tariff, if your cheap fix ended and you did nothing, or if your firm went bust last year and you were moved elsewhere (and haven’t switched again).
The price cap is misnamed though. There’s no maximum amount you’ll pay. What’s actually capped are electricity and gas standing charges and unit rates (the link shows the current ones). Here’s the latest intelligence on how it’ll move. I warn you – it’s grim reading.
Energy price cap changes
| Price cap dates | Change in dual-fuel direct-debit cap (1) |
|---|---|
| 1 October 2021 - 31 March 2022 | UP 12%. Meaning someone on typical use paid £1,277/year. |
| 1 April - 30 September 2022 | |
| Current cap | UP 54%. £1,971/year on typical use. |
| 1 October - 31 December 2022 | |
| Strong prediction | UP 42% based on what regulator Ofgem said in May. £2,800/yr on typical use. |
UP 51% according to the latest prediction from analysts at Cornwall Insight. £2,980/year on typical use.|
|1 January 2023 - 31 March 2023
Prediction|UP 1% based on Cornwall Insight predictions. £3,000/year on typical use.|
|1 April 2023 - 30 June 2023
Weak prediction|DOWN 8% based on Cornwall Insight predictions. £2,760/year on typical use.|
||
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Like us all I am very concerned I just feel our standard of living is going to drop and hate the thought of going cold . My stairs go up from my lounge onto a very high landing so heat goes up and Lounge feels colder so I’ve just put up 4 long velours in white to block the stairs off and I am hoping the room and down stairs keeps warmer thus keeping my heating bill down.
I do like home made soup so think that will be made more often . I’m OK for clothes and shoes so they can see me out.
The thought of those water and heating bills is scarey though
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Thanks for this update @Mups
I’ve been following Martin Lewis’s advice re Energy Tariff for the last few years and it worked well until my last fixed tariff expired end of March.
I followed his advice and didn’t fix a new tariff then, as fixed tariffs had become more expensive than relying on the price cap.
Now it seems he is saying it may be worth fixing again before the price cap increases towards the end of the year?
I’ll have to have a look at my options when I get back to UK next month.
One option my chap and I have been thinking about is to leave our gas boilers on the lowest “frost-free” setting and use what we would have each spent on Winter heating and electricity bills to rent a place in a warmer climate for the Winter - We may spend about the same between us - plus we’d avoid all the cold weather!
My Sister and three friends have already decided to do this - she reckons what she will save on energy bills for the Winter months will pay for her flight to the Caribbean, where the 4 of them will spend Jan, Feb & March in a rented house, which they are hiring at “mates rates” from a friend of a friend.
That’s an interesting idea, Boot.
I guess the only way you’ll find out if it’s cheaper is to try it this winter.
I don’t know which is worse - being warned in advance and worrying for months, or happily enjoy the summer and it come like a bolt out the blue in the autumn! 