Octopus Tracker scam-pyramid scheme?

Would echo blf there, your direct debit is based on your previous usage and is normally quite reliable. If you're not going into significant sums of debit or credit - then it's pretty much on the money. Obviously if you start to change how you use energy to get a better rate or use less/more etc - then it might not be so reliable.
 
Boro_Interlinked said:
They are meaningless until you've checked it. Even if they have data they are all doing future projections on estimates on the thin basis " oh we think you'll use more energy than before " So it is meaningless as every provider want more money from you than they actually need and they are quite prepared to waste your time in finding that out and quite prepared to try to back up their reasoning.
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Absolute rubbish. The dd's I have been given are based on the data I put in. Not based on "oh we think you'll use more energy than before" I tell them what energy I used in the last year and get a quote based on that with a warning that prices can rise and fall and this quote is based on my monthly usage last year.
It can hardly be meaningless if it is helping me.
 
JustTheGent said:
Would echo blf there, your direct debit is based on your previous usage and is normally quite reliable. If you're not going into significant sums of debit or credit - then it's pretty much on the money. Obviously if you start to change how you use energy to get a better rate or use less/more etc - then it might not be so reliable.
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The direct debit you pay on tracker will still be less than on variable then with the same usage.

That might change as no-one can tell the future, but at the moment it is simply impossible for anyone on tracker to be paying more as a result of being on that tariff.
 
Blf said:
Absolute rubbish. The dd's I have been given are based on the data I put in. Not based on "oh we think you'll use more energy than before" I tell them what energy I used in the last year and get a quote based on that with a warning that prices can rise and fall and this quote is based on my monthly usage last year.
It can hardly be meaningless if it is helping me.
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What he means is it doesn't matter what your DD is because unit prices tend to change and you don't use a static amount every single day this year, vs what you did last year so a mild winter or a snow storm can vastly change what you're due to pay

some suppliers, like Utility warehouse for example, quote specifically on DD and that's dangerous. I'm in a lot of energy debt help groups and we see many people say they switched because it was meant to save them £70 a month for example but it just reduced the DD.

The only measure that is worth using imo is unit price and standing charge because that will tell you to the pound and pence what you will pay vs what you use, and easily adjusted in a 6 line excel doc to factor in any new price. Dd amount is far more complex because you might set it up to build up credit over summer or might have it set to balance out over the year but each person does their billing management differently, but evey used pays a static unit price and standing charge regardless of how much they pay.

Also on energy debt groups is people with massive credit balances because some suppliers like outfox the market for example, want to keep a few months DD in credit and take ages to do refunds.

If you're good at budgeting and do regular recalcs then dd is a good guide but you can't compare one suppliers tariff to another with a dd payment. You might be on the same unit rate but one supplier might be. But if you go by unit rate you can directly compare to the penny what another tariff would cost you
 
sherlock1969 said:
The direct debit you pay on tracker will still be less than on variable then with the same usage.

That might change as no-one can tell the future, but at the moment it is simply impossible for anyone on tracker to be paying more as a result of being on that tariff.
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You're screaming at a wall here I think, he gets it, he's just on a wind up. Like you say though the danger is people believe ot

It would be like going to a petrol station and paying 20p per litre less but saying you're spending more with the discount when it's just not possible because it's physically costing you less.
 
AytonMews said:
Can we factor in the loss of life enjoyment taken by the daily monitoring of gas and electricity unit rates. There’s got to be more to life than this 😂
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Wow, yeah, good point. I could do so much more with that 5 seconds it takes me to check the app once a day.
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
You're screaming at a wall here I think, he gets it, he's just on a wind up. Like you say though the danger is people believe ot

It would be like going to a petrol station and paying 20p per litre less but saying you're spending more with the discount when it's just not possible because it's physically costing you less.
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Yeah I get that but I know what my yearly usage is .It has hardly varied over the last 5 yrs so a dd quote for a fixed rate gives me an idea of what I will be paying if I use the same energy , the unit rate won't change over the length of the fix. I'm begining to think I would rather pay a bit more but know its fixed to be honest.
I think I will visit my mother in law more often . Her house is like a greenhouse😁
 
Maybe TFG could post a daily updated spreadsheet with how much money he’s made from his affiliate marketing on here?

Ok I’m being cheeky now 😎
 
Blf said:
Yeah I get that but I know what my yearly usage is .It has hardly varied over the last 5 yrs so a dd quote for a fixed rate gives me an idea of what I will be paying if I use the same energy , the unit rate won't change over the length of the fix. I'm begining to think I would rather pay a bit more but know its fixed to be honest.
I think I will visit my mother in law more often . Her house is like a greenhouse😁
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That's true blf but only if you're on a fix, going to another fix and will only use fixes. But even then usage should vary some between years as people become more energy efficient, devices replaced are more energy efficient than older ones or we have a mild or a cold winter.

If you're always on one fix going to another fix then you can use that dd amount as a guide and if should be accurate enough. But anyone wanting to compare tariffs would be at risk of thinking they're saving some money or that a tariff would be expensive because it's £X per month when in reality they might be saving money or paying more

Ultimately it's what works for you, but the reason I always suggest using unit rates and sc is it gives you an exact figure for usage regardless of tariff and lets you immediately see what another tariff would cost you.
 
It's really simple. Your DD is calculated as: your expected usage x unit rate divided by 12. It's not complex. Plug whatever unit rate you can get for a fix, tracker, or whatever and insert it into the formula and you will find your comparable DD amount.

Everyone else, stop feeding the troll. The amount of hot air he spews should keep unit rates down at least.
 
Nano said:
It's really simple. Your DD is calculated as: your expected usage x unit rate divided by 12. It's not complex. Plug whatever unit rate you can get for a fix, tracker, or whatever and insert it into the formula and you will find your comparable DD amount.

Everyone else, stop feeding the troll. The amount of hot air he spews should keep unit rates down at least.
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That should be how it's calculated but Ofgem has been telling off providers for setting it higher than it needs to be, especially given that usage is trending down due to a combination of efficiency and being unable to afford to have the heating on all the time. Sometimes many don't know their usage accurately either and the Ofgem estimated for me in electricity is about 3000 units higher than what we use which at price cap would be £840 overpaid

It's actually one of my favourite things about octopus, that their app lets you both adjust your DD amount but also to request credit balance refunds so you don't have to wait on them actioning it.
 
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