It was October 2018. I’d lost my house (long story…) and moved into a two-up, two-down rented cottage in Richmond, North Yorkshire, a former holiday let. I took over the utility bills.
The landlord told me the energy supplier was Octopus Energy. I’d never heard of them.
‘Why Octopus?’
‘Because they’re cheap.’
Famous last words.
It turns out Octopus is the largest domestic energy supplier in the UK, serving 12.9million accounts in 7.3million households. A company that has topped the Best Energy Company chart of consumer watchdog Which? for many years running, and which heaps itself with lavish praise, erecting huge billboards on the A40.
But still, a company that has had multi-million-pound fines levied against it by the regulator Ofgem in the recent past.
Since the momentous day I gave Octopus my bank details, I have had 186 emails and counting from the firm. Way more than when I was being love-bombed by a new man.
I put in a new boiler at the rented cottage and went all-electric, eschewing oil or Flogas (my village was not on mains gas), having been told oil is bad for the environment and bound to shoot up in price, especially now with the war in the Middle East. I agreed with Octopus to pay £200 a month by direct debit, a sum I paid on time. They installed a smart meter, a nasty little spy I soon learned to despise.
I lived alone, cooked rarely and there was no dishwasher or tumble dryer in the cottage, a stone building of 753 sq ft (the average two-bed semi is 1,000 sq ft) with an open fire and back boiler (a system installed behind the fireplace that heats water once the fire is lit).
Since the momentous day Liz Jones gave energy firm Octopus her bank details, she has received 186 emails and counting
So far, so good. Until April 1, 2024, when I was finally able to buy a house and move out. I took a photo of the meter (the smart meter rarely worked due to the thickness of the walls and the location in the Yorkshire Dales being rural, which meant the signal was weak) and sent Octopus a final reading. Job done. Door closed.
What was my final bill? Ten thousand pounds.
I argued, I begged, but eventually agreed to pay £500 a month. After a year, I was able to reduce the monthly direct debit on a bill I could not believe was accurate to £247 a month. Still crippling.
Almost two years later, my Octopus debt for the cottage currently hovers at just more than £5,000.
So, to my new house, a mid 18th-century, Grade II-listed former vicarage. My energy bills should be modest – it has an insulated loft, two bedrooms and an air source heat pump (I get £100 a month via Ofgem as a financial incentive for installing it), as well as a log burner. I stayed loyal to Octopus, a decision as insane as forgiving a cheating husband who gives you herpes.
At my request, an engineer came out, told me that although I have a smart meter, they don’t work well in my rural village, and that the thick stone walls again mean the signal is patchy. This meant I couldn’t have the ‘Cosy’ cheaper tariff as that requires readings taken minute by minute. So, since moving in I’ve been paying £200 a month at the Vicarage, on top of the £247 a month for my previous home.
Then, two weeks ago, I received an email from Octopus to say it is increasing my direct debit at the Vicarage from £200 to £572.95 per month. Its CEO Greg Jackson wrote he will go ahead and ‘make that change’: surely his first name should be Michael?
In shock, I queried this, reminding Octopus that last summer, my energy consumption (which I can see on its website) averaged £70 a month. I begged again for an investigation into that ten grand final bill for what was essentially a rabbit hutch.
I also sent them a link to a piece in a broadsheet about another Octopus customer (I prefer to be called victim) which bore the headline: ‘Our smart meter broke, then Octopus hit us with an £11,000 bill.’ Octopus eventually agreed to reduce that customer’s bill by 75pc.
Sadly, not something they are prepared to do for me, despite the ‘love and power’ faux friendly email sign offs.
I’m publishing the key points of their response here from an employee whose job title is Smart Tariff Specialist Pro; as well as sending me love, he signed off with two emojis. I can’t print the email in full as it’s 1,066 words long.
Octopus is the largest domestic energy supplier in the UK, serving 12.9million accounts in 7.3million households
Liz says she’s ‘not a hothouse wimp’ after growing up in a house with no central heating – her mum washing her hair over the kitchen sink
‘Dear Elizabeth, thank you for your patience while we completed a comprehensive review of the historical billing and meter data across both your previous and current properties.
‘Following a technical audit of the readings, we have determined that the high balances at the cottage were primarily driven by high consumption levels rather than meter faults. Additionally, inconsistently submitted user meter readings for the traditional meter resulted in the suggested payment level being too low…
‘[Your] consumption is based on substantial smart meter data, which provides evidence supporting that the usage recorded is correct… I have reviewed the smart meter readings across both accounts and can confirm that: the readings and data do not indicate a technical issue with the meters; and the high usage is consistent across both properties.
‘Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) payments or goodwill gestures are provided solely as an acknowledgment of service inconvenience or failure. They do not constitute a refund, credit, write-off, waiver of charges, etc.
‘Under our standard procedures, all of these charges are considered accurate and the balance is correct. Any further Financial Assistance in relation to the account requires completion of a financial assessment.
‘We recommend avoiding burst heating and instead maintaining a steady indoor temperature between 18-20C… We remain committed to resolving this fairly and transparently.’
They reduced the outstanding bill for the cottage by £814, claiming it was a goodwill gesture; to me, this only proves how inaccurate their readings are.
Then, another email landed shortly after, number 186, methinks (or was it 187?), saying of the outstanding cottage debt: ‘We will request a final Direct Debit payment of £4,886.99 on March 23, 2026.’ I was shocked, as we had agreed I could pay it off with a monthly direct debit.
Good luck with taking just under five grand. And, of course, when it bounces, down goes my credit rating.
Since signing up with Octopus, it has been years of constant battles, emails, cancelled visits and texts. Numerous engineers have come and gone. The smart meter in my current home has been updated once. Then, another email to say they want to change it again. I cancelled a day working in London only to receive an email at 7pm, two hours after the 10am to 5pm window, to say the engineer couldn’t make it.
I’ve been moaning about Octopus in my You magazine column in The Mail on Sunday, which has prompted many emails from equally frustrated customers.
Boss of Octopus Energy Greg Jackson, who is reportedly worth hundreds of millions of pounds
This from a customer in west London: ‘I’m involved in a Battle Royal with Octopus… Their demands to me dwarf yours by about 30-fold! I note their CEO Greg Jackson is reportedly worth hundreds of millions.’
He added: ‘Despite Octopus being well aware that I am a vulnerable customer due to my medical condition, they are threatening to ‘disrupt’ my domestic energy supply if I don’t submit to a new meter, but they won’t let me independently check the accuracy of the old one first.’
Greg Jackson, 54, is indeed No 13 on The Sunday Times Tech Rich List and worth £435million, according to its latest estimate. And a CBE.
I put all this to Octopus. It responded: ‘We provide energy based on the recorded usage of certified, accurate meters. In the case of Ms Jones, multiple meters across different properties that she has occupied have consistently shown high consumption.
‘While we understand high bills are worrying and frustrating, the data indicates that the energy is being used within the home. We have asked Ms Jones to work with us by completing some simple tests so we can help identify any potential culprit appliance, and we remain ready to support her…’
Doubtless because I am a journalist, Octopus has now agreed to keep my direct debit at the Vicarage unchanged, and to allow me to continue to pay off the cottage debt gradually: it will take another two years to clear that bill.
I’m not a hothouse wimp. I grew up in a house with no central heating: my mum would wash my hair over the kitchen sink as that was the only room with a small electric heater.
Today, I’m so terrified that I no longer put the heating on. I work from home in the most northern Dale in Durham: I’m writing this wearing a coat as it’s two degrees outside. I can only wonder how families, mums with babies, the elderly who have no truck with love and power emojis cope.
Finally, this from Maureen, a Daily Mail reader since 1964: ‘I had months of phoning Octopus with larger than normal charges. None made sense. They cannot be trusted. I went through hell.’