Octopus Energy issues £90 warning to thousands of UK households

Octopus Energy has flagged to 20,000 customers that they might face higher bills after utilising a switching tool.

The energy regulator Ofgem has received a cautionary notice from Octopus detailing how an array of households were relocated by auto-switching services, with some lacking the ability to revert to their original provider.

The expose from Octopus Energy implicates these companies in exploiting declining energy costs and defrauding customers with commission fees reaching up to £90. The firm attests that it was deluged with customer complaints in March when they unexpectedly realised they had transitioned away from Octopus after receiving an unforeseen billing statement.

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Alexander Stafford, Rother Valley MP and member of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, shared his views with The Telegraph: "These firms are clearly acting against the wishes of customers who are powerless to stop these firms from ripping them off."

He continued: "With energy debt at the highest level ever, Ofgem cannot continue to stand idly by when the weight of evidence shows they must work fast to protect households."

Kevin Kemp, a tradesman from Aberdeen, recounted registering for an auto-switching service but conjectured that his details had been discarded long ago, reports Birmingham Live.

He remarked: "I phoned the energy company and they tried to pressure me into submission. They just kept saying, 'we've automatically changed you to a better tariff'."

Andrew Long, chief executive of Switchcraft, commented: "Our mission is to eliminate the loyalty penalty in the energy market and we firmly believe that healthy competition between suppliers is the best way to drive bills down for all of us."

"In my opinion, Octopus's inaccurate attack on auto-switching may unfairly undermine competition just when wholesale energy prices are falling and we should all be in the market for a better deal."

An Ofgem spokesperson stated: "We're grateful to Octopus for bringing this issue to our attention and are carefully considering their findings. We expect both suppliers and third-party switching services to act in their customers' best interests, and to make sure they are communicating with them clearly before initiating a switch."

"We have also strengthened the rules that mean when consumers do decide to change their energy supplier it is a smooth process, and they are quickly compensated if it doesn't go to plan. We'll continue to work closely with industry and consumer groups and charities to make sure these rules are working to protect consumers in the coming weeks and months."