OT - ask EU: Octopus Energy?

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

I currently buy some energy from SSE, pretending to be M&S (yes the
clothing/food chain). I'm currently getting emails apparently from M&S,
saying in effect that they want me to switch from M&S (really SSE) to
M&S (really Octopus Energy), and that if I do nothing, I'll be
transferred to SSE (with no M&S pretence).

Anyone any experience of - or even heard of! - Octopus Energy? I'm a
_bit_ dubious of them, for at least two reasons:

1. They claim to use "100% renewable" energy - I approve of that in
itself, but can't help thinking it will be more expensive at times to
limit themselves that way;
2. their basic get-a-quote page doesn't seem to involve any payment
method other than direct debit: I don't trust any company that _only_
accepts that.

Conversely,

1. They _claim_ "award-winning customer service" and "the only energy
supplier recommended by Which?", and
2. They actually claim to accept emails - though
***@newmandsenergylaunch.com is obviously only for the duration of the
changeover - but they do say "Talk to us by email". (Though from past
experience that could mean webform.)

I'd be willing to pay a little extra for good customer service
accessible by (real) email.

[Sally Thompson]

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
I currently buy some energy from SSE, pretending to be M&S (yes the
clothing/food chain). I'm currently getting emails apparently from M&S,
saying in effect that they want me to switch from M&S (really SSE) to
M&S (really Octopus Energy), and that if I do nothing, I'll be
transferred to SSE (with no M&S pretence).
Anyone any experience of - or even heard of! - Octopus Energy? I'm a
1. They claim to use "100% renewable" energy - I approve of that in
itself, but can't help thinking it will be more expensive at times to
limit themselves that way;
2. their basic get-a-quote page doesn't seem to involve any payment
method other than direct debit: I don't trust any company that _only_
accepts that.
Conversely,
1. They _claim_ "award-winning customer service" and "the only energy
supplier recommended by Which?", and
2. They actually claim to accept emails - though
changeover - but they do say "Talk to us by email". (Though from past
experience that could mean webform.)
I'd be willing to pay a little extra for good customer service
accessible by (real) email.

I've never heard of Octopus Energy, but I do have access to Which? so I
checked on that claim. From the relevant article: "This year, medium-sized
supplier Utility Warehouse topped our rankings. Big Six firm Npower
finished in last place again. Just one energy company earned our
prestigious Which? Recommended Provider Award: small newcomer energy firm
Octopus Energy. Read on to see how other energy suppliers – including yours
– fared. Or find out what it takes for a company to be awarded a Which?
Recommended Provider for energy.

Read more:
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/best-and-worst-energy-companies/which-energy-survey-results
- Which?"

I didn't dig any further. HTH.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <***@mid.individual.net>, Sally Thompson
<***@gmail.com.invalid> writes:
[]

Post by Sally Thompson
I've never heard of Octopus Energy, but I do have access to Which? so I
checked on that claim. From the relevant article: "This year, medium-sized
supplier Utility Warehouse topped our rankings. Big Six firm Npower
finished in last place again. Just one energy company earned our
prestigious Which? Recommended Provider Award: small newcomer energy firm
Octopus Energy. Read on to see how other energy suppliers – including yours
– fared. Or find out what it takes for a company to be awarded a Which?
Recommended Provider for energy.

Thanks for that. "small newcomer" is a bit worrying - I've plenty of
experience of small newcomers that start out great, but become hopeless
when they grow a lot.

Post by Sally Thompson
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/best-and-worst-
energy-companies/which-energy-survey-results
- Which?"
I didn't dig any further. HTH.

Oh, it did a bit, thanks. (I didn't know the reports were readable by
non-members.) It showed "too few responses to show" in the columns for
customer service ('phone and online) for Octopus, but overall thought
highly of them (currently higher - though only slightly - that the
[current] UMRA favourite Bulb). I did see M&S was there, although
they're clearly just a front for others (up to now SSE; soon, Octopus).
Makes me wonder whether it's better just to go direct - you'd have
thought an extra layer needs to be paid for; but, they may have arranged
a quantity discount.

I've sent in some questions to their email; I will see how quickly -
and, more importantly, how _well_ - they answer them.

[Penny]

On Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:06:57 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
It showed "too few responses to show" in the columns for
customer service ('phone and online) for Octopus, but overall thought
highly of them (currently higher - though only slightly - that the
[current] UMRA favourite Bulb).

This illustrates two problems often encountered when reading customer
reviews of anything.
1) How many people (of how many possible 'customers' have commented about
this aspect at all.
2) People tend to be quicker to complain than to praise. One does not
really encounter 'customer service' at all until one has a problem and then
it is the way the problem is dealt with which is judged.

There are many companies out there I have never had any problem with. I
have no idea what their customer service is like - I've never tested it so
could not answer the question if asked.

There are at least 3 companies (in various fields of business) I will
never deal with again because they dealt with problems I had so very badly,
and didn't seem to care enough to assure me such problems were unlikely to
befall future customers. I have another mental list of companies I am not
inclined to use again or trust for lesser reasons or word-of-mouth horror
tales from others.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Post by Penny
On Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:06:57 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
It showed "too few responses to show" in the columns for
customer service ('phone and online) for Octopus, but overall thought
highly of them (currently higher - though only slightly - that the
[current] UMRA favourite Bulb).

This illustrates two problems often encountered when reading customer
reviews of anything.

(Leaving aside how trustworthy they are, if on an online review site -
hotels, ebay, amazon ...)

Post by Penny
1) How many people (of how many possible 'customers' have commented about
this aspect at all.

I would hope that an organisation such as Which? would scale the
responses against number of customers. Their decision not to show any
rating for Octopus means, according to the footnotes, that they didn't
get enough ratings on the customer service to be sure that one or two
good or bad ratings wouldn't over-effect the result. Maybe (as below)
nobody has had to use Octopus's customer service!

Post by Penny
2) People tend to be quicker to complain than to praise. One does not
really encounter 'customer service' at all until one has a problem and then
it is the way the problem is dealt with which is judged.

On the whole, yes. Though I sometimes form an impression based on how
they handle a simple question, that _isn't_ a problem. (If the only way
to contact them is by raising a complaint, they're off to a bad start
with me ... I recently moaned at the BBC because one of their standard
automatic responses to a simple suggestion/enquiry spent more words
telling me what to do if I had a complaint than - well, that was more
than half the message.)

Post by Penny
There are many companies out there I have never had any problem with. I
have no idea what their customer service is like - I've never tested it so
could not answer the question if asked.

I was going to say same here, though I think more and more as I get
older I _have_ had reason to assess their customer service ... could be
just getting grumpier with age (and there _is_ some truth in that, as
one perceives one has less time left - but conversely one may be less
bothered about some things than one once was, so it goes in waves), but
I think it's mainly that as one gets older one has had more experience
of any given company.

Post by Penny
There are at least 3 companies (in various fields of business) I will
never deal with again because they dealt with problems I had so very badly,

Me too ...

Post by Penny
and didn't seem to care enough to assure me such problems were unlikely to

... and that's exactly the worst cause: it's the apparent lack of
botheredness That is the most infuriating. (Closely followed by an
attempt to pretend not to have grasped the problem.)

Post by Penny
befall future customers. I have another mental list of companies I am not
inclined to use again or trust for lesser reasons or word-of-mouth horror
tales from others.

Not least on UMRA ... (though praise is also commoner here than most
other walks of life).

[Btms]

Post by Penny
On Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:06:57 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
It showed "too few responses to show" in the columns for
customer service ('phone and online) for Octopus, but overall thought
highly of them (currently higher - though only slightly - that the
[current] UMRA favourite Bulb).

This illustrates two problems often encountered when reading customer
reviews of anything.
1) How many people (of how many possible 'customers' have commented about
this aspect at all.
2) People tend to be quicker to complain than to praise. One does not
really encounter 'customer service' at all until one has a problem and then
it is the way the problem is dealt with which is judged.
There are many companies out there I have never had any problem with. I
have no idea what their customer service is like - I've never tested it so
could not answer the question if asked.
There are at least 3 companies (in various fields of business) I will
never deal with again because they dealt with problems I had so very badly,
and didn't seem to care enough to assure me such problems were unlikely to
befall future customers. I have another mental list of companies I am not
inclined to use again or trust for lesser reasons or word-of-mouth horror
tales from others.

Quite.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message

Post by Btms

Post by Penny
On Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:06:57 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
It showed "too few responses to show" in the columns for
customer service ('phone and online) for Octopus, but overall thought
highly of them (currently higher - though only slightly - that the
[current] UMRA favourite Bulb).

[]

Post by Btms

Post by Penny
There are at least 3 companies (in various fields of business) I will
never deal with again because they dealt with problems I had so very badly,
and didn't seem to care enough to assure me such problems were unlikely to
befall future customers. I have another mental list of companies I am not
inclined to use again or trust for lesser reasons or word-of-mouth horror
tales from others.

Quite.

FWIW: I heard back from Octopus, and the only accept DD. I _might_ still
switch.

[Marmaduke Jinks]

Post by Sally Thompson

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
I currently buy some energy from SSE, pretending to be M&S (yes the
clothing/food chain). I'm currently getting emails apparently from M&S,
saying in effect that they want me to switch from M&S (really SSE) to
M&S (really Octopus Energy), and that if I do nothing, I'll be
transferred to SSE (with no M&S pretence).
Anyone any experience of - or even heard of! - Octopus Energy? I'm a
1. They claim to use "100% renewable" energy - I approve of that in
itself, but can't help thinking it will be more expensive at times to
limit themselves that way;
2. their basic get-a-quote page doesn't seem to involve any payment
method other than direct debit: I don't trust any company that _only_
accepts that.
Conversely,
1. They _claim_ "award-winning customer service" and "the only energy
supplier recommended by Which?", and
2. They actually claim to accept emails - though
changeover - but they do say "Talk to us by email". (Though from past
experience that could mean webform.)
I'd be willing to pay a little extra for good customer service
accessible by (real) email.

I've never heard of Octopus Energy, but I do have access to Which? so I
checked on that claim. From the relevant article: "This year, medium-sized
supplier Utility Warehouse topped our rankings. Big Six firm Npower
finished in last place again. Just one energy company earned our
prestigious Which? Recommended Provider Award: small newcomer energy firm
Octopus Energy. Read on to see how other energy suppliers - including
yours
- fared. Or find out what it takes for a company to be awarded a Which?
Recommended Provider for energy.
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/best-and-worst-energy-companies/which-energy-survey-results
- Which?"
I didn't dig any further. HTH.
--
Sally in Shropshire, UK

Re John's comment about DD. I do a quarterly variable dd with Green Star,
which is the cost of the bill. So no monthly dd bloating their cash flow.

Re Green Star. Had some issues with them in the beginning but ok now.

MJ

[krw]

Post by Marmaduke Jinks
Re John's comment about DD. I do a quarterly variable dd with Green Star,
which is the cost of the bill. So no monthly dd bloating their cash flow.

As do I. I submit readings quarterly. The bills then use my readings.

The only annoying feature is that they ring up three weeks after each
bill and ask me to go outside and take a meter reading. I point out
that they had meter readings 3 weeks earlier and have sent me a bill
which they will collect in full. So I am not going outside to take more
meter readings and will they take me off the phone list.

It would be nice if they would let me upload the photos I always take of
the meter readings and their software turned it into a bill. These days
machine are perfectly capable of doing such jobs and it would be easier
than trying to type in numbers with the potential for error.

[Jenny M Benson]

Post by krw
The only annoying feature is that they ring up three weeks after each
bill and ask me to go outside and take a meter reading.  I point out
that they had meter readings 3 weeks earlier and have sent me a bill
which they will collect in full.  So I am not going outside to take more
meter readings and will they take me off the phone list.

I got an e-mail from E-on asking me to submit my meter readings, which I
did within 24 hours and at the same time booked an appointment for them
to fit a Smart Meter. (I won't take any notice of it, but thought they
would become compulsory sooner or later so I might as well let them get
on with it.) They very promptlyt e-mailed to say my next bill was now
visible on their website. I forget the exact time lapse, but about
10-14 days later, on a Tuesday, a man in E-on uniform rang my doorbell
and told me he had just read my meter and wanted to tell me that I could
have a Smart Meter fitted if I wished. The Smart Meter man was due on
the Thursday of the same week! (He was very nice and cery efficient but
I don't think he was terribly suited when I told him that I didn't think
E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was doing!)

Post by krw
It would be nice if they would let me upload the photos I always take of
the meter readings and their software turned it into a bill.  These days
machine are perfectly capable of doing such jobs and it would be easier
than trying to type in numbers with the potential for error.

It would be nice if they (and BT) would tell me in the "your bill is now
available on our website" e-mail just WHEN they are going to activate
the DD. BT in particular make it INCREDIBLY difficult to find this
information and I need to know because it would cost me about £50 or
more if there wasn't sufficinet money in my current a/c when the time comes.

And another thing which would be nice is if what-used-to-be Dee Valley
Water would not send me numerous sheets of paper in both Welsh and
English. The waste is astronomical and the latest example, the first
since they ceased to be DVW and became Hafren Dyfrdwy, was even more
paper, with tiny print and such a mix of Welsh and English that it was
almost impossible to read. AND a lot of it was in colour!

These days machines are perfectly capable, Shirley, of sending either
Welsh or English bills, according to the customer's choice. And why so
HD need to send me all that paper at all?

Sorry. Rant over.

[Mike]

Post by Jenny M Benson

Post by krw
The only annoying feature is that they ring up three weeks after each
bill and ask me to go outside and take a meter reading.  I point out
that they had meter readings 3 weeks earlier and have sent me a bill
which they will collect in full.  So I am not going outside to take more
meter readings and will they take me off the phone list.

I got an e-mail from E-on asking me to submit my meter readings, which I
did within 24 hours and at the same time booked an appointment for them
to fit a Smart Meter. (I won't take any notice of it, but thought they
would become compulsory sooner or later so I might as well let them get
on with it.) They very promptlyt e-mailed to say my next bill was now
visible on their website. I forget the exact time lapse, but about
10-14 days later, on a Tuesday, a man in E-on uniform rang my doorbell
and told me he had just read my meter and wanted to tell me that I could
have a Smart Meter fitted if I wished. The Smart Meter man was due on
the Thursday of the same week! (He was very nice and cery efficient but
I don't think he was terribly suited when I told him that I didn't think
E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was doing!)

Post by krw
It would be nice if they would let me upload the photos I always take of
the meter readings and their software turned it into a bill.  These days
machine are perfectly capable of doing such jobs and it would be easier
than trying to type in numbers with the potential for error.

It would be nice if they (and BT) would tell me in the "your bill is now
available on our website" e-mail just WHEN they are going to activate
the DD. BT in particular make it INCREDIBLY difficult to find this
information and I need to know because it would cost me about £50 or
more if there wasn't sufficinet money in my current a/c when the time comes.
And another thing which would be nice is if what-used-to-be Dee Valley
Water would not send me numerous sheets of paper in both Welsh and
English. The waste is astronomical and the latest example, the first
since they ceased to be DVW and became Hafren Dyfrdwy, was even more
paper, with tiny print and such a mix of Welsh and English that it was
almost impossible to read. AND a lot of it was in colour!
These days machines are perfectly capable, Shirley, of sending either
Welsh or English bills, according to the customer's choice. And why so
HD need to send me all that paper at all?
Sorry. Rant over.

‘We would like to explain to you just why we send out such multipage, dual
language documents, so, we will be sending you a 45 page full colour
document in each of 18 languages; please be patient if this takes a few
days to arrive, we will be sending by 2nd. Class post to save money.’

[Penny]

On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 16:06:05 +0100, Jenny M Benson <***@hotmail.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Jenny M Benson
And another thing which would be nice is if what-used-to-be Dee Valley
Water would not send me numerous sheets of paper in both Welsh and
English. The waste is astronomical and the latest example, the first
since they ceased to be DVW and became Hafren Dyfrdwy, was even more
paper, with tiny print and such a mix of Welsh and English that it was
almost impossible to read. AND a lot of it was in colour!

I was bemused when Severn Trent Water informed me they would henceforth be
known as Hafren Dyfrdwy. It makes sense geographically but was a complete
surprise to me and baffled me for a bit when I spotted the DD on my bank
statement. Water somewhere in the name would have helped.

I've only filed one sheet of paper so guess I binned the Welsh version. I
don't recall getting more than the two A4 sheets but may have done.

I am mildly incensed by this sentence in the letter - "Thank you for
letting us look after your water." As far as I'm aware I have no choice,
the not-for-profit Welsh Water don't serve my area.

The worst bilingual bills were those from Scottish Power (they took over
ManWeb who used to provide electrickery for this area). I think they were
English over-printed with Welsh on the same sheet and badly aligned -
almost impossible to read :( Eventually they switched to one sheet in Welsh
and one in English which was much better.

[Vicky Ayech]

Post by Penny
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Jenny M Benson
And another thing which would be nice is if what-used-to-be Dee Valley
Water would not send me numerous sheets of paper in both Welsh and
English. The waste is astronomical and the latest example, the first
since they ceased to be DVW and became Hafren Dyfrdwy, was even more
paper, with tiny print and such a mix of Welsh and English that it was
almost impossible to read. AND a lot of it was in colour!

I was bemused when Severn Trent Water informed me they would henceforth be
known as Hafren Dyfrdwy. It makes sense geographically but was a complete
surprise to me and baffled me for a bit when I spotted the DD on my bank
statement. Water somewhere in the name would have helped.
I've only filed one sheet of paper so guess I binned the Welsh version. I
don't recall getting more than the two A4 sheets but may have done.
I am mildly incensed by this sentence in the letter - "Thank you for
letting us look after your water." As far as I'm aware I have no choice,
the not-for-profit Welsh Water don't serve my area.
The worst bilingual bills were those from Scottish Power (they took over
ManWeb who used to provide electrickery for this area). I think they were
English over-printed with Welsh on the same sheet and badly aligned -
almost impossible to read :( Eventually they switched to one sheet in Welsh
and one in English which was much better.

I don't get bilingual bills from Bulb but they seem unable to update
their estimate of what my annual bill will be since we cleared up an
early misunderstanding about having 0 in font of the numbers of the
reading. I sent a photo and they realised they were using a differnt
way of reading than the previous supplier and all was well. But thye
still think it will be over 2.4k and the monthly readings I send and
the bills they give do not suggest this.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Post by Jenny M Benson

Post by krw
The only annoying feature is that they ring up three weeks after each

[]

Post by Jenny M Benson
I got an e-mail from E-on asking me to submit my meter readings, which
I did within 24 hours and at the same time booked an appointment for
them to fit a Smart Meter. (I won't take any notice of it, but thought
they would become compulsory sooner or later so I might as well let
them get on with it.) They very promptlyt e-mailed to say my next bill
was now visible on their website. I forget the exact time lapse, but
about 10-14 days later, on a Tuesday, a man in E-on uniform rang my
doorbell and told me he had just read my meter and wanted to tell me
that I could have a Smart Meter fitted if I wished. The Smart Meter

If, as that implies, your meter can be read without gaining access to
your premises, and as you day you'd not pay any attention to "it" ("it"
being the readout part of the meter), then that eliminates two of the
main claimed advantages of the smart meters; the remaining one, no more
estimated bills, might or might not be of interest to you - mainly
depends on the reason you get estimated ones (if you do): if it's
because you're not in, then that's their problem for not knowing they
don't need you. ("M&S"[SSE] frequently send me estimated electricity
ones, even though the meter is outside the premises in question.)

Post by Jenny M Benson
man was due on the Thursday of the same week! (He was very nice and
cery efficient but I don't think he was terribly suited when I told him
that I didn't think E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was doing!)

(I'm having a bit of difficulty working out what word you intended
before the spellchecker turned it into "suited"; I know what you _mean_,
but its taxing me to figure out what actual word you intended!)

Post by Jenny M Benson

Post by krw
It would be nice if they would let me upload the photos I always
take of the meter readings and their software turned it into a bill. 
These days machine are perfectly capable of doing such jobs and it
would be easier than trying to type in numbers with the potential for >>error.

I very much doubt that'll ever happen, with the smart meter rollout.

Post by Jenny M Benson
It would be nice if they (and BT) would tell me in the "your bill is
now available on our website" e-mail just WHEN they are going to
activate the DD. BT in particular make it INCREDIBLY difficult to find
this information and I need to know because it would cost me about £50
or more if there wasn't sufficinet money in my current a/c when the
time comes.

(Another reason I'd dislike DD. Though I may still be joining you all.)
[]

Post by Jenny M Benson
These days machines are perfectly capable, Shirley, of sending either
Welsh or English bills, according to the customer's choice. And why so

It would certainly be possible to program things that way. But it is
obvious to me that any such saving in paper isn't worth the programming
effort (in that case, plus the cost and bad publicity when they got it
wrong for more than zero customers. Which they would). I'll give you
more examples: for some years now my credit card bill (Co-op) has fitted
on one sheet of paper - apart from the extra information at the foot,
that's always the same, and always thus causes them to send two sheets.
And, I often get two letters from the same company in the same delivery,
which must cost them for the extra both envelope and postage. (Bank
statements, or letters from the bank about interest rates along with a
bank statement: _surely_, if they're sending a letter to all customers,
it'd be possible to check which ones are due a statement, and put it in
the same envelope where they are.) It obviously is possible - but it
obviously isn't economic. And/or, someone somewhere can't be _bothered_
to specify the programming task necessary.

What's particularly infuriating is that if I send any of them a
suggestion along these lines, I'll get a(n apparently nice) reply saying
what a good idea, it has been passed to the relevant department - and
nothing more will come of it. (Not even anything to say we've decided
not to do it.)

Post by Jenny M Benson
HD need to send me all that paper at all?
Sorry. Rant over.

Shared (-:

[Penny]

On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 17:45:34 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
(Another reason I'd dislike DD. Though I may still be joining you all.)

If it weren't for Direct Debits (which my father also avoided for many
years) I would probably have ended up in prison at the end of last century
with d#2 put into care. I could afford to pay the bills but my illness
rendered me incapable of actually opening most of my post and dealing with
it as necessary.

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)
It would certainly be possible to program things that way. But it is
obvious to me that any such saving in paper isn't worth the programming
effort (in that case, plus the cost and bad publicity when they got it
wrong for more than zero customers. Which they would). I'll give you
more examples: for some years now my credit card bill (Co-op) has fitted
on one sheet of paper - apart from the extra information at the foot,
that's always the same, and always thus causes them to send two sheets.

For a brief period I had a credit card with my current bank. Every month
the envelope would arrive, one sheet of paper telling me what I'd spent
where and what I owed them. A second sheet, like yours with the little bit
of additional info and a third sheet explaining they liked to keep costs
down and would send other statements in the same envelope.

Then a few days later another envelope would arrive from the bank,
containing another statement.

Then a few days after that another envelope would arrive from the bank,
containing a third statement.

The only way they could have saved any money with this system would have
been to send out everyone's statements for everything on the same day each
month - a logistical nightmare for such a large concern I imagine.

[Jenny M Benson]

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)

man was due on the Thursday of the same week!  (He was very nice and
cery efficient but I don't think he was terribly suited when I told
him that I didn't think E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was
doing!)

(I'm having a bit of difficulty working out what word you intended
before the spellchecker turned it into "suited"; I know what you _mean_,
but its taxing me to figure out what actual word you intended!)

The spellchecker changed nothing. "Suited" is what I typed. Do you not
know the expression? I would have thought it was in common use.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Post by Jenny M Benson

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)

man was due on the Thursday of the same week!  (He was very nice and
cery efficient but I don't think he was terribly suited when I told
him that I didn't think E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was
doing!)

(I'm having a bit of difficulty working out what word you intended
before the spellchecker turned it into "suited"; I know what you
_mean_, but its taxing me to figure out what actual word you intended!)

The spellchecker changed nothing. "Suited" is what I typed. Do you
not know the expression? I would have thought it was in common use.

I could think of several meanings for suited:

Dressed in a suit. Obviously not that one here.

Appropriate - "the tool is well suited to the job", "the employee is
well suited to that position".

Other similar things to do with matching (a couple could be well suited
[to each other] for example).

I can see that you meant either "pleased" or "impressed" (at least I can
see either of those would fit above). So, basically, no, I don't know
the expression. But there are a lot of things I don't know, and it may
well be in common use!

[Penny]

On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:40:34 +0100, Jenny M Benson <***@hotmail.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

Post by Jenny M Benson

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)

man was due on the Thursday of the same week!  (He was very nice and
cery efficient but I don't think he was terribly suited when I told
him that I didn't think E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was
doing!)

(I'm having a bit of difficulty working out what word you intended
before the spellchecker turned it into "suited"; I know what you _mean_,
but its taxing me to figure out what actual word you intended!)

The spellchecker changed nothing. "Suited" is what I typed. Do you not
know the expression? I would have thought it was in common use.

A new one on me. I did wonder if you'd missed a word and intended 'well
suited' but that didn't really fit with rest of it.

[Nick Odell]

Post by J. P. Gilliver (John)

man was due on the Thursday of the same week!  (He was very nice and
cery efficient but I don't think he was terribly suited when I told
him that I didn't think E-on's left hand knew what its right hand was
doing!)

(I'm having a bit of difficulty working out what word you intended
before the spellchecker turned it into "suited"; I know what you
_mean_, but its taxing me to figure out what actual word you intended!)

The spellchecker changed nothing.  "Suited" is what I typed.  Do you not
know the expression?  I would have thought it was in common use.

Would it be very Bad Taste to tell you what sprang to mind with that
exchange? Oh well... Here goes anyway...

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11ppso

Nick

[Jenny M Benson]

Post by Nick Odell
Would it be very Bad Taste to tell you what sprang to mind with that
exchange?  Oh well... Here goes anyway...
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11ppso

:-)

The BTM didn't get where she is to-day by being disconcerted at very Bad
Taste!

[Fenny]

On Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:40:34 +0100, Jenny M Benson

Post by Jenny M Benson
The spellchecker changed nothing. "Suited" is what I typed. Do you not
know the expression? I would have thought it was in common use.

Worked for me

[Penny]

On Tue, 18 Sep 2018 15:44:10 +0100, krw <***@whitnet.uk> scrawled in the
dust...

Post by krw

Post by Marmaduke Jinks
Re John's comment about DD. I do a quarterly variable dd with Green Star,
which is the cost of the bill. So no monthly dd bloating their cash flow.

As do I. I submit readings quarterly. The bills then use my readings.
It would be nice if they would let me upload the photos I always take of
the meter readings and their software turned it into a bill. These days
machine are perfectly capable of doing such jobs and it would be easier
than trying to type in numbers with the potential for error.

I agree, I always take my readings with a camera - it's a requirement for
solar FIT readings (though they don't accept photos either) and makes sense
to do the others the same way. Green Star's meter-readings page never
believes the gas meter readings I enter, I always have to put them in
twice. If I had to go back outside, round the house, bend down and fiddle
with the dodgy hinge on the cabinet in order to double check the reading
I'd be very annoyed.

[Fenny]

On 11 Sep 2018 13:31:44 GMT, Sally Thompson

Post by Sally Thompson
I've never heard of Octopus Energy, but I do have access to Which? so I
checked on that claim. From the relevant article: "This year, medium-sized
supplier Utility Warehouse topped our rankings. Big Six firm Npower
finished in last place again. Just one energy company earned our
prestigious Which? Recommended Provider Award: small newcomer energy firm
Octopus Energy. Read on to see how other energy suppliers – including yours
– fared. Or find out what it takes for a company to be awarded a Which?
Recommended Provider for energy.
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/energy-companies/article/best-and-worst-energy-companies/which-energy-survey-results
- Which?"
I didn't dig any further. HTH.

Interesting, thanks. I have to say that my experience of Spark Energy
is nothing like as good as Which?'s. Getting any response from them
at all, in whatever format, took me days, rather than seconds or
minutes. Getting a meaningful response went into weeks, despite them
sending numerous daily texts to my brother.