Customers of a major energy firm can now get credit in their account faster with an estimated £12billion paid out to millions of households ahead of the Christmas holiday season.
Octopus Energy has transferred 5.5 million customer accounts to fintech firm GoCardless in what ranks among the biggest Direct Debit migrations ever undertaken in Britain.
In a win for consumers, the energy supplier shifted approximately £12billion worth of annual payments to the new platform without any service interruption for customers.
GoCardless, a UK-based financial technology company used by thousands of businesses, now handles all Direct Debit transactions for Octopus Energy’s vast customer base.
Octopus Energy customers can get credit back in their accounts faster
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The partnership represents a significant infrastructure overhaul designed to streamline payment processing and reduce administrative burdens on the supplier’s customer service teams.
Consumers now receive refunds within one or two days rather than waiting up to five working days under the previous system.
This accelerated turnaround makes Octopus the quickest major energy supplier in Britain for processing self-initiated refunds. According to the company, it was already a pioneer in allowing customers to withdraw credit balances directly through their online account or mobile application.
Many account holders opt to maintain a credit buffer during colder months when energy consumption typically increases, but those wishing to reclaim their money can now do so with minimal delay.
Greg Jackson is the CEO of Octopus Energy | OCTOPUS ENERGY
The Octopus Energy app offers customers the speediest route to retrieving account credit, with approximately 70 per cent of all refunds currently processed through this channel.
A customer requesting their money back on a Monday can typically expect funds to appear in their bank account by Wednesday lunchtime. Based on the latest figures, the supplier handles around 30,000 refund requests weekly through its digital platform.
Any households who prefer speaking with a representative can still arrange refunds by telephoning or emailing the company directly, Octopus Energy confirmed in a statement.
Thanks to the GoCardless deal, the energy firm has seen reduced delays and eliminated repetitive administrative tasks, allowing Octopus staff to dedicate more attention to customer support matters that require personal assistance.
Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, said: “Moving £12billion of payments with zero disruption is a huge technical achievement. It’s another step in using technology to make energy fairer and faster for customers.”
Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder and CEO of GoCardless, said: “We’re proud to power payments for Octopus Energy a company that, like us, uses technology to make life simpler. This shows what’s possible when two tech-driven companies collaborate for good.”
Octopus also pioneered the Balance Forecaster, a personalised Direct Debit tool accessible through customer accounts that displays how payments and energy usage compare throughout the year.
Earlier this month, the energy giant confirmed it once again scored record-high customer satisfaction ratings in Ofgem’s and Citizens Advice’s recent nationwide survey.
“Energy Owls” actively manage their energy usage, check tariffs, and track their bills. | Uswitch
The latest Customer Satisfaction with their Supplier report found that nine in 10 Octopus customers are satisfied or very satisfied (90 per cent), smashing the GB average of 82 per cent, while only three per cent are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
On customer service, Octopus Energy was revealed to have scored a high of 84 per cent which beats the national average of 76 per cent by a clear margin. Ofgem claims these are the highest satisfaction levels recorded since the tracker began in 2018, with Octopus outpacing the market across both major metrics.
Mr Jackson added: “People always say delivering outstanding service gets harder as you grow – this survey proves them wrong. As we’ve scaled, we’ve further improved our service. You can only do this by investing relentlessly in technology, operations and incredible staff.”
The regulator’s latest complaints data reinforces the trend: Octopus has the lowest complaints of any large supplier across the last three quarters – receiving 31% fewer complaints than the next best supplier and 61% fewer than the worst performer.**