Credit vs debit on your account

When you log into your Octopus account, the first thing you’ll see is your account balance. It’ll either show a positive number (you’re in credit) or a negative number (you’re in debit). Both are completely normal at different times of the year, and understanding why is the key to not worrying about either.

What “in credit” means

A credit balance means you’ve paid more through your direct debit than you’ve used in energy. The surplus sits on your account. Think of it like a prepayment buffer.

This is the expected state for most of the warmer months. From around April onwards, your energy usage drops (less heating, longer days, more natural light) while your monthly direct debit stays the same. Each month you overpay a little, and the credit stacks up.

Typical credit balances by late summer or early autumn range from £100 to £300. If you’re paying £100 a month by DD and only using £50 worth of energy per month in summer, that £50 surplus compounds over five or six months.

What “in debit” means

A debit balance means your energy usage has outpaced your payments. You’ve used more than you’ve paid for. The deficit shows on your account.

This is the expected state by late winter. From October onwards, gas central heating kicks in, evenings get dark earlier, and energy consumption climbs steeply. Your fixed monthly DD doesn’t increase to match, so you eat through your summer credit and may slip into debit by February or March.

A debit of £100 to £200 by the end of winter is typical and not a cause for concern. It should correct itself as usage drops in spring.

The annual swing

A healthy account balance follows a predictable pattern through the year:

Spring: Usage falling, payments steady. Balance climbs.
Summer: Usage at its lowest. Credit reaches its peak.
Autumn: Usage rising. Credit starts to decline.
Winter: Usage at its highest. Credit depletes, possibly flipping to debit.

The direct debit is calibrated so that this swing stays within a manageable range. At no point should you owe a frighteningly large amount, and at no point should Octopus be sitting on hundreds of pounds of unnecessary credit.

When credit becomes excessive

If your credit balance keeps growing month after month without the winter drawdown bringing it back, your direct debit is probably set too high. This can happen if:

Your usage has dropped since the DD was set (perhaps you’ve insulated your home, installed solar panels or the household has shrunk)
Energy prices have fallen since your DD was calculated
The initial estimate overestimated your consumption

In this case, you have two options. Request a credit refund through the app (Octopus will refund the excess, keeping roughly one month’s usage as a buffer) or reduce your direct debit so it stops building further.

Octopus should also catch this in their periodic reviews and suggest a lower DD, but don’t wait if you’d rather act sooner.

When debit becomes concerning

A debit balance is only a problem if it keeps growing without correcting. If you’re in debit in winter and it shrinks through spring and summer, the system is working. If you’re still in debit by July and it’s getting worse, your DD is too low.

Common reasons for a persistent debit:

Your DD was set based on a previous lower-usage household
You’ve switched to a more expensive tariff
Energy prices have risen since your DD was set
Your household usage has genuinely increased (more people at home, new electric car, etc.)

The fix: increase your DD to cover both your ongoing usage and gradually clear the arrears. Octopus will suggest an amount if you ask, or you can calculate it yourself. Take your estimated annual cost, divide by 12, and add a bit extra to chip away at the debit.

Checking your balance

The Octopus app shows your current balance front and centre on the home screen (see our app walkthrough for a guided tour). It’s updated regularly (though not in real-time; there’s usually a day or two of lag while meter data and payments are processed).

You can also see a history of charges and payments in the statements section, which makes it easy to trace exactly how your balance has moved over time. Our guide to understanding your bill explains each line of those statements.

Octopus also offers a Balance Forecast tool that projects your balance over the coming twelve months. It factors in your historical usage, current tariff and seasonal patterns to show whether your direct debit is likely to keep things on track or whether an adjustment might be sensible. You can experiment with different payment amounts and see the predicted effect before committing to a change.

What happens when you leave Octopus

If you switch away from Octopus, they’ll calculate a final bill based on your meter readings at the point of switch. If your account is in credit after that final bill, they refund the balance to your bank account. If it’s in debit, they collect the outstanding amount via your last direct debit or send you a final invoice.

Octopus is generally quick about final bill refunds. Most customers report receiving credit back within a couple of weeks of their switch completing.

Ofgem protections

Ofgem has rules designed to stop suppliers from hoarding customer credit. Suppliers must refund credit promptly when requested, and for closed accounts the deadline is 10 working days after issuing the final bill. They’re also expected not to set direct debits unreasonably high or allow excessive credit to build up without taking action. Where a customer is in credit, Ofgem expects the supplier to reduce the direct debit with the aim of bringing the balance back towards zero over the following twelve months.

Ofgem has been consulting on going further still. Proposals under discussion include mandatory automatic refunds of surplus credit on the anniversary of your contract start date. If implemented, this would make it much harder for any supplier to sit on large customer balances.

If you feel Octopus (or any supplier) is holding your money unfairly, you can raise a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman.

In practice, Octopus rarely gets complaints about this. They’ve built a reputation for handling credit balances fairly, which is one of the reasons they consistently score well in customer satisfaction surveys.