We’ve somehow ended up knowing considerably more about the Octopus referral scheme than you might expect from a wedding cake studio.

Here are the bits we think are actually worth knowing.

Do I need an Octopus referral code?

No — not if you use the referral link before you switch.

You’ll often see people talk about an “Octopus Energy referral code”, but if you’re switching through our link there’s actually no code to enter — Octopus tracks the referral automatically.

Follow our link and the referral is connected to your sign-up.

Use our Octopus referral link

I’ve already joined Octopus and forgot the referral. Is it too late?

It may not be.

Octopus’s own referral FAQ says that if you forgot to use a friend’s referral link when you signed up, you can contact Octopus and give them the referral code.

Provided you signed up directly through the Octopus website, Octopus says it can add the referral to both accounts.

Our referral code is:

GREEN-DOVE-338

There is one wrinkle worth knowing.

Octopus’s formal energy terms also say that retrospectively claimed referrals are not eligible. That doesn’t sit completely comfortably with the advice in its own referral FAQ.

So if you’ve already joined directly through Octopus and forgot the referral link, our advice is simple: contact Octopus as soon as possible, quote GREEN-DOVE-338 and ask them to add it.

Source: Octopus Energy Referral Links: Your Questions Answered, and Octopus Energy Terms for Domestic Customers

When will my £50 Octopus credit arrive?

Octopus says the referral credit is paid once the new customer:

• is being supplied with energy by Octopus; and
• has made their first successful Direct Debit payment.

The process typically takes around four weeks from joining, although Octopus says it can take longer if something delays the switch.

The £50 appears as referral credit on your Octopus Energy account, rather than being paid as £50 cash.

Source: Octopus Energy Referral Links: Your Questions Answered

Can I use the referral if I’ve been with Octopus before?

Not normally if it was recently.

Octopus’s current terms say someone who has been an Octopus Energy customer within the previous 12 months isn’t eligible for the Friends & Family referral reward.

So if you’re returning to Octopus after a recent spell away, check your eligibility before relying on the £50 credit.

Source: Octopus Energy Terms for Domestic Customers

Can I use the referral if I switch through a comparison website?

No.

Octopus’s current terms say the referral reward is for customers who sign up directly online through the personalised referral link.

If you join through a third party such as a price comparison website, the Friends & Family referral reward isn’t payable.

So if you’ve already compared your options and decided to join Octopus, come back to the referral link before completing the switch.

Use our Octopus referral link

Source: Octopus Energy Terms for Domestic Customers

Is the Octopus referral always £50 each?

Here’s something we didn’t know until we read the actual terms.

£50/£50 is the default split — but Octopus says the split can be changed.

Octopus’s current domestic terms say:

“The default is a 50/50 split of the reward between you and the friend/family you refer. You may alter this split by contacting us.”

Octopus doesn’t publicly say which alternative splits it will agree to, so we wouldn’t assume that any particular arrangement is available.

But it does mean the familiar 50/50 arrangement is technically the default, rather than necessarily the only possible split.

Source: Octopus Energy Terms for Domestic Customers

What if I have a traditional prepayment meter?

You can still use an Octopus referral.

Octopus says traditional prepayment customers should sign up using the referral link and then contact its energy specialists once the account has been set up.

Octopus currently says the £50 can either be processed in a way that allows it to be used for topping up the meter or supplied on a key or card with £50 of pre-loaded credit.

Source: Octopus Energy Referral Links: Your Questions Answered

So why use our Octopus referral link?

There are lots of Octopus referral links on the internet.

And we’re not going to pretend ours contains some secret ingredient that all the others don’t.

If another Octopus customer gives you an eligible referral link, you’ll normally receive the same standard £50 credit.

The difference is simply who receives the other £50.

Use ours and Octopus puts it onto The Frostery’s energy account.

We’re a small independent cake studio in a village on the edge of the Pennines.

Our cakes are often booked months in advance, which means the price we agree with a client can be fixed long before we actually buy the ingredients to make it.

Meanwhile:

energy prices move.

butter prices move.

sugar and chocolate prices move.

Running a small cake studio rarely gets cheaper.

We won’t pretend your £50 referral pays for a whole cake. But between electricity, butter, sugar, chocolate and everything else that goes into keeping the studio running, that £50 genuinely helps.

So if you’ve found something useful on this page and you’re going to join Octopus anyway, we’d be delighted if you chose our link.

That’s really all there is to it.

You get £50.

We get £50.

You help us buy the butter.

Switch to Octopus and get £50 credit

Are we energy experts?

No.

We’re cake makers.

And that’s rather the point.

This page doesn’t exist because we’re trying to become an energy comparison website.

It exists because we use Octopus ourselves, we have a referral link, and enough people have found the information useful that we’ve ended up learning quite a bit about how the referral scheme actually works.

So rather than reproduce everything Octopus says about energy, we concentrate here on the referral questions people actually seem to want answered — including some of the less obvious details buried in the small print.

We’ll keep checking those details against Octopus’s own published information and update this page when something materially changes.

If you’ve decided to join Octopus and you’re simply looking for a referral link, you’re very welcome to use ours.

Ready to switch to Octopus?

Use our referral link to get your quote directly from Octopus Energy.

If you decide to join and qualify for the referral offer, you’ll receive £50 credit on your new Octopus Energy account once your switch is complete and your first successful Direct Debit has been taken.

We’ll receive £50 account credit too.

You get a little help with your energy bill.

We get a little help with the changing cost of electricity, butter, sugar and chocolate.