Switching and moving home
Does Octopus do a credit check?
How Octopus uses your credit data when you join, what it shares with TransUnion, and how paying on time or late affects your credit file.
Edited by Rob Gibbs. Published: . Guidance reviewed: .
Short answer
When you register, Octopus asks for permission to check your credit data with TransUnion. It then shares your payment record with TransUnion each month. Paying on time should help your credit score. Missed payments can add a late-payment marker that stays on your file for up to six years.
At sign-up
The check uses your credit data with TransUnion, with your permission. Octopus’s help pages describe this as credit data sharing.
While you are a customer
What gets reported:
- Your payments, shared with TransUnion at the end of each month.
- Changes can take up to two weeks to show on sites such as Credit Karma.
- Regular late payments can affect your score and stay on file for up to six years.
If money is tight
Contact Octopus before you miss a payment. Octo Assist and the Warm Home Discount may help, and agreeing a plan early is better for your credit file than missed payments.
Questions people ask
Will switching to Octopus hurt my credit score?
The check itself is a normal part of joining. Paying on time should then help your score.
Who does Octopus share credit data with?
TransUnion, according to Octopus’s help pages.
Tariffs in this guide
Related guides
- Octopus can’t find your address: what to doWhy an Octopus quote sometimes cannot find your address, how your MPAN helps, and the form Octopus provides for missing addresses.
- How to switch to Octopus Energy: steps and timingsWhat happens when you switch to Octopus Energy, how long it takes, when you can leave a fixed deal without a fee and what to do on switch day.
- How to change tariff as an existing Octopus customerWhen and how existing Octopus customers can move tariff, the 45-day rule for fixed deals, and what to check before choosing a smart tariff.
- Moving home with Octopus Energy: moving out and moving inHow to tell Octopus you are moving out, take Octopus with you, or set up supply at a new home that Octopus already supplies.
- Your first month with Octopus EnergyWhat happens in your first weeks with Octopus: the switch date, your first reading, your Direct Debit and the first chance to change tariff.
- The Octopus app: what it does and where to find thingsWhat you can do in the Octopus Energy app: readings, usage, payments, tariff changes, Octoplus and smart device control.
Primary sources
- What is credit data sharing? — Octopus Energy; checked 2026-10-30. Octopus checks and shares payment data with TransUnion with the customer’s permission.