I've been on the verge of moving to Octopus, specifically Go, as I've always got the impression they're the be all & end all, but now I'm wondering if people just big them up hoping you're going to quote their referral code!
While it is true,that OCTOPUS give referal, this is an alternative to other promotional costs of other companys, the main complaint about OCTOPUS is the billing, yet it is amazing how accurate it is once you get your first bill.
I recall how I felt after waiting almost 6 months for my first bill, the day I got the email to say my bill was ready, every single day had a usage and cost for each half hour, and was spot on.
The £50 referal helps to cover the costs of the standard rate the new customers are put on until their "SMART METER" readings are certified, which varys, usualy about 2 weeks , I gather by reading posts on here.
Anyone who is waiting for the first bill, just relax, there seem to be very few unfortunate incidences of failure, which will get sorted
One other thing you could use the OCTOPUS API to get your usage details almost from day1