Forum Topic

OVO Energy nightmare..

HAS ANYONE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH OVO ENERGY?                                                                                         One of dozens of messages that I have sent to OVO since January 2023. This one was sent on 13-8-23."I have had an 8 month nightmare with OVO. The Ombudsman upheld my complaint against them in May and I still haven't had an apology, compensation or a final bill."The reply I received on 17-8-23 was: "I have requested for these to be sent out via post, please allow 5-10 working days to receive the documents.Thanks,Nikkita."22 days gone by and still no sign of the promised postal delivery. In the meantime OVO has authorised a debt collector to harass me for an alleged debt of £146 +£20 costs. I emailed the debt company with proof of the now 9 months of OVO incompetence and they put the matter on hold until they contacted OVO. Unbelievably I today had an email from the debt company who have been instructed by OVO: "Please continue to chase the debt."OVO is driving me crazy. Next Wednesday I am seeking legal advise with a view to taken legal action against OVO for the now 9 month nightmare and the stress caused by OVO's incompetence.

Neil Milkins ● 233d9 Comments

With bad service from a bank I was told on phoning them that my letter of apology was on the file waiting to be sent.  When it did not arrive I rang and questioned them again and again and found that apparently the letter had been written by a junior member of staff and it had not been passed by someone higher up the ladder.  Now if anyone told me something like that I just would not believe them.We are two and when we moved to Ovo they tried to bill us both - it could have got very confusing and we would have been out of pocket if we had both paid but we phoned and eventually and luckily we managed to get just the one bill.However we were quarterly and they seem to have decided that they want money monthly.  We pay but it will never be as timely because they want to receive payment in seven days  but when you consider the time that it has taken a bill to reach us by post seven days are likely to have passed.  We also do not want to do direct debit because of the way that many companies were charging much too much and I've heard of them refusing to reduce the amount. We also discovered that when any of these companies go bust the companies kept any monies overpaid and the public purse reimburses customers for monies overpaid rather than the companies themselves.  (Maybe that has changed now. I hope so.)  I always read the meter and put the reading on the bill together with the date the bill was received.  It was much better paying quarterly - although of course now it is so much more expensive.There is still something very odd about these smart meters.  At first the problem was that you could not change companies  because the next company couldn't read the that smart meter. but now with a second type they seem to be working - well mostly.  We have had to deal with one business one which had to have someone to come and physically read it as the new company could not receive the smart meter reading. I think eventually we got a new smartmeter but that one stopped working after a while.  Interestingly someone else who deals with these and nothing to do with the company we were paying money to said that he could read it - and he could.  So I wonder if there is a middleman there somewhere that the company just did not want to pay?I do think they could have been tried out more before they were foisted on us.

Philippa Bond ● 225d

I have had an 9 month nightmare with OVO. The Ombudsman upheld my complaint against them in May and I still haven't had an apology, compensation or a final bill. After reading good reviews on Trustpilot and Which magazine regarding Octopus I joined them in May. They are easy to contact and deal with. If you phone them with this referral code we will both get £50 energy credit. https://share.octopus.energy/free-finch-408      Octopus phone number is Customer service: 0808 164 1088. Even if you don't take up this offer, please consider changing to a different provider. OVO are driving people into despair.

Neil Milkins ● 226d

I pay monthly. I don’t use direct debit; having worked in banking all my life I’ve seen too many c…k ups. Even friends of mine who have used the variable direct debit have encountered issues. Ovo email  me start of the month, asking me to read my meters within 5/6 days. I email them my readings & they then bill me a few days later which I then pay online ( although there is also the option to pay by cheque or phone.)It does mean of course that I don’t get the slight discount  but the way I do it suits me. Others will want to go the DD way and why not. Each to their own.

Bettina Margaret Thwaite ● 227d

>>Tricia wrote>> Bettina, why does paying as you use cost you more? I could be wrong, but . . . . I am guessing that Bettina pays quarterly, aka 'when billed'. Doing so means she doesn't receive (a small) discount offered to 'fixed direct debit' customers.  Variable direct debit is the way to go (assuming the d/d tariff 'discount' applies to variable d/d) . . .

Tony Heath ● 228d

Bettina, why does paying as you use cost you more? We pay that way after seeing it recommended by Martin Lewis and, as far as I am aware, the ultimate cost is the same. The only difference is you aren't lending the energy suppliers money at zero interest.

Tricia Arbuthnot ● 228d

Sounds very similar to my recent issue with Shell EnergyBought a house.Asked for settlement of account.Duly paid and switched provider.3 months later they start chasing £86.20Countless emails and phone calls with no joy apart from a 4 month period where they left me alone and I thought case closed.Then legal demand with a debt collection agency note but with an awfully kind offer to settle for £54.00 as I was "clearly struggling to pay".Saddens me to admit I actually paid the reduced amount simply to put it to bed and not risk more heartache and any effect to my credit rating.Shysters the lot of 'em!

Colin Goodman ● 230d

I do the same with them and, like you, have no problems

Simon Bell ● 232d

I was with SSE for 40 years and more with no problems but when OVO took over from them it has all gone pear-shaped. OVO are driving people to a nervous breakdown. The following is what I recently sent to the debt agency.. "I have been in dispute with OVO since January 2023. The Ombudsman severely criticised OVO regarding the way it has treated me from that date until I joined another energy provider in May 2023. The Ombudsman has slammed OVO for the lack of communication between OVO and myself and also their lack of communication with the Ombudsman itself. I have proof of emails sent to OVO complaints over the past few months that have not been answered + proof of Trustpilot reviews I have posted dozens of times which each time have been answered by a robot saying how sorry they are for my bad experience and asking for contact details so they can remedy the situation - but never does. I have proof of the same responses on OVO's own Facebook page. And the saga still goes on. On OVO'S own page recently I complained that I was still waiting for a written apology from them which the Ombudsman demanded plus paper billing from the time I was tricked into signing up to OVO from SSE in January.And OVO reply 17-8-23."Hi Neil,I can see the letter of apology on your account, would you like this sending out via post or through email?Thanks,Nikkita."And my response. 17-8-23."Through post please and will you please send the paper billing from January 2023 when I was tricked into changing from SSE to OVO that I have repeatedly requested until the time  I changed to *****?"And OVO reply 17-8-23.  "I have requested for these to be sent out via post, please allow 5-10 working days to receive the documents.Thanks,Nikkita.And today I received instead a letter stating that a debt collecting agency is going to chase an alleged debt of £142-63 plus a £20 charge to cover the cost of collection. Well all I can say is see you in court OVO."And 23 days later still no postal delivery from OVO.

Neil Milkins ● 232d

I’m sorry to hear this. We’re with Ovo & have never had a problem ever since they took over from SSE in June 2022. But then we pay as we use which avoids any disputes. Others we know do the same. Yes, it does work out a little more expensive but what price peace of mind knowing you are always up to date. When you get older that is a big thing.

Bettina Margaret Thwaite ● 232d