OVO Nightmare!

PurpleGirl

Hi All,

I'm new to this and was wondering if anyone else has had/is having a nightmare wih OVO? I switched end of November from BG and wish I hadn't - they gave BG different meter readings to the ones I supplied, I can't get the same answer from one call to the next and every call takes AT LEAST half an hour!!!

Thanks

PG

:mad:

Wywth

PurpleGirl wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm new to this and was wondering if anyone else has had/is having a nightmare wih OVO? I switched end of November from BG and wish I hadn't - they gave BG different meter readings to the ones I supplied, I can't get the same answer from one call to the next and every call takes AT LEAST half an hour!!!

Thanks

PG

:mad:

No, none of what you have posted is the usual experience of most MSE'ers with Ovo based on past posting on this board.

Why do your calls to Ovo take at least 30 minutes?

Why do you need to make more than one call?

As long as the final readings from BG are the same as the start readings from Ovo, you won't get any supplier to help you (unless they really are hugely different to the reading you supplied)

jalexa

PurpleGirl wrote: »

...I switched end of November from BG and wish I hadn't - they gave BG different meter readings to the ones I supplied...

Hi PG, welcome to the forum. One thing you will find if you stick around, which I hope you will, is that the more information you provide the more meaningful help you will get. In this case the amount the numbers differed by is important.

It is possible for the losing supplier not to agree the closing readings you provided to the gaining supplier if a large enough "error" is seen. In that case the suppliers have to agree a mutually acceptable reading, so its not a case of the gaining supplier providing a different reading as you posted.

I am assuming that the reason you know about the readings is that you have received a final bill from BG? How big is the error? You are obliged to pay the undisputed amount of the BG bill. I strongly advise you do so (under dispute) as soon as possible to avoid the prospect of debt recovery.

Regarding the time being taken "not to answer", you are entitled to raise a formal complaint on the first occasion you are not 100% satisfied with a customer service outcome. Don't waste time with different stories over repeated calls.

chanz4

Problem with ovo is that they dont have their own license, they buy power in bulk from business providers.

there message from you goes to where they buy it, then pass it on to the other supplier.

Wywth

chanz4 wrote: »

Problem with ovo is that they dont have their own license, they buy power in bulk from business providers.

there message from you goes to where they buy it, then pass it on to the other supplier.

What do you mean when you claim they don't have their own license? :huh:

They are an independent supplier with their own licence, unlike Ebico (who use the SSE licence) or other branded suppliers like M&S or Sainsburys.

Ovo also have a gas shipper license
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Licensing/Work/Notices/Licences/Documents1/Ovo%20Gas%20Limited_gas%20shipper%20licence_website%20notice_15%20Oct%202012.pdf

They don't produce their own power if that is what you mean.
But then neither do any other supplier (their generation activity is a different company)

e.g. the generation part of EDF is separate to the supply side. The generation side must sell its power at the market rate, even to the EDF supply company.

rich_benno

Hi PurpleGirl,

Unfortunately I've also had problems with Ovo.

I also made the decision to switch to them in November from British Gas (dual fuel). However, when I received my welcome pack at the start of my cooling off period (which ran until November 30th), I noticed immediately that their call centre hours are 9am-5.30pm, weekdays only. I work in an office, and don't have the option of making personal calls during the working day, so this limited call centre availability (particularly the lack of weekend access) was an issue for me.

I decided to test their email response times, as if they were quick to respond then I would have been quite prepared to communicate with them that way instead. Regrettably, they didn't respond to my email!

I decided that Ovo weren't going to be for me - in my experience, energy suppliers do need to be contacted from time to time and typically because of some sort of issue. If Ovo weren't able to respond to an email with questions about my switch before I even became a customer of theirs, I just wasn't confident that I would have a stress-free experience contacting them.

So I called Ovo on the 28th November, two days before my cooling off period was due to expire, and advised them that I had changed my mind and did not wish to proceed. (Whilst waiting for my call to be answered, I noted the recorded message that explained there were currently 5 day turnaround times for responses to email - frankly, I found that very disappointing indeed, especially when the limited call centre hours are taken into account).

Ovo confirmed that they would not continue with the transfer from BG, and I duly received a letter (as requested, I understand this is not standard practice) confirming that the transfer would not be requested.

No real issues with Ovo so far (although I do think their short call centre hours should be more widely publicised - surely I can't be the only office worker who would find this a pain). However I checked my British Gas online account on Saturday 29th December and was surprised to find that my gas account had disappeared. I called BG to find out what was going on, expecting an error on their part...and was surprised to hear that my gas had transferred to Ovo!

I then had to wait to call Ovo and sort things out, because it was Saturday, and their call centre was closed...

Monday 31st came, I rang Ovo and got through reasonably quickly. Ovo advised that they had made arrangements to transfer both my gas and electricity during my cooling off period, and although they had been able to reverse the electricity transfer, they hadn't managed to request the reversal of the gas in time. So it had transferred over to them anyway, regardless of my request not to go ahead, and their written confirmation that my supplies would remain with BG.

I have two major issues with this. First, I find it unacceptable that supply transfers are being actioned during a cooling off period - in my view, a cooling off period is an opportunity for both parties (primarily the customer) to take stock of the agreement that has been entered into before any further action is taken. I did not expect Ovo to start working on my transfer until that cooling off period had expired, especially if there was a risk that any transfer requested would not be reversible if I changed my mind.

My second, and perhaps more concerning, issue with this is the lack of communication from Ovo once they had established they had missed the deadline to stop the transfer of my supply from BG. I heard nothing from them whatsoever, and had I not noticed the gas disappearing from my BG online account I might still be none the wiser. Put this alongside my first email, which still hasn't been responded to, and the impression I have of Ovo's customer service is really not that great.

They are now working on an erroneous transfer for me, to return everything back to BG. Apparently this could take 10-12 weeks, by which point I will be back at square one.

In my letter of complaint to Ovo I explained that I really want to see smaller suppliers like them thrive. The big 6 hegemony suits no-one but the big 6, and I generally find that Which? recommendations for customer service are spot on, so I was genuinely surprised to have such a poor experience with Ovo. The sad thing is that I now have a higher opinion of British Gas as a result of all this!

To summarise - Inconvenient, uncommunicative, slightly incompetent and, by arranging transfers during my cooling off period, arguably a little underhand. All in all, not a positive experience with Ovo at all. And that's a real pity.

chanz4

Wywth wrote: »

What do you mean when you claim they don't have their own license? :huh:

They are an independent supplier with their own licence, unlike Ebico (who use the SSE licence) or other branded suppliers like M&S or Sainsburys.

Ovo also have a gas shipper license
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Licensing/Work/Notices/Licences/Documents1/Ovo%20Gas%20Limited_gas%20shipper%20licence_website%20notice_15%20Oct%202012.pdf

They don't produce their own power if that is what you mean.
But then neither do any other supplier (their generation activity is a different company)

e.g. the generation part of EDF is separate to the supply side. The generation side must sell its power at the market rate, even to the EDF supply company.

they buy from business gas ltd

Wywth

rich_benno wrote: »

...
To summarise - Inconvenient, uncommunicative, slightly incompetent and, by arranging transfers during my cooling off period, arguably a little underhand. All in all, not a positive experience with Ovo at all. And that's a real pity.

Welcome to MSE, rich_benno.

I am sorry your experience with Ovo does not appear to match that most of the regular MSE'ers have experienced.

Have you raised your issues with Ovo?

Yes, their phone lines are only open during office hours? Don't you get any break during the working day? Can't you really have access to any phone during that break time e..g. a payphone, or even your own mobile?
A payphone is ideal as they actually offer a freephone number to contact them (unlike most energy suppliers)
I see you managed to call them on 28th November ... :cool:

I'm not sure why they didn't respond to your email. Again the staff only work normal office hours, but they do normally respond within 2 working days.

Where you wish to cancel a previously requested switch, I would always suggest you ontact your existing supplier at the time, as they have a vested interest in no losing you.
But you can still do so and instigate an Erroneous Transfer.

Why did you originally apply to move to Ovo? Presumably to save money? So why did you change your mide later?

Good luck in trying to find any supplier that offers better customer service than Ovo ... although there are many with longer opening times, but you may be left hanging on a call (which you will be paying for) for a long time whilst they repeatedly tell you 'your custom is important to us'.

rich_benno

Hi Wywth,

It's nice to be here! Shame my first post is a negative one, but there we are, always best to share the bad as well as the good so others can make a balanced decision.

Ok let's take your questions one by one, as they are all fair comment.

Have I raised my issues with Ovo? Yes, last Monday. They said I would get a call to my work mobile on Wednesday, but in fact they tried to contact me that day (my work mobile was off, as I was not in work). I got an email explaining that they had tried to call me twice, and explaining what would happen next. I sent a reply explaining what I was unhappy with....and I've yet to receive a reply.

Do I get a break during the day, and can I access a phone to call them? Yes to both, in theory, but I'm pretty busy at work and don't really have the time to make personal calls during breaks. I prefer (and I accept that this is a personal choice) to do this at evenings or weekends. Not having evening access to a call centre was the true killer, if I'm honest. And yes, I did manage to call them on the 28th, a working day, before my cooling off period ran out. I kinda had to! If it wasn't for the Friday 30th deadline, I would have done it at the weekend (or in the evening, of course!)

Last question - why did I move to Ovo? A combination of saving money and giving one of the little guys a chance. But I'm sorry to say that it all seemed a bit too complicated and inaccessible, and my life is complicated enough without problems straight out of the box. Also their 25% uprating of bills because I joined in winter meant I would have been paying more over the winter period than I would have been with BG, despite my taking the time to give them an accurate (and probably on the high side) estimate based on past reads and my historic seasonal consumption, making the 25% uprate unneccesary. I appreciate that this would have been credited back to my account, but I'd rather have the money in my pocket!

Final point, and then perhaps it's back to PurpleGirl's query - it's free to call BG, although you're right, it can get busy, and it's also free to use their online help service, although what the help operatives can actually help you with is a bit limited. I've had major, major problems with BG in the past, and I still intend to switch away from them. It just seemed like moving to Ovo was going to be more complicated and also more expensive in the short term at least. Only my opinion though.

rich_benno

Just thought I'd give an update on my OVO experience. They may have made a dog's dinner of my transfer, but they have redeemed themselves to some extent in responding to my complaint.

I spent 15 minutes on the phone earlier with a helpful, apologetic but (crucially) informative lady who was able to both explain why my erroneous transfer had occurred, and also give details of the things they are doing to try and improve on the areas where they needed to. She was honest, candid and seemed genuinely frustrated that they had fallen below the standards that they expect of themselves.

She also offered a goodwill gesture, which I was happy to accept.

Apparently out of office hours contact centres are on the way, so who knows, perhaps I'll give them another go in the future. Anyway, I wanted to post this on here to keep things balanced and hopefully make this as helpful as possible to others considering OVO. Maybe next time eh guys.