Ovo Energy Reviews: Give your feedback

Consumerist

PCH wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]. . . I can confirm that you are able to switch to these rates on a new 12 month contract. However, by doing so you will no longer be eligible to receive the online management discount."[/FONT]

Does that mean you could then insist on paper bills?

PCH_2

Consumerist wrote: »

Does that mean you could then insist on paper bills?

No idea. This is extra text because 'no idea' was deemed too short an answer by the board admins!

MarcusDW_2

Disastrous start. Direct debit from my old supplier and Ovo on the same day. Contacted them. 15 mins to answer phone. Had to listen to REM Shiny Happy People half a dozen times. Grrr. Spoke to Irene (officious) and Andrew (equally so) who spouted Ts and Cs at me. They had failed to ask for the meter reading at switchover; I gave them today's, which they can't use as it's too late, so they'll be using estimated readings. Useless, intransigent, which in an industry this incompetent is hardly surprising.

Their reason for the dual direct debit is that they bill in advance. Sure enough this little surprise is buried in their small print. So switchers beware; you are likely to pay twice in a single month.

victor2

MarcusDW wrote: »

Their reason for the dual direct debit is that they bill in advance. Sure enough this little surprise is buried in their small print. So switchers beware; you are likely to pay twice in a single month.

Quite a few suppliers do that now. The good news is that if you leave them and go back to a supplier that takes the monthly payments in arrears, you get a month off. So long as you haven't got a big debit balance to clear of course.

Rosie1980

I have been with OVO for two years and I think they are great, sadly the substantial saving to be made by switching with the collective switch is too tempting and I will be entering the unknown territory of British Gas. I wish OVO had had a better deal as I would stay with them even for a slightly higher price. Their website is great, easy to use and always working. I've never had to call them as there hasn't been a problem and meter readings and direct debit changes can all be done online.

backfoot

Rosie1980 wrote: »

I have been with OVO for two years and I think they are great, sadly the substantial saving to be made by switching with the collective switch is too tempting and I will be entering the unknown territory of British Gas. I wish OVO had had a better deal as I would stay with them even for a slightly higher price. Their website is great, easy to use and always working. I've never had to call them as there hasn't been a problem and meter readings and direct debit changes can all be done online.

I liked being with OVO and like you found that they generally had a refreshing slant via their website and what appeared to be well trained customer service staff.

That said, obtaining/ submitting meter readings and preparing a bill is such a simple exercise that anyone should be able to do it. That there are so many failures is remarkable!

In my view we should all get systems which work and therefore price is the only determining factor for energy purchases in my book.

Having left OVO just before Christmas when they wouldn't let me freely tariff hop, my current deals are £220 p.a. cheaper than the OVO price I was paying.

Got be worth switching on a regular basis.

System

backfoot wrote: »

Got be worth switching on a regular basis.

Agreed - that said, I am still not sure why energy companies do so much to promote it given that there must be a transaction cost when a customer switches away. Why encourage someone to leave by not allowing tariff hops only to pay a third-party referral fee to get the same customer back a few months later? Equally, why allow an existing customer to sign up for a Collective Switch - again with a referral fee and possible cash back. None of this makes much commercial sense to me.

ellenGB

I phoned them last week and switched. Was promised an email immediately to confirm and when this failed to arrive, I phoned them. They had no record of any switch. Several emails and tweets later, they've found the information but I, as the person who set up the account, am not recognised as someone they can deal with. (I can't imagine who they have down as their contact.) They have already contacted my present energy supplier so the switch has begun. We have no correspondence as they don't send info to the right place and they won't let me correct it. Spoke to Which? lawyer who emphasized that this is unusual, but suffice to say, it's been frustrating. fortunately, there is a law that can help me get out of this messy set up. Which? advised I contact Ofgem but they don't deal with individual problems.

I feel very sad this has happened because so many of the reviews have been so good.

Mingthecat

I've been with Ovo about 7 months, when I joined I was promised a smart meter but it would take a few months to put it in I repeated contacted them about when I would get the smart meter but I never got a reply.
The last email I sent I said I would leave if I wasn't contacted back. Today they rang me and told me because I had economy 7 they couldn't fit their smart meter but they are working on the technology. I asked how long would it be , they told me it hadn't been developed yet.

I only joined ovo because of the online top up available because of the smart meter. They had all my details and knew they couldn't fit one but still signed me up and promised it.

oldteabag

Not just childishly easy to use, but the touch of genius is whoever thought of adding a "torch" button on the numeric keypad.

Using the phone to read the meter in a dark cupboard, no need to back out and find a torch as well.

It's definitely going to weigh against at least part of any financial saving offered in a few weeks' time...