Ovo Energy Reviews: Give your feedback

JJ_Egan

Dont forget to factor in the cost of the torchlight and the energy it uses .

pearl123

Ovo are good. There software works instead of for example Scottish Power. However, they are not as competitively priceas they used to be. They also should allow customers to move to a lower tariff within their company if it turns out cheaper.

sschandoo

pearl123 wrote: »

Ovo are good. There software works instead of for example Scottish Power. However, they are not as competitively priceas they used to be. They also should allow customers to move to a lower tariff within their company if it turns out cheaper.

I've been with Ovo for about 3 years now and found them to be brilliant. Much better than my previous tariff with EDF (though never had bad service from EDF).

My understanding from recent discussions with Ovo is that they would allow you to switch to another of their accounts if it is cheaper for you - you'd simply pay any exit fee on your existing tariff and move across.

I tend to be in credit most of the time.

sschandoo

Has anyone noticed how different price comparison sites are. With MSE's Cheap Energy saving, i can save £71pa with Flow but with Energy Helpline i can save £229pa moving to SSE.

I can't work out why there's a difference or which comparison site i should be trusting.

Anyone know the difference?

PCH_2

pearl123 wrote: »

Ovo are good. There software works instead of for example Scottish Power.

In my experience, as a returning customer, the software didn't work. And not answering emails is not good.

System

sschandoo wrote: »

Has anyone noticed how different price comparison sites are. With MSE's Cheap Energy saving, i can save £71pa with Flow but with Energy Helpline i can save £229pa moving to SSE.

I can't work out why there's a difference or which comparison site i should be trusting.

Anyone know the difference?

All comparison sites are required to use Ofgem's inflated savings methodology to calculate costs/savings. This assumes that any customer coming to the end of a fixed term with have, say, 'x' months on the present tariff PLUS '12-X' months on the supplier's standard variable tariff.

Some sites now show an additional comparison of this is 'what you have paid for 12 months on your present tariff' compared to 'this is what you would pay for 12 months on this/theses tariffs'.

The only sensible thing to do is to use pen, paper and a calculator to check the actual savings that could be made.

victor2

sschandoo wrote: »

Has anyone noticed how different price comparison sites are. With MSE's Cheap Energy saving, i can save £71pa with Flow but with Energy Helpline i can save £229pa moving to SSE.

I can't work out why there's a difference or which comparison site i should be trusting.

Anyone know the difference?

This has been discussed on here many times.
Under OFGEM (mis)guidance, if your current tariff is ending within 12 months then for your current cost, comparison sites should assume that you will go onto your supplier's standard (i.e. most expensive) tariff. This creates an artificially high current cost as you wouldn't be looking at a comparison site if you were prepared to go onto a more expensive tariff. Thus the "savings" are also artificially high. Some comparison sites also show the saving against what your costs would be if your current tariff were able to continue beyond its end date. Most people consider this to be a much more realistic figure.
The best thing IMO is to completely ignore the savings figure and just look at what the predicted future costs are with various suppliers for your current annual usage in kWh per fuel.

System

victor2 wrote: »

This has been discussed on here many times.
Under OFGEM (mis)guidance, if your current tariff is ending within 12 months then for your current cost, comparison sites should assume that you will go onto your supplier's standard (i.e. most expensive) tariff. This creates an artificially high current cost as you wouldn't be looking at a comparison site if you were prepared to go onto a more expensive tariff. Thus the "savings" are also artificially high. Some comparison sites also show the saving against what your costs would be if your current tariff were able to continue beyond its end date. Most people consider this to be a much more realistic figure.
The best thing IMO is to completely ignore the savings figure and just look at what the predicted future costs are with various suppliers for your current annual usage in kWh per fuel.

I have raised this issue both to Ofgem and my MP. The response was along the lines that the present inflated costs/savings methodology serves the Govt's purpose to encourage the 70% who have never switched to switch as the predicted savings are accurate. Those who have already switched should know how to calculate savings given that the methodology is only incorrect for consumers on fixed term contracts with less than 12 months to run

That said, I will continue to argue that a simple 'this is what you pay now for a year' compared to 'this is what you could pay for the next 12 months' would achieve the same objective. Sadly, no Govt Department wants to acknowledge that its well thought through policy has any flaws. I believe that ML tried and also failed to get DECC and Ofgem to change its energy comparison policy hence the addition to the MSE CEC website.

victor2

Hengus wrote: »

That said, I will continue to argue that a simple 'this is what you pay now for a year' compared to 'this is what you could pay for the next 12 months' would achieve the same objective. Sadly, no Govt Department wants to acknowledge that its well thought through policy has any flaws. I believe that ML tried and also failed to get DECC and Ofgem to change its energy comparison policy hence the addition to the MSE CEC website.

Common sense and government bodies rarely walk hand-in-hand though do they?

marieukxx

Does anyone here have the payg smart meter? I have just switched for my dad and wondered if it all is smooth and easy to install the meters and to top up via phone or online