Ovo Energy Reviews: Give your feedback

poppellerant

This is more to get an opinion, but right now how much are people in credit with OVO and what is your monthly direct debit? I'm about £200 in credit with a monthly direct debit of around £65.

With what's happened with GB Energy, I feel uneasy about having so much credit. OVO claim they like you to be at least month's direct debit worth in credit and don't like to see you going below this, even during winter - this means you need to build up another wedge of credit.

I'm seriously considering asking for the £65 credit back - I have plenty of credit that shouldn't see my balance go below zero, even during the winter.

Consumerist

poppellerant wrote: »

This is more to get an opinion, but right now how much are people in credit with OVO and what is your monthly direct debit? I'm about £200 in credit with a monthly direct debit of around £65.

With what's happened with GB Energy, I feel uneasy about having so much credit. OVO claim they like you to be at least month's direct debit worth in credit and don't like to see you going below this, even during winter - this means you need to build up another wedge of credit.

I'm seriously considering asking for the £65 credit back - I have plenty of credit that shouldn't see my balance go below zero, even during the winter.

Your concerns are understandable.

A £200 credit balance at this time of year is not unreasonable but it all really depends on what your normal winter consumption is. The best time, in my view, to apply for refunds is in the spring - at which time your balance should be near to zero if your DD has been set correctly.

Rachel_Pierson

I tried switching recently. But the contract I got through didn't match their stated tariff on the switch page. When I queried this, I was sent an email with the actual tarrifs. In that email, they quoted the Variable Rate with VAT and the Fixed Rate tarriffs without VAT, side-by-side. To make the Fixed Rate look smaller than was the case. They said I'd need to call them to cancel (I was in the 14 day cooling-off period), even though everything had been done online to that point. (Actually, at their insistence; I'd had a couple of enquiries about the deal that I'd had to put via email because the account is "all online". Until, it would seem, it comes to canelling.) They said "I need do nothing" to stay on the (variable rather than as I'd been told fixed) rate they'd substituted for the deal I actually signed up for.

Both the bait-and-switch nature of the deal, and assuming my consent for something I didn't agree to (which I think constitutes mis-selling) left a bad taste in the mouth. I'd avoid these guys if I were you. Their headline deals disappear the moment you sign up, only to be substituted with inferior deals that you're expected to jump through hoops to cancel.

As a new user I can't post links to show evidence of the above. But am happy to if a moderator wants to unlock that feature. In the meantime, you can view the evidence offline at a well-known tiny url with the suffix OvoTarrffsDiscrepancy.

Consumerist

In the days when Ovo were competitive, you could find the rates for their tariffs on the website to download if you wanted to. I just tried to find them but if they are anywhere on the site they are well hidden. This suggests to me that they are not very competitive these days and comparison sites tend to bear this out (about half way down my list).

You probably did the right thing to cancel, particularly as they appear to have been deceptive regarding your tariff and rates.

BTW: Although you can't post links per se, you can type the link but leave spaces where the dots should be (e.g. someone @ somewhere com)

Bellabella_2

I've been with OVO for about three years and have had mixed experiences. I stayed with them in spite of any problems as I was generally happy, but they are not competitive anymore, so I recently decided to change. On October 20th or so, I applied to another company and at the same time cancelled my DD to OVO as I figured I was in enough credit to cover the next bill and didn't want to be (can't afford to be!) in a situation where they owe me a significant amount when I leave and I have to wait for a refund. When the October statement came on the 24th, there wasn't quite enough so I went £13+ into debt, but I paid £15 in within days, so I was then a little in credit. Meanwhile, the company I was moving to, Bulb, put their rates up, so I decided to go elsewhere, and the next company, Octopus, has now said that they haven't been able to switch me over and that the tariff I applied for, and was actually told I was on, is not available anymore! So, I am still with OVO, trying to move. The latest statement for £142+ came out on November 24th, and on the 25th they sent me a letter saying, 'You now owe us £139+ for the energy you've used. We've contacted you twice asking you to pay this debt, but we still haven't heard from you. If you keep ignoring our letters, we'll apply for a warrant to enter your home. We'll install a prepayment either or disconnect your energy." I went online to pay them what I owed straight away and called to let them know but also to say, hey, it's a bit OTT sending that kind of letter out to someone the day after the statement comes out and, erm, what letters did I ignore between the 24th and 25th?!!!! I was told that they had sent it because I'd been in debt before and hadn't answered their letters. I'm not aware of being in debt before, but in any case, I had a direct debit set up and since cancelling it had only been in debt for £13+ for a few days. If the letter was sent out in error, it would have been nice if they had just said so and apologised, but they didn't. Glad to be leaving.....but not sure where to go.

Consumerist

Bellabella wrote: »

. . . On October 20th or so, I applied to another company and at the same time cancelled my DD to OVO as I figured I was in enough credit to cover the next bill and didn't want to be (can't afford to be!) in a situation where they owe me a significant amount when I leave and I have to wait for a refund. . .

For future reference, you need to be careful about cancelling DDs too quickly or you could finish up being put on their most expensive tariff and even paying early-termination fees.

It would be safer to cancel DDs only after your new supplier has confirmed that you have actually switched.

Bellabella_2

Consumerist wrote: »

For future reference, you need to be careful about cancelling DDs too quickly or you could finish up being put on their most expensive tariff and even paying early-termination fees.

It would be safer to cancel DDs only after your new supplier has confirmed that you have actually switched.

Thanks, yes, I guess so, but my plan was ending anyway and I was already going onto a higher tariff, and there were no early termination fees with the plan I was on. I really can't afford to be much in credit at an energy company I am leaving.

Rachel_Pierson

Consumerist wrote: »

BTW: Although you can't post links per se, you can type the link but leave spaces where the dots should be (e.g. someone @ somewhere com)

Thanks for that. The link with info about the rate difference I alluded to was:

teenyurl com / OvoTarrffsDiscrepancy

(but where 'teenyurl' gets replaced with !!!!!!! by the autofilter if you use the proper name of the well-known URL shortener.)

It's just an image that shows what Ovo's site said my tarriff should be, next to the PDF of their contract, with redactions where appropriate.

Terry98

This is it
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VeScE0r4_zY/WD3HfmAhWyI/AAAAAAAABRI/Oah0VxUzuNY_soo0Xooy9qVXW-iGEIlHQCLcB/s1600/Ovo%2BTarriff%2BDiscrepancy%2B%2528redacted%2529.jpg

Bellabella_2

Terry98 wrote: »

This is it
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VeScE0r4_zY/WD3HfmAhWyI/AAAAAAAABRI/Oah0VxUzuNY_soo0Xooy9qVXW-iGEIlHQCLcB/s1600/Ovo%2BTarriff%2BDiscrepancy%2B%2528redacted%2529.jpg

That's not good! I had a similar experience with them when moving tariffs. I can't actually remember the details, but I almost left at the time. I didn't have the time or energy to, so I compromised and stayed...for the second time. The first time, they arranged with me to fit a smart meter. When the guy came to fit it, it was a really bad time, so I asked him if it would be okay to reschedule, and he said yes. OVO charged me for the visit, which isn't unreasonable, but saying that they were doing so because it was in the terms of the agreement when it wasn't was unreasonable. They refunded me. I wonder if they are just not efficient......