Journal - Switch from NPower to Ovo via USwitch

TickersPlaysPop

Hi all

I'll keep this updated as things progress to prove that this is a real situation and not one partly made up due to a flaky aging memory!

I thought this would help people see a real situation step by step rather than brief summaries.....

16th Aug 2014 - Called NPower to pay off remaining payment plan to ensure all 'debt' was removed from account. This debt was solely due to NPower's mistakes with their new IT system that kept returning direct debits over a period of 6mths despite numerous attempts to fix it in several different ways.
Also, copied every screen shot from log in account so all meter readings, account transactions, usage data etc saved into a PowerPoint. I told NPower nothing about the fact I was looking to switch providers.

18th Aug 2014 - Decided to go with Ovo due to almost best price on gas/elec, but very good customer service and low complaints as seen on 'Which?'

19th Aug 2014 - Once cash moved from bank account to NPower to pay off the debt I made the big jump!... Via Quidco then to USwitch due to £30 cash back on dual fuel. Received email from Quidco immediately to say cash back was tracked.

20th Aug 2014 - Received USwitch email confirmation

1.OVO Energy will get in touch with you to confirm your switch date (if they haven't already).

2.Make sure you take a final meter reading on the day of your switch.

3.Pay your final bill to your old energy supplier and cancel any Direct Debits.

21th Aug 2014 - Received email from Ovo "Welcome to Ovo" explaining exactly what would happen next:

1. Your welcome letter arrives (within 7 days)
It confirms your contract agreement and what we'll do to set up your account with us, including how to track your transfer online.

2. The transfer begins
After your cool off period ends we'll apply for your supply to transfer to us. (Tickers - I'm not sure how long this is?! They should really tell me?)

3. Submit your opening readings
A couple of days before we switch your supply we'll ask you for your meter readings. We'll need these to open your account.

4. You're now an Ovo customer
Your transfer is complete!

TBC.....

JJ_Egan

2. The transfer begins
After your cool off period ends we'll apply for your supply to transfer to us. (Tickers - I'm not sure how long this is?! They should really tell me?)

They do but it may be on your account page 14 days from memory .

TickersPlaysPop

Date of writing: 31 Aug 2014

30 Aug 2014 - received welcome pack from Ovo including a 1 page cover letter, brochure and legal terms and conditions pamphlet.

Cool off period deadline: 5 Sep 2014
Switch date set as 22 Sep 2014

Asks me to check the MPAN meter numbers - all checked and correct against the last bill from NPower.

Web account log on works nicely, informs me that NPower know I am leaving them, so I might get a call from them.

The only concerning thing is something the the glossy brochure "We've guesstimated the date you'll join us on your contract summary, it takes about 4 weeks from switch to sorted"

I thought the switch date was fixed and that it was critical that I took meter readings on that day and told my new supplier Ovo. However, they do say somewhere else that I'll get a reminder email about taking a reading before the switch date. So I think all will be ok, but I'll keep a watchful eye on the documents/emails for any changes in the switch date.

This is one of my 2 worries. After reading the disputes many have had with final readings there could be a fight over this. Also, I am prepared for a fight for the ~300 over payment that I have made with NPower, but there is nothing Ovo can do about it. However, I would be more inclined to switch to an energy company if they would offer assistance with resolving final bill situations.... energy companies themselves are the best to fight that sort of fight, they know the rules/laws and if they had a special team with the resources and power of a company behind them they would have more chance of success compared to a customer by themselves? It would also give them a nice set of statistics on their competitors that could be used for marketing purposes.

Pleasantly surprised that if my account is in credit, Ovo give you 3% interest! If I'd known that I would have been more inclined to chose Ovo. I wonder how much I could over pay, it is a lot more interest than savings accounts offer at the moment!

Oh... and Quidco has tracked the USwitch transaction and is saying 'guaranteed payment' of £30 on 14 Dec 2014.... so fingers crossed!

lastly... NPower are still allowing me to log in, so I've taken some updated screen shots that show the 'debt' payment in full.

leachyd

Read this as im also currently switching via Uswitch. All seems fine so far.

Last year i switched from Ovo to M&S, but this time although Ovo were slightly cheaper, Ive opted for E.on rather than going back to Ovo. Entirely because they took 6 (SIX) MONTHS to send me a final bill, all the while sending me threatening letters telling me i owed them £75 based on their estimate readings (Why they did this i'll never know as i take a reading every month for my info and update with the supplier). I told them i wasnt going to pay a made up bill, but they kept sending legal threats and a threat to install a prepayment meter and get bailiffs in if i refused them access (even though they hadnt supplied me for 5 months at that point). I lost me S@?# at that point and emailed them with a threat of the ombudsman. A month later i had my final bill....and they paid me the credit that was on the account.

That asside, they were pretty good for customer service and the new wesbite is good!

keith1950

Switch date set as 22 Sep 2014

This is an estimate and is not ' set'.

The timescale is governed by how quickly NPower (in this case),
respond to Ovo's request to switch.

Also due to timing issues you may find that the electricity supply and the gas supply may actually switch days apart.

You give your opening meter reads to Ovo who pass them on to NPower who will accept them if they are within their estimate of your usual usage. If they don't roughly match up NPower may send a meter reader round to confirm.

When I left NPower 2 years ago it took them 8 weeks to send a final bill......but the meter reads involved did match up with mine.....Good luck !

System

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Date of writing: 31 Aug 2014

I thought the switch date was fixed and that it was critical that I took meter readings on that day and told my new supplier Ovo. However, they do say somewhere else that I'll get a reminder email about taking a reading before the switch date.

You will get an e-mail asking for meter readings:

Just a quick one about your switch. You’re about to join the Ovo family, and it’s time to give your opening meter readings.
These first readings are important, and it’s really easy to give them. Get more info and lots of help by opening the attachment, but if you’re in a rush:
• Make a note of your readings
• Visit https://beta.ovoenergy.com
• Click on ‘can’t get into your account’
• Add your email address and get new password
• Check your email, and follow the link
• Log in and give those readings.For a smooth switch, we need your readings within 10 days please. It’s worth bookmarking the link, too – you can use it to give regular readings for really accurate bills in the future.

You may find that your Final Bill from NPower shows estimated readings. This is nothing to worry about: just make sure that your Ovo opening readings and Power closing readings are the same. They do not have to be the same as the readings that you provided. If the readings are different then the real difference in cost to you - plus or minus - will be in pennies.

TickersPlaysPop

This is very helpful information, thank you to everybody that has posted. I didn't expect people to give me useful information, I was posting to chronical the process in real time.

It's a shame Ovo don't include all of these hints and tips, and IMHO very important detail of how the switch works.

TickersPlaysPop

1 Sep 2014

Today received an email from NPower... sorry to hear you are leaving us...

"Please call us on 0800 197 3937 (if you haven’t spoken to us already), to talk about finalising your gas account so we can make sure the transfer goes smoothly. We’re here 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 2pm on Saturdays.

Please don't cancel your Direct Debit at your bank just yet. We'll collect your final payment (or refund any credit due to you) on the date shown on your final bill or statement."

I think it would help for them to say this is GAS ONLY, and that I would receive another email.

I'm really tempted to cancel the direct debit so it gives me power over them, but I'm sure that would work against me in the long run, plus I'm prepared for this to drag on for up to 12 mths.

Why do they separate gas and electric for the switch? It seems like another convenient complication that for them benefits them?

I'm going to call them but tell them that I'm recording the conversation for quality purposes before we continue.... and ask them to confirm their name, job title, department, date and time.

brewerdave

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Why do they separate gas and electric for the switch? It seems like another convenient complication that for them benefits them?

I'm going to call them but tell them that I'm recording the conversation for quality purposes before we continue.... and ask them to confirm their name, job title, department, date and time.

As another post has said earlier, your electricity and gas switch dates are not guaranteed to be the same -and most Utility Companies treat them as seperate accounts in the accounting background. Looking back ,when I switched to EDF from SP there was a difference of 8 days. Surprisingly my recent switch to OVO has the same date for both.
As to your second point -good luck with getting even a name if they realise you are recording the info.!!:rotfl:
EDIT Don't cancel the DD -just keep an eye on your bank account and invoke the DD guarantee with your bank if NP take an "unauthorised" amount.- if you wipe the DD, NP will use that as an excuse to withold any credit balance for even longer!!

System

You are right to monitor your switch. It would seem that Ovo's exponential growth over the past year or so is causing a few CS 'creaks and groans'. Their Q1/2014 Complaints Report shows 4832 complaints of which 15% related to energy switching (transfers). Their Q2/2014 report shows 5147 complaints (of which 5400 have been resolved!!) with a 100+% increase in switching complaints to 31% of the total.

Quote: No matter how hard we try, the switching process doesn't always run smoothly, and problems during transfers are the biggest reason for complaints. The second quarter of 2014 was very busy, and we gained more than 100,00 new customers which put a lot of pressure on our staff. Unquote

http://www.ovoenergy.com/uploadedFiles/Content/Help/Annual_complaints/Quarterly%20performance%20complaints%20Q2.pdf

No complaints from me so far about Ovo CS, but companies that grow rapidly do tend to let the basics slip when under pressure. Something to keep an eye me thinks.

TickersPlaysPop

Many thanks for the tips Hengus and Dave.

I called NPower and they did not try to keep me, they just said sorry and explained why the problems happened. They gave me some tips and were pleasant. He said the email was mainly to double check that I'd initiated the switch.

I did ask "have all the computer systems been fixed?" and he didn't give a convincing reply... plus the first call to them cut off while I was on 'call waiting' in the queue!