Appalling service from Ovo - avoid

samc411

After changing to Ovo because of their high customer service rating on this forum I think I should flag to the community that all is not as rosy as made out.

Ovo initially messed up our switchover date, and as a result of their delay then supplied our old provider with a grossly incorrect estimated reading. I'm now £20 out of pocket to the old supplier.

Ovo initially offered the difference in the unit rates for the delay. When the further cost issue was discovered Ovo offered a further £10 goodwill compensation, however as this did not cover the £20 (£19.11 to be exact) we refused. The girl I spoke to agreed that if I sent the outstanding invoice proof to them then the cost would be compensated.

Ovo are now saying they did not agree this, and in order to verify the call recording I have to pay £10 for a service access request. Given that I now only stand to cover half the costs I am out of pocket for it makes more sense for me to just accept the £10 goodwill payment - surprise surprise, Ovo have now retracted this as well.

The only good thing I can say is at least their response times are good - other than that I've had a miserable experience with them from start to finish. I need to check if I'm contractually tied in, if not then change time again I think. Any recommendations?!

JJ_Egan

Ovo for me five star and five star CS .
But you are always going to get the odd problem with any company .

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Every company will have a problem at some point. OVO seem to have far fewer than others, I've certainly had no issues. Their prices are also very competitive.

Whenever I've needed to contact them (only once to alter a DD date), they've answered promptly and dealt with it there and then.

In the grand scheme of things, leaving over £19.11 may be cutting your nose off to spite your face, but that's just my opinion.

System

samc411 wrote: »

with a grossly incorrect estimated reading. I'm now £20 out of pocket to the old supplier.

I am surprised. The gaining supplier is responsible for the switching process but it doesn't necessarily follow that if your 'old' energy company has different readings then it is the 'new' supplier's fault as the readings have to go through the Metering Authority for validation. The key point is that the closing and opening readings should be the same. If Ovo say that they are happy with the readings then, as was the case when I switched, the discrepancy should be taken up with the 'old' supplier. If it disagrees with the meter readings that it has been given then there is a dispute process that the energy companies can invoke to resolve the issue outwith the consumer.

EnergyInside

Under 20 pounds of a difference is not a "grossly incorrect estimated reading", it is a small difference, well within industry tolerance ranges. This doesn't mean you are being overcharged by 20GBP, as the slightly higher estimate means Ovo now start billing you from a higher figure, thus saving you 20GBP with Ovo.

This "dispute process" Hengus alludes to would be rejected as the difference in unit rate would be too small to change.

Ovo offered you 10GBP goodwill, leaving you with 9.11GBP of difference that you would immediately save in your first bill from them.

Seems quite petty to be honest.

ChrisL2911

I have just been billed for my property which has stood empty in recent weeks. I had used virtually no energy, in fact only a total of £3.89 in gas AND electric. I was therefore shocked to see that I was being charged £86.36 for £3.89 of fuel!!!
I discussed this with customer service to be told that 'all our customers pay this charge'!!
I have since compared these standing charges to two other companies I've used and found that they are massively higher. Avoid getting ripped off and paying a fortune in hidden charges that are worth absolutely nothing. Look at your bills OVO customers!

Nada666

ChrisL2911 wrote: »

[...]Look at your bills OVO customers!

Please do not cross-post the same complaint. Particularly ones that are so invalid. And particularly ones that do not even fit the title of the original poster's thread (you have not received 'appalling' (or even a bit poor) service).

jayson043

EnergyInside wrote: »

Under 20 pounds of a difference is not a "grossly incorrect estimated reading", it is a small difference, well within industry tolerance ranges. This doesn't mean you are being overcharged by 20GBP, as the slightly higher estimate means Ovo now start billing you from a higher figure, thus saving you 20GBP with Ovo.

This "dispute process" Hengus alludes to would be rejected as the difference in unit rate would be too small to change.

Ovo offered you 10GBP goodwill, leaving you with 9.11GBP of difference that you would immediately save in your first bill from them.

Seems quite petty to be honest.

This is exactly what is wrong with the industry, insiders with a technical view of the customer experience, quoting customers reasons such as "industry tolerances" and other complications that the customer doesn't care about.

jayson043

ChrisL2911 wrote: »

I have just been billed for my property which has stood empty in recent weeks. I had used virtually no energy, in fact only a total of £3.89 in gas AND electric. I was therefore shocked to see that I was being charged £86.36 for £3.89 of fuel!!!
I discussed this with customer service to be told that 'all our customers pay this charge'!!
I have since compared these standing charges to two other companies I've used and found that they are massively higher. Avoid getting ripped off and paying a fortune in hidden charges that are worth absolutely nothing. Look at your bills OVO customers!

You are a low energy user, therefore try something with no standing charge, such as ebico. There is nothing hidden in these charges, although they are difficult to find.

OVO_Energy

Hi Samc411. This does sound odd and we’re really sorry that you weren’t given the original resolution. We want to turn things around for you and investigate this to ensure that this does not happen again. If you could send us an email with your account number to socialmedia@ovoenergy.com, we’ll make sure that you get the goodwill you were promised added to your account. Thanks, OVO.

MABLE

Does not surprise at all. Would never go back.