MSE News: IT bug at Ovo Energy means 13,000 customer bills were wrong

loupy

I have had completely the same issue and been on the phone to them this afternoon. Couldn't seem to grasp that reducing my DD without knowing the actual balance of my account and heading into the coldest, darkest time of year was a bit pointless.

They have obviously known about the problem for at least 3 months as that is when gas disappeared off my statements.

Not to mention not notifying DD change (at all, let alone within 10 working days) and failing to update the official meter readings that seem to be prompted every time I submit one online!

rih2010

poppyand_pansy wrote: »

Want to go all Victor Meldrew and say i cant believe it. I transferred to EVO from EDF and so far EVO have my vote as they cant possibly make more of a hash of it than EDF! So far so good lets see if I'm one of those whose been underpaying...

I'm in the same boat. I had a truly shocking experience with EDF so switched to Ovo in the summer. However, this little episode doesn't overly worry me. My main concern is the quote from the spokesperson: "No customer will be out of pocket..."

Maybe not directly, but the money Ovo will be paying for the extra resources / temps / contractors that have helped address this problem will have to come from somewhere.

Maybe I'm being cynical, but I would imagine it'll all be factored into future Ovo account prices, so will no customers really be out of pocket?

dwp3

Just had an email reply. They've generated an up-to-date statement for my gas usage since August, which isn't as bad as I'd feared, and adjusted my credit balance. This new statement was attached to the email, but might take 48 hours to show up in MyOVO. And they think my latest DD payment may be enough in future, but will review in a few months.

Overall I'm fairly happy now, but I do think their communication could have been a lot better. And don't get me started on the layout of their bill - they pride themselves on clarity but the first page is the most illogical bit of maths I've seen in ages !

Sandmonster

They have put a blog up now: http://t.co/6DTcRf5J8P

I sent them a link to the MSE article on twitter, but they couldn't work a tiny URL link!

I'm in the process of switching to the co-op now as they are cheaper including the £60 penalty.

Thehud

I emailed them about 4 months ago because they missed gas (only joined mid May), then again about 3 months ago when the electricity was missing, still is. Meanwhile I have collected a substantial amount of credit at 3% interest, which if stays, will see me very well through the high use months coming up.

The odd thing is I am pretty sure the statements on my account that say gas, had up to about 1 week ago said electricity.

However, I really can't figure out any of the statements/bills and have always given meter reading on request, still see add hoc estimates, including from the time the man came and read them.

I estimate I owe at least £210 in electricity alone, which can't be helping their business if so many people owe money and don't have surplus they can use to keep cash flow going.

No email to say what is happening yet.

System

Thehud wrote: »

However, I really can't figure out any of the statements/bills and have always given meter reading on request, still see add hoc estimates, including from the time the man came and read them.

.

I spoke to CS about this some time ago. If you want an accurate bill then switch to statements on demand on the profile page. My bill date is notionally the 14th but I wait 4 days to let my monthly payment go through and then give Ovo my meter readings. MY OVO usually shows a bill based on these readings a day or so later.

lanstrom

Phoned them 3 months ago to let them know that they had only billed me for Gas (instead of dual fuel like they had been doing for the previous 4+ months). Was told it was an 'IT PROBLEM' and they were working on a fix.

Now (3 months later) I get a notification that since I am £400 in credit they want to reduce my DD so I email them and tell them that's a REALLY silly idea since I will be in big debt when they finally sort it. They reply back saying they still have the IT Problem and will keep the DD as it is.

I just hope I am getting the 3% interest on my balance. If that's the case then they can take as long as they like to fix it

Thehud

That is the way I look at it Ianstrom, currently nearing £800 credit, better than all the thieving banks

Topazmine

Thought I was the only one they were increasing the DD for on a regular basis. Have to argue with them every time. Even when we're £500 in credit, they still insist that if we don't increase the DD we'll be in debit for winter fuel usage. There are only 2 of us in the house - we never use that much!

And next time their meter guy comes round I might not let him in. Ovo still ask me to manually input the details myself anyway, which makes me question why I'm letting a stranger into my house if the information he's collecting is not going where it ought.

morrisoscar

lanstrom wrote: »

Phoned them 3 months ago to let them know that they had only billed me for Gas (instead of dual fuel like they had been doing for the previous 4+ months). Was told it was an 'IT PROBLEM' and they were working on a fix.

Now (3 months later) I get a notification that since I am £400 in credit they want to reduce my DD so I email them and tell them that's a REALLY silly idea since I will be in big debt when they finally sort it. They reply back saying they still have the IT Problem and will keep the DD as it is.

I just hope I am getting the 3% interest on my balance. If that's the case then they can take as long as they like to fix it

Exactly the same story as me I had the same response to my email when they told me they were reducing my monthly DD due to high credit amount.

I have had an email today telling me I had been under charged by £34.08 for electricity between May and Aug which will be taken off at next bill. I still haven't been charged any electricity only gas since Aug so £520.00 in credit, at 3%