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

hippadeemo

Exactly the same problem here, got the email about the undercharge - ok we all make mistakes, but then logged in and noticed that I haven't had electricity on my bill for months. Used the webchat function to try and find out why. Firstly they blamed the error, but I said that this is a different problem - however they didn't understand that - apparently it is just one big IT problem. I asked them for my electricity statement (which they did for the last quarter manually) and then asked them to send me all my statements ever so I can figure out where I stand. I will work out exactly what I should have been billed since I've been with them according to my meter reads and check that against my bank account payments...

Their recommended level for DD is at least half what I need to pay, so I suggested they sort that out too - it's so misleading! They were sending me emails to decrease my DD but not taking account of any electricity... if I did that I would be in a complete mess come Christmas. He did say that they won't expect large payments to be made quickly, but that doesn't make me feel that much happier!

Not too impressed, expected better customer service, and transparency from them. The bills are designed to be difficult to read too...

splashsparkles

I received an email yesterday informing me that they I had been on the wrong plan apparently and I owed them £27.18 which they had taken out of my account which was in credit! I am not happy that this is the first I have heard of it and this is not my error it is theirs! I then saw this article dated 14.11 which states that for customers who owed under £50 they would receive a goodwill gesture, well I certainly haven't at the moment but I have emailed a few times to see what is going on. Your article also gives the impression that it is mainly single fuel customers affected - I'm a dual-fuel customer. I have previously raved about this energy supplier as I think their website is the most user-friendly site, very simple, clear and concise. Therefore I am most disappointed with this recent series of events and am interested to see how this is handles but am not impressed thus far!

jamesperrett

brewerdave wrote: »

...did you get your credit back in a reasonable time frame? I ask because I'm moving from them to EON at the rnd of this month and will be ~ £400 in credit!!

Sorry, only just seen this...

I think it took about 2 months before everything was finally sorted. I had to claim back the last DD from my bank via the DD guarantee after Ovo said that they weren't prepared to pay back all the credit in what I considered a reasonable time.

Oscargrouch

Been with OVO now since the 12 June this year; what an experience.
The first 4 months they did not apply any of the 3% interest on to my DD credits, despite monthly phone calls from me asking them to do so. They finally gave me a £5.00 goodwill credit to make up for it in September. Deleted all my statements off my OVO and made up one big one from 13 June - 4 October. My statement from 5 October - 30 October did not show any interest being applied, so another series of phone calls. The October statement showed that my gas price had dropped from 3.31p - 3.16p per kWh and my gas contract had been extended by another 6 months. Phone call again, to ask why my dual fuel deal end date is now out of sync; this was corrected, now they both end in June 2015 again. The new Gas tariff remained at 3.16p; then mysteriously my 30th of October statement issued on 10th November got taken off and replaced with one issued on the 20th November with the gas tariff back to 3.31p. Still no interest being applied, another call today: they will try and sort the interest out, but the 3.31p tariff will have to stay as that is what is on the start contract and they cannot alter it. Hhmmmm. Knew it was risky when I agreed to accept exit fees, never again. Anyone know of an energy firm that issues contracts where energy prices will not rise above a fixed amount but will drop if prices fall, with no exit fees ??......:rotfl: :mad:

Edit: Luckily, I always keep a record of all online statements before they go into cyber space....:D

lanstrom

Well I just received my latest (November) statement and they STILL haven't taken any money for Electric so I am now £420+ in credit.

I don't think they are giving the 3% interest on it either as I only got 83p interest.

Account was perfectly OK till August but now its just a mess.

brewerdave

lanstrom wrote: »

Well I just received my latest (November) statement and they STILL haven't taken any money for Electric so I am now £420+ in credit.

I don't think they are giving the 3% interest on it either as I only got 83p interest.

.think thats about right -3% gross interest per year on £400 is about £1 per month -so ~ 80p after tax??:)

lanstrom

brewerdave wrote: »

.think thats about right -3% gross interest per year on £400 is about £1 per month -so ~ 80p after tax??:)

Wahooo i'm rich ... now ... what to spend it on ?

Cal_Culater

I signed up with OVO in May and when giving my first meter readings on 19th June spotted that the gas unit rate was different to the one to which I had signed up.

It was corrected forthwith, but I said that I trusted that this did not mean that other people would be affected by the same glitch. They indicated that there were a few other cases but assured me that they had sorted it out.

I received a written apology for the error on my account but despite this early warning of the problem they obviously did nothing, yet many thousands of people were affected.

Quidsin_2

I'm passionate about keeping control of my gas and electricity accounts, so I'm sad to report that Ovo have still not got their act together - and I've been with them for years now.

My monthly statements have dried up.
My last statement in October showed £450 credit - in error.
They failed to transact the latest direct debit- for December.
And this morning they have notified me of a 42% increase in my direct debits, despite having not changed my usage, despite being in credit at the last reliable statement date (July) and in spite of me not having an up to date statement (by post, email or on their web).

I corresponded with Ovo in December and they reassured me that all will be sorted. Bu alas, a company I once trusted appears to be in deep trouble.

Robwiz

I moved my electricity away from Ovo in December. They still took a direct debit in January after receiving my final meter reading (and my account was already in credit). So I have paid two direct debits this month and Ovo have yet to refund my £116 credit balance.

They also sent an email saying 'thank you for staying with us' after my supply had moved to the new company.