So much hassle trying to switch our gas & electricity providers

yoce

I was watching the Martin Lewis money show on TV the other month and it mentioned on there about how easy it was to switch your gas and electricity provider, but it seems anything but for us.

We were with British Gas and our monthly bills were very much on the high side compared to others we know so we decided to switch to OVO about 6 weeks ago after they were recommended to us.

We got an email from British Gas letting us know OVO had contacted them to let us know we were switching to them and they said our supply with them would end on 14th Feb 2016. OVO told us our supply would start with them on 15th Feb. All pretty straightforward we thought, but nope...

We paid our last bill with British Gas on 16th Feb and our account showed we were £30 in credit.

We sent meter readings off to OVO when they asked and they took our first payment out some time after the 16th of Feb. So we thought that was easy enough with the switching and it was all sorted and we were now with OVO but now there is a problem!

We got an email from OVO last week telling us about some problem with British Gas. Apparently British Gas are still supplying our gas & electric. For some reason they haven't stopped supplying us despite us not being with them anymore. We sent all the relevant details off to OVO (they asked for meter numbers and readings) and we heard back from them yesterday telling us that our supply should end with British Gas on 16th March and will start with OVO after that.

So this month we have paid twice for our gas & electric. One to OVO who we are apparently not even with yet and then British Gas will be taking their next payment out on the 16th as we are apparently still with them. I am going to email OVO and see if they will be refunding us that payment as we are not with them yet.

What a hassle! It's like British Gas don't want to lose us as a customer as OVO said if British Gas still wouldn't give up our supply with them, they would sort it out with them.

Has anyone else been in the same situation when trying to switch to another provider from British Gas? To think I was nagging my partner for months about the fact we should switch our energy provider as it was supposed to be really easy but this has caused us nothing but hassle and we probably won't bother switching again in the future!

worried_jim

I change suppliers every year- never had a problem. Have used both OVO and BG in the past, as well as N power and currently in the MSE EON big switch.

OP- once you have it sorted make sure you shop around every year for the best deal. I am sure you will get this sorted out soon, OVO are very good-keep asking them how they are sorting this for you.

yoce

Thanks for your reply. Good to hear you haven't had a problem switching. I have found OVO to be quite good at replying to emails too. I really hope they sort it out for us.

worried_jim

I am currently paying £24 pm less than at the most expensive time a few years ago and aim to get it down to £60pm next time I switch in September. Its definitely worth doing.

System

Hi. You are in the 'no man's land of switching'. Let us assume that your switch went through today. You provided Ovo with meter readings. The meter readings are then passed by Ovo to a 3rd party for a review against historical data. Once this review has been carried out, the reviewed readings are passed back to the two suppliers to open and close your account. Sadly, industry procedures are not as quick as they need to be. It follows that the losing supplier will make no attempt to close your account until it has received the reviewed readings.

So what does all this mean. You could end up paying two suppliers for a month or so. However, you will not pay for the same energy twice. Any credit on your BG account will be re-paid. Do check that your opening and closing readings are the same. These do not have to be the readings that you provided.

System

worried_jim wrote: »

I am currently paying £24 pm less than at the most expensive time a few years ago and aim to get it down to £60pm next time I switch in September. Its definitely worth doing.

What crystal ball do you have that suggests that energy prices will just keep falling? Yesterday, the Govt announced an increase in the provision to energy companies to keep old power stations online to stop the lights going out which experts believe will add £10 to £20 per year to domestic electricity bills. Analysts also believe that the present glut in oil will come to an end by the third quarter of this year which will result in an oil price increase. I would be interested to know how you are calculating a £400+ pa reduction in your future energy bill? If that is the case, then why are you waiting until September to change suppliers?

worried_jim

Hengus wrote: »

What crystal ball do you have that suggests that energy prices will just keep falling? Yesterday, the Govt announced an increase in the provision to energy companies to keep old power stations online to stop the lights going out which experts believe will add £10 to £20 per year to domestic electricity bills. Analysts also believe that the present glut in oil will come to an end by the third quarter of this year which will result in an oil price increase. I would be interested to know how you are calculating a £400+ pa reduction in your future energy bill? If that is the case, then why are you waiting until September to change suppliers?

Sorry- not £60pm saving but paying a total of £60pm.

Historically I have paid a high of £86pm to BG (about 5 years ago). I was with OVO last year @ £68 pm, currently with EON's MSE deal @ £64pm and did a price comparison last week which suggested if I was to change to British energy it would be £60pm but I cant change till September (exit penalty).

These prices are all based on my actual annual consumption. I also got nearly £200 refunded to me as credit from OVO last November. I am currently £1.68 in debt with EON.

System

worried_jim wrote: »

Sorry- not £60pm saving but paying a total of £60pm.

Historically I have paid a high of £86pm to BG (about 5 years ago). I was with OVO last year @ £68 pm, currently with EON's MSE deal @ £64pm and did a price comparison last week which suggested if I was to change to British energy it would be £60pm but I cant change till September (exit penalty).

These prices are all based on my actual annual consumption. I also got nearly £200 refunded to me as credit from OVO last November. I am currently £1.68 in debt with EON.

Fair enough, but bear in mind that there is no £12 electricity rebate this year, and the only true comparison is based on kWhs not £s. I have switched away from Ovo as they are no longer as competitive as was once the case. I am now with two suppliers with no exit fees. MSE et al have yet to produce an offer that matches the deals that I am on.

yoce

Thanks very much for your replies.

We have just heard back from British Gas and it appears that British Gas originally gave the wrong electricity meter number or something to OVO so that is what has mucked it all up. It looks like our gas account has gone through fine and is with OVO but it's just our electricity supply that needs sorting.