Ovo Energy - Massive charges and don't know what to do

System

Mantisguy wrote: »

If things keep going this way I may even have to file for bankruptcy if they start charging me the full debt. I've been with Ovo since October 2014, I think. To be fair, they're a friendly bunch on the phone but they're also as stubborn as hell and don't seem to want to help me with this. I'm a single guy. While I work from home there's only so much electricity I can use, surely? Now let me show you an example from a bill and you can take a guess as to whether I run some giant generators here:



I'm no expert on these things, but this seems legit, right? Congrats for scaring the hell out of me, Ovo. :T This has been going on for years. After they eventually charged me over a grand that I couldn't afford to pay last year, I gave them a call about that and they were kind enough to refund that temporarily and freeze the larger charge, instead billing me for £62 a month. One guy on the phone agreed the charge was ballistic (I talked to many and some seemed rather apathetic), yet nobody either had the authority or the care to sort this out. They did however ask for photos of the meter at different times of the day which I sent, but they still complained. Time for MSE, right?

Following the first recommendation I sent a report to the Ombudsman. After several weeks they got in touch and completely sided with Ovo. Makes me wish I took a trip to Trustpilot before sending them a message. They said the reason Ovo's readings were incorrect was that they accidentally switched the day/night readings, which still doesn't make much sense to me and doesn't explain these invisible giant generators I've presumably been running while sleep walking. The Ombudsman's message just simply wasn't helpful and it's clear to me their further messages would not have been either. I was delighted to see Ovo agreed to send £50, a letter of apology and nothing else! Made my day. I cannot wait for that (now a little over £5500) minor charge to come crashing down on my life!

I read a few threads here. Apparently they have to send a meter reader at least once every two years. They actually did send somebody last month after nagging them, but nothing came from it and after they told me they'd call me back they never did. Before this guy though I'm pretty sure they hadn't sent somebody for two years. I decided to reject the Ombudsman's "resolution". Citizens Advice Bureau agreed to help me with this but only after the case with the Ombudsman is closed, so I'm waiting for them to respond to this, but I'm not even sure if CAB can help me. I might end up having to take it straight to court, and having agoraphobia the idea is very worrying.

Any help, fellas?

Consumers need to be wary of going down The EO route. It's Final Decision is binding on a supplier but not the consumer. Unfortunately, if a consumer refuses to accept the Final Decision then the supplier is effectively off the hook as far as the complaint is concerned.

Why would you take the matter to Court? Surely, you would be defending any Court action that the supplier wishes to take against you for the recovery of the amount owed. In any Court action, notice will be taken of The EO's decision and you would need, in my opinion, to be able to provide empirical evidence that the claim against you is flawed.

Having said that, there is an important part of your post which is missing? Are you on an E7 contract? I ask because the reference to day and night readings is important given that the cost of a unit of electricity during the day is about twice the cost of electricity at night. If these readings have been transposed, then your bill is wrong and it needs to be amended. Normally, this would be in your favour as an E7 tariff favours high night use (eg; storage heaters). What action has the supplier taken in response to The EO's Decision?

As far as meter readers are concerned, the requirement to carry out a physical meter reading once every two years was dropped in April 2016.

Craig_Holmes

which means they are fine when everything is running well, but have no flexibility when things go wrong. I had the same issue when they couldn't remotely read my new smart electricity meter, despite my constant pleas for a bill. They couldn't cope with the situation.

System

Craig_Holmes wrote: »

which means they are fine when everything is running well, but have no flexibility when things go wrong. I had the same issue when they couldn't remotely read my new smart electricity meter, despite my constant pleas for a bill. They couldn't cope with the situation.

Am I missing something? If you just wanted a bill, why not read the meter yourself whilst the supplier attempted to resolve the communications problem?

buzzard

I've posted previously about my problems with Ovo. Failure to send a bill, refusing to admit they had readings until I produced their own email to confirm one that had disappeared, harassment with threatening letters for the bills they sent me after my final for usage in the months after I had left them. Ombudsman eventually said that in addition to waiving exit fees they had to pay me compensation. I'd been a customer for a year with no problem but had tried to switch tariff after the year was up. I'm now with Avro who are cheaper, have no exit fees and so far have given me no reason to leave.

So I am here to say no problem with my current supplier - but I read the meter each month and if I was sent a massive bill I'd switch off everything electrical in the house using the master switch and monitor for half an hour to see if the meter moved. If the bill was massive and the meter faulty that should be enough and wouldnt defrost my freezer.

If you must stay with Ovo make sure when you send meter readings you either screenshot or keep their emails. If there is a problem record conversations with them and/or insist they confirm in writing. If you have proof that would stand up in court the Ombudsman will eventually make an award.

And if you have problems over a bill take a picture of the meter, email it to the supplier, request a read receipt. Then you've put the ball in their court to explain what you are doing wrong.