Closing meter read FAR higher than it should be on supplier switch

ac2820

Hello,
I have recently switched from Shell to Ovo, and just received my final bill from Shell. For a period of 23 days they are charging £455 based on an estimated closing read, which is almost 10 times higher than it should be, based on the readings I provided Ovo on the date of my switchover. (which they confirm they passed on to Shell) I also had a smart meter fitted this week, so although the meters have been reset, the engineer made a note of the readings from start of Nov, which even 2 and a half weeks later is far below the estimated closing readings from Shell.

I have initiated a readings dispute but Ovo are still waiting for the electricity reading the engineer took this week to be updated on the system before they can progress. I have also called Shell and let them know all this, and they seemed to agree it looked wrong but didn't offer any help other than putting the account on hold.

Just wondering if anyone with experience with this sort of thing can offer any advice on how to get this resolved as swiftly and smoothly as possible, as I don't want to be chasing 2 energy companies for the next 4 months for a mistake they have made between them.

[Deleted User]

This explains the process:

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/guide-to-meter-reading-disputes.html

ac2820

[Deleted User] said:

This explains the process:

Thanks Dolor, I had read that page but I suppose I was after more specific tips or something, if anyone had experience and could offer some advice if there's anything I can do to ensure it goes smoothly and my readings I took on closing date are the ones used..

glennevis

I've just been through the Agreed Read Dispute process with my gas supplier. It took over 3 months to resolve.

Ofgen allows estimated readings to be 'a bit' out. Gas can be 1200kWh and electricity 250kWh out before the system accepts that the estimate must be corrected (really ridiculous since that could be six months gas use if switching in summer).

What persuaded the gaining supplier to use my correct start reading (which I had already given to losing and gaining suppliers at switchover) was supplying a photo of the meter.

ac2820

glennevis said:

I've just been through the Agreed Read Dispute process with my gas supplier. It took over 3 months to resolve.

Ofgen allows estimated readings to be 'a bit' out. Gas can be 1200kWh and electricity 250kWh out before the system accepts that the estimate must be corrected (really ridiculous since that could be six months gas use if switching in summer).

What persuaded the gaining supplier to use my correct start reading (which I had already given to losing and gaining suppliers at switchover) was supplying a photo of the meter.

Thanks Glen, annoying that they can just let it be out, but hopefully the engineer who installed the smart meter took photos, or they at least take his word more seriously being an employee etc. 
How far out were your estimated readings? I'm also hoping the fact they're hugely overblown (both companies seemed to agree it looked wrong) will help things along