Outfox The Market

Nick_C

When I switched from Ovo to OTM just over two years ago, Ovo insisted they had to have an active DD in place to pay my refund!  I had cancelled it to prevent my account going further into credit, and had to raise a formal complaint against Ovo to get my money.  They set up a quarterly DD for £1 with a first payment date a couple of months in advance so they could refund the credit to my bank account.

OTM currently told me to cancel my DD, and said they don't need a DD in place to process the refund, so kudos to them for getting that right.

One of the problems with the new compensation system is that it gives the energy companies carte blanche to hang on to your money for 8 weeks.  

I've switched from OTM to Sainsbury's.  Sainsbury's told me nearly three weeks ago that the handover readings have been verified and accepted.  But OTM won't issue a final bill until 14 November.

But so far, OTM is the first energy supplier I've dealt with where I haven't had to raise a complaint to get an issue resolved.  I've had to complain in the past to Scottish Power, British Gas, and Ovo.  TBH, I'm rather hoping OTM do delay raising the final bill so I can claim the extra £30.  Will be surprised if that happens though.  They seem to be on the ball.

Nick_C

Well, 14th November has been and gone, but OTM have not issued a final bill following my switch to Sainsbury's on 3 October.  Time to complain.  And to ask for my £30 statutory compensation.

dbks

Nick_C said:

...
OTM currently told me to cancel my DD, and said they don't need a DD in place to process the refund, so kudos to them for getting that right.

...

One of the issues with OTM is that they speak with forked tounge - or at least their website does!

"If you are switching supplier: ...
- If once you have officially switched away the account balance shows a credit, even before the final bill has been issued, you can cancel the Direct Debit to avoid overpaying."
https://help.outfoxthemarket.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/360019779200-How-can-I-close-my-account-

"If you are in the process of switching to another supplier it is best not to cancel your Direct Debit until your final statement has been produced. We process refunds through the same account, so if you have cancelled your Direct Debit and we owe you money, it will take longer for us to refund you."
https://help.outfoxthemarket.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/360016772599-Can-I-cancel-my-Direct-Debit-

Who knows what they should do?

The answer is that with OTM, you must cancel the DD yourself so soon as they stop supplying you. This is the only company that I would suggest that for, and is based on what OTM CS staff will tell customers if they ask. You will not be penalised. However, if you don't cancel your DD with OTM, then they will keep taking your monthly payment.

As I say, in my opinion this only applies to OTM. But I'm sure many other MSEers will claim it applies to all suppliers, so I won't argue - you know my opinion.

As regards any complaint to OTM, I would take the opportunity to lay out all the dates they now need to hit.

e.g. They are late with the bill, so they now owe you £30 extra. Give them the date, and tell them if the compo is not paid by then, they will owe you another £30 compo.
You may as well then go onto the refund of credit on the final bill. Say when it is due, and if not paid by then, then another £30 compo becomes due, and if that is not paid by (specify the date) you should get another £30 compo.

You will then have the calendar for yourself to refer to. Every date they miss, tell them!
It's a bit like pulling teeth, but you will probably get there in the end, possibly £120 up for your troubles. But expect it all drip fed to you, and only if you keep nagging them at every point.

FreeBear

Thanks for the reminder. Formal complaint issued to OFTM asking (demanding) the £30 compensation and a link to the OFGEM page - https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/supplier-guaranteed-standards-performance-switching-second-phase-final-decision-and-statutory-instrument

Sit back and wait to see if I have to go to the ombudsman..

oliverbrown

dbks said:

The answer is that with OTM, you must cancel the DD yourself so soon as they stop supplying you. 

I concur, in my experience they are the only supplier to keep charging monthly payments after the switchover date, even if the account is in healthy credit. This will most likely result in at least one month where two suppliers are paid monthly amounts simultaneously, especially as OTM seem to generate the final bill and credit refund just one day short of the Ofgem deadlines.

dbks

oliverbrown said:

dbks said:

The answer is that with OTM, you must cancel the DD yourself so soon as they stop supplying you. 

...especially as OTM seem to generate the final bill and credit refund just one day short of the Ofgem deadlines.

Yes, OTM do seem to be treating the Ofgem deadlines as targets, and as a result are now missing them quite often it would seem.

The target to produce a final bill should surely be the day they cease to supply you, although I accept that may be a stretch as they are reliant on having a final reeading from the new supplier.  But to wait until the day before 6 weeks is up is asking for trouble.

Similarly, payments don't seem to exit OTM until 13 days after the CS advisor authorises the accounts department to send it. Again, asking for trouble, especially since it takes the CS advisor 1-2 weeks to look at any email you send.

TonySimon

I am due £30 but will hold off another 10 days and the £30 becomes £60.

wild666

Nick_C said:

When I switched from Ovo to OTM just over two years ago, Ovo insisted they had to have an active DD in place to pay my refund!  

You do not need to have an active DD in place to receive money into your account, this is fact. It's just that the company might try to refund the money the same way as if they were taking a DD from the account. I left OFTM in December 2018 and cancelled the DD in Jan 2019, due to them trying to say I owed more than I was in credit at the time it was just under £13 but the final bill was just £7.20. I finally got compensation plus I only paid OFTM the £7.20 then asked for the return of the credit which they did to my bank without an active DD. They have the bank detail so all they have to do is set up a payment to the customers account for the amount of credit in the utility account.

Nick_C

wild666 said:

Nick_C said:

When I switched from Ovo to OTM just over two years ago, Ovo insisted they had to have an active DD in place to pay my refund!  

You do not need to have an active DD in place to receive money into your account, this is fact.

I know that, and you know that.  Ovo on the other hand ...

Nick_C

This might be of use to others;

"I switched from OTM to [new supplier] on [date].  I have a large credit balance on my account.

The law requires you to produce a final bill within 6 week of the switch completing.  You have failed to do this.

Please ensure that a final bill is issued without further delay, and that the money you owe me is refunded promptly.

Please also ensure that the statutory £30 compensation payable under Regulation 8(2) of The Electricity and Gas (Standards of Performance) (Suppliers) Regulations 2015 is paid within 10 working days from today – ie no later than  [date]."

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I've also taken screen shots from my OTM account with a date/time stamp to prove they have not issued a bill yet, in case they try to backdate it.