OVO Energy

Rorkesdrift95

Hi 

I am posting this to see if anyone has suffered a similar experience with OVO Energy and if so, how was it resolved.

My partner is disabled and on limited income.

She has been with OVO for several years; up until recently the solar panels fitted to her property caused the old-style dial meter to run in reverse. OVO steadfastly refused to accept any readings and essentially made up their own consumption figures resulting in her being in a very substantial debt position (initially some £800!). The later was replaced with a 'smart system' - this has proved to be anything BUT smart!

The debt was cleared after a long struggle and her energy payments (on a fixed contract) of £50 were replaced in the latter part of last year with a new FR at £111. OVO almost immediately increased that to £116pm. This notwithstanding her online account indicated monthly costs of some £160pm - the result being she is gradually falling into debt yet again!

On her authority, I spent nearly a whole hour trying to get some sense from OVO; needless to say they don't really seem to give a damn. They could not explain how a disabled woman living on her own manages to accrue such staggering energy consumption - just parroted that their equipment is correct. It however needs to be noted that their own smart meter display (intended to show her a daily consumption figure) was giving an average of total of c. £3 per day i.e. £90pm....nothing like the £160 she is being charged. During my conversation, their "operative" made an online adjustment resulting in the display locking up & showing consumption figures for 2017 - around 2 YEARS before the 'smart' system was installed. 

OVO will not accept there is a problem and will only visit her property to check the systems AFTER she has paid to have checks undertaken by an outside contractor.

The upshot is that heating in the house is being turned off at night - which is totally unacceptable given her medical disability and the total intransigence of OVO.

HELP please as this cannot go on!

Spies

Is she electricity only? How is water heated what are the consumption figures, what does the IHD show for daily usage? 

QrizB

Welcome to the forum.

Rorkesdrift95 said:

She has been with OVO for several years; up until recently the solar panels fitted to her property caused the old-style dial meter to run in reverse.

The solar installer should have advised your partner to contact OVO and inform them that her meter needed replacing. Did she do so at the time, and does she have any record of doing so?

(See this article from Which? on the subject.)

Rorkesdrift95 said:

OVO steadfastly refused to accept any readings and essentially made up their own consumption figures resulting in her being in a very substantial debt position (initially some £800!).

This shouldn't be a surprise; while the meter was running backwards, it was not recording use correctly.OVO will have had to make an estimate for her consumption. Did your partner tell OVO the meter was running backwards at this stage?

Rorkesdrift95 said:

The debt was cleared after a long struggle and her energy payments (on a fixed contract) of £50 were replaced in the latter part of last year with a new FR at £111. OVO almost immediately increased that to £116pm. This notwithstanding her online account indicated monthly costs of some £160pm - the result being she is gradually falling into debt yet again!

£50/month is a very low energy bill. £111/month is more typical but might still be low.

Does your partner have electricity and gas, or is her home electricity-only?

Do you have any meter readings? If you don't, when was the smart meter installed and what is the reading today?

MWT

Rorkesdrift95 said:

... It however needs to be noted that their own smart meter display (intended to show her a daily consumption figure) was giving an average of total of c. £3 per day i.e. £90pm....nothing like the £160 she is being charged.

The part you need to help her to check is her actual usage...

The display you refer to (IHD) can be changed from monetary amounts to kWh by tapping the display, I'd suggest she does that as a start and then make a note of the daily/weekly/monthly usage which it shows.

Some of the IHD will also show history, so if possible, look at her use over previous months as well...

All of the above on the basis that the IHD is actually working at the moment...

If not then try to reset it by turning it off/on again using the button on the back...

Failing that then it will have to be meter readings...