SEB / Ovo Energy Tariffs

Still_surviving

Yes it sounds like I do have one of those 'obsolete' three rate tariffs - I have to submit day/night/stored heat readings. If that is the reason they wont switch me, how the hell do i get to move? Have my physical meter changed?

I live near Heathrow, West London and mum is near High Wycombe. She is on the Ovo Simpler Energy E7 tariff and im on the SEB Standard Superdeal one.

Ive just rechecked my readings/bill from the last 7 days usage (twice) and it comes to £52 however the balance showing as I owe SEB jumped by £119! I guess all will come out in the wash when I get the next bill around 02.11 but I just want to get a grip on things and switch away if its the correct thing to

Finally is it me, or is the whole energy industry in a mess on the net right now? It seems impossible to get up to date publisehd tariffs and even uswitch.com crashes when you try to get a comparison.

QrizB

Still_surviving said:

Yes it sounds like I do have one of those 'obsolete' three rate tariffs - I have to submit day/night/stored heat readings. If that is the reason they wont switch me, how the hell do i get to move? Have my physical meter changed?

I live near Heathrow, West London and mum is near High Wycombe. She is on the Ovo Simpler Energy E7 tariff and im on the SEB Standard Superdeal one.

OK, "Superdeal" appears as one of the obsolete tariffs on their three-rate webpage:
https://sse.co.uk/help/electric-heating/three-rate-tariffs

There's a banner at the top of the page stating that support for these tariffs will be ending soon and with a link to contact their eelctric heating team. It's likely they will want to replace your existing meter(s) with a smart meter and move you to an Economy 7 tariff. This might also need you to get an electrician in to do some reconfiguring of your consumer units.

From the sounds of it, changing your meters to a conventional E7 system could save you hundreds of pounds a year so the cost of an electrician for half a day shouldn't put you off.

Finally is it me, or is the whole energy industry in a mess on the net right now? It seems impossible to get up to date publisehd tariffs and even uswitch.com crashes when you try to get a comparison.

The late announcement of the EPG (for political reasons) has meant every supplier reviewing (and potentially amending) every current tariff over a period of a fortnight or so, plus the added Customer Support demand from customers calling up to ask about their tariffs when the reviews hadn't taken place yet.

Hopefully in a couple more weeks things will settle back to normal - so bad, rather than terrible.

QrizB

For SSE, you should be able to see your tariff here:
https://products.sse.co.uk/our-prices/enter-postcode

I've checked for my area and I get these results, which look quite a lot like (but not identical to) yours.

Still_surviving

Thank you two guys so much - I REALLY appreciate the info you have provided. I know something was wrong, now I know whats causing the issue. Lets hope when I eventually dont get told any switch is a year away

Apologies for not finding that tariff web-page myself.

Lastly do you think I will have to have a new multi-rate tariff or a single rate? Of the current multi-rates, there seems quite a difference between Standard Economy 7 / 10, and the Standard Flexiheat  in terms of the Weekday daytime rate which is the most important to me

Needless to say when you press 'Check Availability' you get the common "industry in turmoil cant help you online, please ring our team, so thats my mission for Monday

Once again, thank you SO much and sorry for my rambles (although my suspicions were correct lol)

All the best

[Deleted User]

With anyone except British Gas I would expect you to have free choice of single rate or Economy 7.

British Gas can’t reliably make E7 work on smart meters.

Still_surviving

UPDATE

Somewhat at my wits end currently......have made four attempts to contact SEB since my last forum post

and three of them consisted of waiting to hold to speak to someone for at least an hour, then getting cut off

On Friday, I had the same lemgthy wait on hold only this time I eventually got through. Trouble was the woman I spoke to had a seemingly 'patchy' grasp of english and no understanding whatsover of what an obsolete tariff was. Eventually, after trying to contact the tarriff team herself, she gave me what she said was the direct number for the tariff team 0345 070 7373.

Now either she was lying or mistaken as that number just puts you at the same general switchboard you get by ringing customer enquiries, and you get the same generic message that owing to the current situation they cannot offer the usual number of tariffs.

What do I do? I feel I am being held hostage by SEB on an expensive tariff and no means of getting past their appalling custimer service. Ovo took over SEB in January 2020 so it seems I am a very low priority to them - and why not when they are extracting a high rate of funds from me. My next bill is due around Novermber 3rd and by my calculations is going to be £100+ higher than it should be. We are now seven quarters since their merger so I am going to want some form of compensation for this situation

I have filled out their online complaints section but I dont hold out much hope. Should I go straight to the Ombudsman or can someone suggest an alternative?

Sorry for the ramble but I am angry/worried and money is very tight currently

 

[Deleted User]

Still_surviving said:

Should I go straight to the Ombudsman ...?

 

You can't.  You either need eight weeks of silence following their provable receipt of a formal written complaint, or a deadlock letter from the supplier.

Have you written something to them headed FORMAL COMPLAINT or similar?  That can start the eight week countdown if they aren't engaging with you.

ariarnia

Still_surviving said:

UPDATE

Somewhat at my wits end currently......have made four attempts to contact SEB since my last forum post

and three of them consisted of waiting to hold to speak to someone for at least an hour, then getting cut off

 

i understand you want to talk to someone immediately but it might help to message or email them? i emailed ovo recently and it took them about 20 hours to get back to me so maybe that's an option that means you're not hanging around on a switch board. 

plus if you want to complain you really need to do that in writing so emailing is the best bet there as well probably 

hello@ovoenergy.com 

Still_surviving

Thanks guys for the prompt and helpful responses

I will compose a formal complaint letter that can be emailed and sent by snail mail.

Thank you for the ovo-email address. Ive found HomeServicesComplaints@sseenergyservices.com and complaints@sseenergyservices.com so will try both. They also list a telephone number but I wont hold my breath

Will calm down and get typing

Thanks again

Still_surviving

Well i got a response to the online complaint form I filled in last Thursday....thought I might be getting somewhere until I read the small print:

Thanks for your enquiry. In order to improve the service we provide, our contact channels have been updated.

You can contact us by calling us on 0345 071 7957. Our website provides a range of services and information that may also be useful to resolve your enquiry.

Please note that no further actions will be taken following this email

Needless to say I rang the number and it was answered by SEB collections, who could not help on tariffs. They gave me the WhatsApp number for SEB tariffs, but any message gets the immediate response that due to the current energy situation they cannot help anyone who wants to switch tariffs currently

You simply cannot make up this level of customer dis-service! Oh well here goes with the formal complaint