Ovo Energy set up an account in my name without my knowledge

Missmalley

And now they chasing me for an imaginary debt. 

I moved into my rented flat nearly a year ago (March 2023). My landlord advised who supplied the energy, I was receiving letters from them already and have been paying them every since. IN late Sept 2023, I got a letter from Ovo welcoming me as a new custom, a set of T&Cs and a bill. I pushed back via email, they responded saying that it was set up after a trace and search. I then had to send a copy of my tenancy agreement and my bills for my actual energy provider proving that I have been paying and how long I've lived there) and heard nothing further. 

Today (Mar 2024) I have received a letter from an debt collection agency saying that I owe them £78 (original imaginary debt plus £20 admin fee). 

Questions:
1. How do I solve this? I have raised a complaint with Ovo (who are now saying they don't recognise the email address despite the threads being there) and logged it with the Energy Ombudsman. 
2. How is it possible that a company can create an account in my name without my consent?! Surely this is deep fraud?! 
3. Is there anything else I can do/can raise it with? 

Thank you in advance!

QrizB

Who do you believe your energy supplier to be?

What results do you get when you check the databases?

Electricity: https://www.energynetworks.org/operating-the-networks/whos-my-network-operator then contact the DNO to find your supplier.

Gas: https://www.findmysupplier.energy/ should take you straight to the supplier.

The OVO bill will have meter serial number(s) on it. Does this match your meter(s)?

Do the serial numbers on your other supplier's bill(s) match your meter(s)?

Ectophile

Have you considered the possibility that your landlord may have given you bad information, and that the company you've been paying isn't really your supplier?

You need to find out who your supplier really is.  If it turns out to be the company you've been paying, and not Ovo, then you're right to make a complaint to Ovo, and push it on to the Energy Ombudsman if they won't resolve it within 8 weeks.

https://www.energynetworks.org/customers/find-my-network-operator

t0rt0ise

Was the previous tenant with Ovo? And did the landlord then change it to another supplier?

imeach

Were you with SSE?
All customers moved over to OVO