Sadly confused about house move and energy supplier

Annie1612

Moving house shortly - we have sold our house and are moving into a temporary rental. The previous tenants were using OVO for their supply. We received an email from OVO, via the letting agency, to set up an account, so I did this without thinking it through too much. Our tenancy begins about a week before our completion date, so we will be responsible for paying bills in the rental while still in our current home.

I want to use my current supplier, which is Octopus, when I move into the rental. Can I ask Octopus to set up an account now or do I need to wait until the tenancy starts and then switch to Octopus while the OVO account is still being set up.  Octopus are offering 50 squids for switching before the end of the month and I don’t want to miss out on this either 😊, though that is not my main reason (I have had good service from octopus).

It has been a lot of years since I moved house and I just don’t know how to make this all run smoothly.

EssexHebridean

The Octopus “move home” setup works brilliantly when you are leaving one property and immediately going into another - but I don’t think it will work in your situation.

it sounds like you have done the right thing by opening an account with OVO - as you need to take over the energy supply at the new property before giving the closing readings at the other. Once you are in your new home you will then be able to initiate a switch to Octopus if that is what you want to do - you may even be able to use a referral code from a friend of family member for £50 credit although I am not sure what the T’s & C’s say about how soon after previously being a customer you can do this. 

Annie1612

Thank you for your reply - I wondered if I had done things wrong, there is so much admin involved and our move to rental has been very very rushed after our onward purchase fell through that I don’t know if I’m coming or going at the moment. Everything is endless emails and portals and it is so stressing me out 😂

mebu60

As @EssexHebridean says, you need to start with Ovo. I would check with the letting agency before switching to Octopus in case there's anything in your rental agreement (which you have of course read thoroughly line by line) on the subject. 

molerat

mebu60 said:

As @EssexHebridean says, you need to start with Ovo. I would check with the letting agency before switching to Octopus in case there's anything in your rental agreement (which you have of course read thoroughly line by line) on the subject. 

What could there possibly be in the rental agreement, that is not an unfair condition so invalid, that would prevent them from changing supplier ?

mebu60

molerat said:

mebu60 said:

As @EssexHebridean says, you need to start with Ovo. I would check with the letting agency before switching to Octopus in case there's anything in your rental agreement (which you have of course read thoroughly line by line) on the subject. 

What could there possibly be in the rental agreement, that is not an unfair condition so invalid, that would prevent them from changing supplier ?

The occupier has the legal right to change supplier if they are responsible for paying the utility bills. But for courtesy, the sake of good relations and just in case I would still let the letting agency know. The owner will have to use that supplier at least initially if there is a void after the OP vacates and I'm sure the letting agency would appreciate knowing. Doesn't cost anything, 

Gerry1

molerat said:

mebu60 said:

As @EssexHebridean says, you need to start with Ovo. I would check with the letting agency before switching to Octopus in case there's anything in your rental agreement (which you have of course read thoroughly line by line) on the subject. 

What could there possibly be in the rental agreement, that is not an unfair condition so invalid, that would prevent them from changing supplier ?

Being monetised by the lettings agent !  Ovo run Tili which is marketed as service to make moving home easier by setting up utilities etc.

However, you're likely to end up on an uncompetitive Ovo tariff, a company with poor customer service ratings and which has recently been heavily fined.

It was promoted by lettings agencies which were paid an ongoing commision for as long as the punter stayed with Ovo.  The agents often included a condition in the small print that the tenant had to sign up to Ovo (albeit they could switch subsequently).

Guess who pays the ongoing commission — yup, the tenants who didn't strike out the clause in the agreement or didn't switch after moving in.

Sarahspangles

Just be aware of the potential for confusion because Octopus’ system is likely to expect the date you left your last property to be the date from which you want them to charge you for the new one.

Annie1612

Gerry1 said:

molerat said:

mebu60 said:

As @EssexHebridean says, you need to start with Ovo. I would check with the letting agency before switching to Octopus in case there's anything in your rental agreement (which you have of course read thoroughly line by line) on the subject. 

What could there possibly be in the rental agreement, that is not an unfair condition so invalid, that would prevent them from changing supplier ?

Being monetised by the lettings agent !  Ovo run Tili which is marketed as service to make moving home easier by setting up utilities etc.

However, you're likely to end up on an uncompetitive Ovo tariff, a company with poor customer service ratings and which has recently been heavily fined.

It was promoted by lettings agencies which were paid an ongoing commision for as long as the punter stayed with Ovo.  The agents often included a condition in the small print that the tenant had to sign up to Ovo (albeit they could switch subsequently).

Guess who pays the ongoing commission — yup, the tenants who didn't strike out the clause in the agreement or didn't switch after moving in.

Yes, this exactly. I Tilli was pushed on us initially but I didn’t want to use this, I want to choose my own suppler. I found out the connection between OVO and Tili after a bit of research and was suspicious, The standing charges with OVO are high and my daughter, also in a rental and with OVO is having issues with billing and customer service. I have found Octopus customer service very good in the past. I don’t recall anything in the contract about switching but I will check with the letting agent or landlord before doing this, thanks.

EssexHebridean

Sarahspangles said:

Just be aware of the potential for confusion because Octopus’ system is likely to expect the date you left your last property to be the date from which you want them to charge you for the new one.

This is why I suggested that the Octopus “Move home with us” system is unlikely to work for thr OP - as they have already explained that they have an overlap, and this only works for a situation where you leave one property and immediately move in to the next. 

Annie1612

I read through my contract, which I hadn’t signed, and there is a section about energy whereby the letting agency (Frank Innes) initiate the switch to OVO for the new tenant and basically give permission on behalf of the tenant for OVO to supply the house. Which is interesting because I specifically asked the letting agent who was supplying the energy and broadband, and they told me OVO and shortly after I received the email from OVO to create my account. When I go on the the newly created ovo account it tells me that a switch is in place but not complete yet. So I presume the agents supplied my contact THEN sent me the contract telling me they were doing this haha. No restrictions on changing supplier though.

I think best to notify Octopus about leaving my current home, start the new tenancy with OVO, then switch to Octopus as soon as possible. Thanks for the replies.