£12,500 OVO Energy Billing Error Unresolved after +5yrs!

eflatmajor7

Hello -

I'm now on my 3rd energy ombudsman case, and 2nd Information commissioner case - it's like groundhog day with no end in site, its a scandal!

I first contacted SSE/OVO in 2020 due to excessive electricity usage readings. My electricity meter would record 1 years worth of usage every 4-6 weeks. SSE/OVO have used these faulty electricity meter readings to bill me £12,500. It took 3 years for OVO to replace the electricity meter - as they refused to admit to me that the electricity meter was faulty. However, I have a screenshot from one of their internal systems where they state that the electricity meter was faulty. 

OVO placed a £12,500 debt default on my credit record - as intimidation - and refused to remove it until I paid this false debt. A replacement electricity meter was eventually installed in July 2024, and is showing normal usage readings which I have been using to manually pay for my usage. The £12,500 false debt has now been reduced to a £4,500 false debt through x2 rounds of failed backbilling attempts. 

This new £4,500 false debt is now on my credit record and OVO are again refusing to remove it. This negative marker on my credit file has impacted my job prospects as I've been unable to take up certain positions as I would fail the background check due to this false debt on my record. It took 9 months, for OVO to action the previous ICO complaint.

Any advise, or assistance that you could provide would be greatly appreciated as OVO has chosen intimidation and is refusing to correct their error and get this matter resolved. 

MeteredOut

Do you have a calculation for what you think you owe for those years, or do you think the amount you paid them during those years covered your usage?

Do you have a reading from a point in time when you think the old meter was working correctly?

What I'd do first is, based on usage since the meter was replaced, recalculate what you believe your bills should have been for the time when the meter was faulty (this will take work on your side to determine old tariffs etc, so hopefully you have those).

What were the 3 cases with the ombudsman covering and what were their finding in each? 

debitcardmayhem

Have you had bills since July, and if so what do they say your estimated kWh for the year?

brianposter

If you have the money available the easy way to proceed may be to pay the bill and then take them to court to recover the money.

Petriix

brianposter said:

If you have the money available the easy way to proceed may be to pay the bill and then take them to court to recover the money.

I think I'd be taking them to court anyway. You'd stand a pretty good chance of winning if you've got proper evidence. A British Gas customer was famously awarded £10k in punitive damages in similar circumstances; the more unreasonable the company's behaviour, the more likely and higher the compensation. 

eflatmajor7

MeteredOut said:

Do you have a calculation for what you think you owe for those years, or do you think the amount you paid them during those years covered your usage?

Do you have a reading from a point in time when you think the old meter was working correctly?

What I'd do first is, based on usage since the meter was replaced, recalculate what you believe your bills should have been for the time when the meter was faulty (this will take work on your side to determine old tariffs etc, so hopefully you have those).

What were the 3 cases with the ombudsman covering and what were their finding in each? 

Yes, I've provided my backbill calculations on a number of occasions and these have been ignored. I've got statements and physical meter readings so can pinpoint the period when the meter started to fail. The Energy Ombusman (and Information Commissioner) have ruled in my favour. The first case was to get a qualified person to attend and check the meter - that took 2yrs! The second was to actually replace meter - that took another 2yr. At least 100 phone calls and emails.  

eflatmajor7

Petriix said:

brianposter said:

If you have the money available the easy way to proceed may be to pay the bill and then take them to court to recover the money.

I think I'd be taking them to court anyway. You'd stand a pretty good chance of winning if you've got proper evidence. A British Gas customer was famously awarded £10k in punitive damages in similar circumstances; the more unreasonable the company's behaviour, the more likely and higher the compensation. 

Yes, I'm seeking legal advise, but need to determine what legal grounds to pursue, as apparently OVO can just keep playing the system, hence the doom spiral of ombudsman cases.

eflatmajor7

debitcardmayhem said:

Have you had bills since July, and if so what do they say your estimated kWh for the year?

OVO are in capable to providing any meaningful accurate estimates - they attempted backbilling but have used the erroneous data from the faulty meter on each occasion. The faulty meter would register usage of +10,000kWh every 4-5 weeks. The readings from the replacement meter (a used radio teleswitch meter) are more inline with what I would expect.

brianposter

You do not need a lawyer. You pay OVO more than you really owe and then claim the difference back in the small claims court. Write your claim out and get a few friends to look it over (or even put it on here). Then send an LBA.

Keep the basic claim as simple as possible and add extras as an appendices.

FreeBear

brianposter said:

You do not need a lawyer. You pay OVO more than you really owe and then claim the difference back in the small claims court. Write your claim out and get a few friends to look it over (or even put it on here). Then send an LBA.

Keep the basic claim as simple as possible and add extras as an appendices.

Small claims track has a £10,000 limit. Any more than this, and you are looking at fast track where costs can escalate pretty darned quick.

brianposter

In case it needs spelling out:

You work out, as best you can, how much you owe since date A.

You pay bills starting with date A until you have paid about £400 more than you really owe to date.

You then go to court to reclaim the "about £400" plus whatever expenses that you can think of.