Energy Supplier Confusion & Warrant Threat, Advice Needed

AbuBella

Hi everyone this is my first post here.

I purchased a flat in England in June 2022 and have had ongoing issues trying to set up an energy account. When I moved in, I attempted to sign up with several suppliers, but none were accepting new customers.

SSE was identified as the supplier, but when I contacted them (primarily via WhatsApp), they kept referring me to other companies, who in turn insisted SSE was still the supplier. SSE eventually confirmed this and asked me to call to set up an account. I provided my details and the updated electricity meter information, but I never heard back.

Since moving in, I have received letters from OVO Energy addressed to previous leaseholders (who never lived here). I returned them as "Not at this address," yet they continued sporadically. Today, I received a letter from Engage Services, acting on behalf of OVO, stating that they have been unable to carry out a safety inspection of the electric and gas meters. They now claim that, due to my "failure to allow the inspection," they intend to " apply to the Court for a warrant to enter your premises as per Section 2 of the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 "

Given that I have never set up an account with OVO and have tried to establish one with SSE, how should I proceed? How do I engage with these field service providers in a way that protects my rights and ensures the correct supplier is recognized?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Ildhund

This is an unfortunate sequence. On moving in, you should have (a) taken photos of the meter(s) showing all their readings, and (2) used the available services (e.g. Find out who your gas or electricity supplier is - Citizens Advice) to find out who the supplier was. A call to them should have got you set up quickly and easily.

However, you clearly moved in to the property at a time when SSE customers were being transferred to OVO following the latter's takeover of the former. You weren't to know this, of course. I suggest you contact OVO now to explain the situation, open your account and make arrangements for whatever inspection they want to carry out. It may be best to use the web chat option so you have everything in writing.

If you haven't been paying for energy since June 2022, there may be a very big bill waiting for you. 

AbuBella

Hi, I am happy to face this head-on and try to reach a resolution, I will update on where this goes.

Swipe

This thread will be a gentle reminder for people to take photos of all meters when you move in to a new property.

QrizB

AbuBella said:

Given that I have never set up an account with OVO and have tried to establish one with SSE, how should I proceed? How do I engage with these field service providers in a way that protects my rights and ensures the correct supplier is recognized?

Everything Ildhund has said is correct; SSE's domestic customers were all transferred to OVO and it's quite likely that OVO is your supplier.

I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

AbuBella said:

Since moving in, I have received letters from OVO Energy addressed to previous leaseholders (who never lived here). I returned them as "Not at this address," yet they continued sporadically.

Were any of these letters addressed to "The Occupier"? Or were they all to named individuals, those individuals presumably being former residents?

AbuBella said:

Today, I received a letter from Engage Services, acting on behalf of OVO, stating that they have been unable to carry out a safety inspection of the electric and gas meters. They now claim that, due to my "failure to allow the inspection," they intend to " apply to the Court for a warrant to enter your premises as per Section 2 of the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 "

At any time since you've moved in, have you had a meter reader knock on your door and ask to read your meters? Or receive a card through your letterbox saying "sorry we missed you" and asking you to call them to arrange a reading?

AbuBella

QrizB said:

Question:

I do have a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

Were any of these letters addressed to "The Occupier"? Or were they all to named individuals, those individuals presumably being former residents?

Answer:

All the correspondence are addressed to one of the previous leasholders, and they were a landlord to a lady.

Question: 

At any time since you've moved in, have you had a meter reader knock on your door and ask to read your meters? Or receive a card through your letterbox saying "sorry we missed you" and asking you to call them to arrange a reading?

Answer:

Never recived a card through the letter box to request a meter reading, nor has anyone come to request to do a reading. I have supplied SSE with my electric meter reading during my last call with them. I remember asking wether they supplied gas as well, if I remember correctly they mentioned that my gas was meant to be on a prepayment meter and shouldn't be working if there wasn't any credit. I took pictures of the gas meter readings on a gasbox that had my flat number scribbled on it, but I'm not even sure if it is mine to be honset.

QrizB

Thank you for your answers. I think it's unusual to go straight to the "warrant" stage, but hopefully you can contact OVO and sort everything out fairly quickly.

AbuBella

Just a little update, I have noticed that one of the meters around the back of the building that is labeled flat 1 has a pipe that leads to my flat, this meter is an EDMI GS-60B, according to the manufacturer website it is a smart meter, but appears to be recieving no power. 

QrizB

AbuBella said:

Just a little update, I have noticed that one of the meters around the back of the building that is labeled flat 1 has a pipe that leads to my flat, this meter is an EDMI GS-60B, according to the manufacturer website it is a smart meter, but appears to be recieving no power. 

Gas smart meters are powered by an internal battery. To prolong battery life, the screen is blank until you wake the meter by pressing a button.
If you pressed the button and it remained blank, it would suggest that the battery is flat.

35har1old

Ildhund said:

This is an unfortunate sequence. On moving in, you should have (a) taken photos of the meter(s) showing all their readings, and (2) used the available services (e.g. Find out who your gas or electricity supplier is - Citizens Advice) to find out who the supplier was. A call to them should have got you set up quickly and easily.

However, you clearly moved in to the property at a time when SSE customers were being transferred to OVO following the latter's takeover of the former. You weren't to know this, of course. I suggest you contact OVO now to explain the situation, open your account and make arrangements for whatever inspection they want to carry out. It may be best to use the web chat option so you have everything in writing.

If you haven't been paying for energy since June 2022, there may be a very big bill waiting for you. 

Not all web chats have a print out available 

Ildhund

35har1old said:

Not all web chats have a print out available 

OVO's do, now, after many protests over the years.