Problems with OVO

itwasallascream

On the 16th of May of this year, I spotted an envelope from OVO addressed to the tenant of my flat with the words "Final Notice" on it. It was simply addressed to "The Occupier" but I opened it given the urgency. I found that it was for a gas bill from OVO of £340 and so I called OVO to tell them to stop sending letters to my address as I do not have an OVO account. I told them that my gas and electricity supplier Octopus was supplying my gas but I was then told that OVO had been supplying the gas at my property since April 2024.

I called my gas and electricity supplier Octopus and asked them about my request to switch to Octopus when I moved into my flat on the 8th of July 2024. Octopus confirmed that I had requested a switch of my gas and electricity but they had only switched over the electricity. They admitted the fault and told me that I could switch the gas over as well.

I called OVO back and asked them why they had been supplying me with gas for ten months when I had no contract or account with them and did not agree to any gas supply with them. They said that this was standard practice.

I then asked Octopus to switch over the gas account as I did not have an account with OVO nor did I want one. OVO blocked this because they said there is debt on the gas bill. OVO is now demanding that I pay for all of the debt based on a tariff that I never agreed to. They have also signed me up to an OVO account that I have not agreed to and do not want.

Additionally, they originally said that the debt outstanding was about £340 and that included gas used from April 2024 as well as administration fees to collect the gas. They have now sent me a bill for over £650 based on meter readings that they cannot confirm to be correct and a tariff that I have not agreed to. I have never signed up to any contract with OVO nor have I agreed on any tariff or meter readings. I have refused to pay for this gas bill as:

1. I have never requested an OVO account.

2. I have never agreed to any OVO tariff.

3. The meter readings cannot be verified as accurate as OVO did not complete a meter reading on the 8th of July for the gas.

4. Some of the gas debt is for over 12 months ago.

5. The debt incurred is higher than the debt they stated in their original letter that I opened on the 16th of May.

I have now complained to the Energy Ombudsman and OVO has disputed the complaint.

Is there anything I can do about this? This all seems to be so dodgy.

molerat

A soon as you moved in to the property and consumed some energy you entered into a deemed contract with the incumbent supplier at that time which would seem to be Ovo.  You should have contacted Ovo, set up an account, given them opening readings and then initiated the switch away.  They are legally in the right under the various energy acts.  You now need to sort out the account with them, start dates and meter reads, and then initiate a move to your selected supplier.  Back billing will not be available as you did not cooperate in informing them of your occupancy.  Unfortunately you have been the architect of your own downfall, a very common mistake that crops up here a lot.

QrizB

Welcome to the forum.

itwasallascream said:

I have refused to pay for this gas bill as:

1. I have never requested an OVO account.

2. I have never agreed to any OVO tariff.

When you moved into the flat, you entered into a deemed contract with the current gas supplier, on the deemed tariff. This appears to have been with OVO. Your deemed account will continue until you switch away. OVO won't let you switch while your account is in arrears.
You will also have had a deemed electricity account with the previous supplier, although it's possittgat Octopus switched you on your first day and there's nothing outstanding there.

itwasallascream said:

3. The meter readings cannot be verified as accurate as OVO did not complete a meter reading on the 8th of July for the gas.

You should supply OVO with a current meter reading. They can then issue a revised bill.

itwasallascream said:

4. Some of the gas debt is for over 12 months ago.

Ofgem's restrictions on back billing do not apply where the customer (you) has failed to register an account with their supplier (OVO).

itwasallascream said:

I have now complained to the Energy Ombudsman and OVO has disputed the complaint.

I can't see any grounds for complaint, and if you haven't engaged openly with OVO I would expect the Ombudsman to reject your complaint.

itwasallascream said:

Is there anything I can do about this? This all seems to be so dodgy.

Pay your bill. If you then want to switch to Octopus, you'll be free to leave.

itwasallascream

Thanks. One other thing. They have charged me at the no-demand tariff. Why is this and why are they allowed to charge me at the highest rate?

QrizB

itwasallascream said:

Thanks. One other thing. They have charged me at the no-demand tariff. Why is this and why are they allowed to charge me at the highest rate?

They are required to charge you at the "deemed" tariff, which is capped by Ofgem.

If you think they've charged more than this, could you share details here?