Help please; SSE energy account never moved to OVO and I’ve not had an energy bill in over 2 years.

Sptlad

Okay so this is my situation and I wanted to start a thread because I seriously don’t know what to do, and I don’t know who to talk to about this (I’ve literally not told anyone). I am also curious whether other people have had this issue.

I moved into my current rental property in Jan 23 and I set up a dual fuel account with SSE, and there was no problems with this, I even made a payment. Around May that year they got taken over by OVO and my account was supposed to move over. I got an email with a link in that I needed to go through, and I did that MANY TIMES.

long story short; it’s 2+ years on and I still don’t have an energy account with OVO, and I’m scared I’m gonna get a huge bill, especially as I’m planning to leave this house and buy my own place very soon. The landlord is gonna want proof I settled my bill and I don’t have that, I’ve never even had an energy bill.

I did try to resolve this at several points, including raising a complaint with OVO when I told them everything, and they admitted it was an error on their part and they were sorting it. I sent an email asking for everything to be worked out at a fixed energy price because I didn’t think it was fair that energy prices had gone up, and I missed out on deals because of their error. Next thing I know the complaint was closed down without any resolution and I’ve been too scared to do anything since. Not gonna lie, I’ve also been completely fatigued by the whole thing but I’m worried about debt at this point and it’s just a mess. 

I am wondering what my next move should be; I feel like I tell the landlord to keep my deposit when I move out (but I prob owe more than that for energy), then I think I just don’t tell them at all. I want to go to the ombudsman about it but not before I leave because again, I don’t want a massive bill turning up right now as I’m about to buy my first home. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

squirrelpie

I hope you've been estimating how much you should have paid over the past two plus years and been putting that money aside somewhere for when you have to pay the bill?

AIUI you can't be billed for any consumption over 12 months ago, so that  will limit how much you owe. See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/what-do-if-you-get-back-bill for more detail. And as MSE suggests - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-back-billing/ - you probably should raise a formal complaint and eight weeks after that you can take it to the Ombudsman. Then you can tell your landlord what you're doing to resolve the problem Ovo have created. Maybe contact a newspaper's agony aunt as well?

QrizB

As above, there are limits on back-billing.

OK, here's the steps for resolving this with OVO:

1. Raise a complaint with OVE. See https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback
2. If OVO don't sort it out within eight weeks, take your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.

Sptlad said:

I am wondering what my next move should be; I feel like I tell the landlord to keep my deposit when I move out (but I prob owe more than that for energy), then I think I just don’t tell them at all. 

You will still be liable; any debt is yours, it doesn't belong to the property. This is why you need to get it sorted out now.

MWT

Sptlad said:

Next thing I know the complaint was closed down without any resolution and I’ve been too scared to do anything since. Not gonna lie, I’ve also been completely fatigued by the whole thing but I’m worried about debt at this point and it’s just a mess. 

When was the complaint closed down?

Just trying to get a fix an the earliest point where they could reasonably claim you should have contacted them about the problem again?

Do you have meter readings covering the un-billed period?

Alnat1

Have you tried searching "who is my energy supplier" and checking the links for gas and electricity? Do this and find out if it is actually OVO who are listed.

Sptlad

Thanks for these responses. The last complaint was closed around a year ago. I have a smart meter so they can see what is used at the property. Here’s the really mad bit: a bill came to the occupier and it had outstsnding energy going back to 2020 (I moved in in 2023). So they clearly know what is being used but there is obviously an issue at the property as it seems other tenants have had a similar issue. I’m glad the debt will come with me, and I can afford 12-months (I think). I’m deffo gonna raise another complaint as I go and will forfeit my deposit towards it if I need to. Just a pain, and additional (unnecessary) stress. 

molerat

I have a smart meter so they can see what is used at the property

Unfortunately that is not always the case and cannot be relied upon to provide accurate billing where there is a dispute  You need to download an app such as Bright where you should, if the meter is reporting to the DCC, see your daily usage for the past 13 months.  You should record this and take regular manual readings - if the IHD is working the reads should be on there - and keep those safe.  With those you will have a good argument over your actual usage when Ovo do come up with, and you can pretty much guarantee it will be, their trumped up bill.