Ovo Energy Reviews: Give your feedback

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  • makethemostofit
    makethemostofit Posts: 8 Forumite
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    Just joined the forum, so please bear with me!

    We switched to Ovo a couple of months ago and just had the first proper statement. Apparently we used nearly 500,000 kWh last year of gas, but my bill for gas would be less than £100 this year (it should be about £600).

    Presumably it'll all sort itself out, and at least our smart meter has started working again (it was fitted by Scottish Power, but when we moved to SSE, it became a dumb meter) - we mainly use it to see which kettle to use when we're generating electricity from our solar panels!

    I think that the discrepancy comes from a mixed up gas reading as you don't need to put the last figure from the smart meter in your reading, but you do for electricity. Can't remember if I was told or not by the guy who fitted the meter, but a sticker to remind us would have been very useful, so the meter readings did go very wrong when we last tried to switch.

    I've upped the monthly payment in the hope that we'll benefit from the 3% interest - along with the 2% cashback from our Santander account, that seems a good deal, however, I do wonder how safe our money is with them, presumably there'd be no compensation if they failed as a company.

    Whenever I've spoken to customer service, they have seemed on the ball, but the error on the statement does make me wonder.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    makethemostofit wrote: »
    I've upped the monthly payment in the hope that we'll benefit from the 3% interest - along with the 2% cashback from our Santander account, that seems a good deal, however, I do wonder how safe our money is with them, presumably there'd be no compensation if they failed as a company.

    .

    If a supplier goes bust, then Ofgem will appoint a Supplier of Last Resort. A key feature of the appointment of a new supplier is that it accepts all credit balances from the failed supplier. These costs are recovered in the form of a levy that is applied to all our bills. In other words, we all paid for the failure of GBEnergy last year.
  • makethemostofit
    makethemostofit Posts: 8 Forumite
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    I presumed that the money would be ringfenced somehow, that's really good to know, thanks!

    There is a limit (£1000) that they'll pay interest on which means it's only £30 maximum - and I doubt we'll ever reach that amount, but coupled with the 2% cashback from Santander, we could be talking about almost a free month a year. We've got a two year fix, and in the second year, it rises to 4% (and in the third, if we stayed, it would be 5%). It's a nice little perk if you've got a little to spare, and a nice way of saving some money!
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,037 Forumite
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    To give some balance, I switched from the MSE BG collective earlier this year and it has all gone like clockwork - timings, meter readings, DD payments.

    The difficulty (understandably) is only problems are posted.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    Cardew wrote: »
    To give some balance, I switched from the MSE BG collective earlier this year and it has all gone like clockwork - timings, meter readings, DD payments.

    The difficulty (understandably) is only problems are posted.

    Fair comment but the problem with most suppliers is that when they are in a hole, they keep digging. This comes down to the training/experience of the person that is contacted. This is why I like to pose all my questions via an e-mail.
  • mgfvvc
    mgfvvc Posts: 1,180 Forumite
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    Cardew wrote: »
    To give some balance, I switched from the MSE BG collective earlier this year and it has all gone like clockwork - timings, meter readings, DD payments.

    I switched from the MSE BG collective to Ovo as well. It took 2 months for the electricity switch to complete and, although I had provided an initial meter reading, the web site kept telling me I hadn't provided any readings until the switch finally completed.

    Other than that, it has been fine.
  • SmokeyJoan
    SmokeyJoan Posts: 12 Forumite
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    I switched gas and electricity from BG to Ovo via the MSE collective switch on 6th September but according to my latest statement from Ovo, the electricity still hasn't been switched. I've used MSE collective switching several times before but never before had a problem. My husband has just started chemotherapy so I'm in a permanent state of anxiety and could do without this type of hassle. I would leave Ovo if I could, but apparently I can't while the switch is still in progress, so I feel trapped. Can anyone help me resolve this?
  • Consumerist
    Consumerist Posts: 6,310 Forumite
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    edited 1 December 2017 at 6:38PM
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    SmokeyJoan wrote: »
    I switched gas and electricity from BG to Ovo via the MSE collective switch on 6th September but according to my latest statement from Ovo, the electricity still hasn't been switched. I've used MSE collective switching several times before but never before had a problem. My husband has just started chemotherapy so I'm in a permanent state of anxiety and could do without this type of hassle. I would leave Ovo if I could, but apparently I can't while the switch is still in progress, so I feel trapped. Can anyone help me resolve this?
    Have you tried contacting Cheap Energy Club to help you out?

    email: [EMAIL="energyclub@moneysavingexpert.com"]energyclub@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]

    Hope this helps.

    Edit
    Please include your full name, the email address you joined with and your postcode.
    >:)Warning: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
  • trickytree1963
    trickytree1963 Posts: 255 Forumite
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    bumped thread
  • WatlingA5
    WatlingA5 Posts: 168 Forumite
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    We inherited Ovo on moving in 2014 and decided to stick with them "for the time being" and are still with them. The odd occasion we've had to contact customer service has always been successful. I too start any contact by email and always record any phone conversations - with any company, not just Ovo - and the fact the call centre is in the UK is a big plus point.

    Also, when we challenged a significant detail in a conversation, it was investigated and they came back to confirm their recording backed up what I'd said. First time I've known anyone anywhere admit to "listening to the recording" to check something.

    We've declined the smart-meter offers, but we do get regular invitations to "go completely green" by paying an extra £5 a month on our bill. My limited technical knowledge prevents me working out how even the smartest of meters can tell which "bit" of my electricity is coming from solar panels or windfarms.

    There's bound to be the odd glitch with any company/organisation, but our experiences mean I'd give Ovo 9 out of 10 :beer:
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