MSE News: Ovo Energy to take on Economy Energy's 235,000 customers

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  • falcieri
    falcieri Posts: 195 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    I'm so pleased I kept all my correspondence with Economy Energy and screenshotted everything else. I left them in October and I never got my refund or even a final statement and their inability to use my meter readings and only use their own estimated readings was a massive pain in the butt.



    Thankfully with my new provider at least I have an actual switch over reading but I reckon I must be owed at least £200 from EE as they kept taking direct debits after my switch as well. Good job I have the evidence for that too.



    No communication from OVO yet regarding my outstanding refund but they have one hell of a job on their hands so I think I'm going to have to be patient. I don't envy them what's to come.
  • wavelets
    wavelets Posts: 1,164 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Sterlingtimes wrote: »
    ...

    I am wondering whether the safest way of switching is firstly to select fixed priced switches only and secondly to select tariffs where direct debit mandates are not required.

    MSE has for quite some time been recommending that you fix your traiff.
    But that was last year when prices were rising. Whether they continue to rise is anyone's guess. Even MSE was recently recommending a variable tariff, as fixed prices have now also risen.

    My suggestion would be not to filter out any results initially, but make your own decision once you have seen what is available from the whole of market ... and your own attitude to risk and where prices may go in the future.

    With regards to paying by DD, I have never experienced any issue and like the savings of up to £90 per year for paying this way.
    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/

    But if it's not for you, fine. Your money, your choice. :)
  • JustAnotherSaver
    JustAnotherSaver Posts: 6,709 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    wavelets wrote: »
    Hope Ovo have some deep pockets if it's confirmed that Economy Energy customers are owed £300 - £500 each as many on here claimed the day they ceased trading.
    What's this?


    My mother is currently in the process of looking for compensation through the energy ombudsman against Economy Energy but what's this £300-£500 you mention?
  • harz99
    harz99 Posts: 3,638 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Home Insurance Hacker!
    JustAnotherSaver wrote: »
    What's this?


    My mother is currently in the process of looking for compensation through the energy ombudsman against Economy Energy but what's this £300-£500 you mention?


    Not compo if that's what you're hoping...


    Those are the amounts some are saying that they are owed, because EE took more in DD payments than the person actually owed.
  • JEA
    JEA Posts: 1 Newbie
    After seeing that OVO and BOOST (their pay as you go) arm have been appointed by Ofgem to take over Economy Energy. I obviously checked them out. Not looking very promising, they only have a 6.9 out of 10 rating. The comments on their facebook page are not positive. They have been around since 2009 and are still classed as one of the smaller energy companies. Why when a large amount of smaller companies went under in 2018, did Ofgem appoint another small company. Personally I never had a problem with Economy, but it might have been because I was on PAYG, through choice as I find it easier to budget that way. I wonder how many people will actually stay with OVO / Boost. By doing a quote for my area for their tariff for gas and electricity on a pay as you go smart meter, every element of the tariff is higher than Economy. But the quote was only completed by inputting my postcode which came up with the tariff and an estimated weekly amount of £22.00 and this was based on average consumption in my area. I got the quote e-mailed to me, but the quote only mentioned the £22 per week and not the tariff rates. To get the tariff rate I had to complete the quote again and print a copy from my laptop screen. I will wait for BOOST to make contact to see what they are offering in tariff for Economy Energy customers. As 235,000 potential customers have landed in their lap for doing very little work towards getting them. Lets hope the extra customers doesn't pose too much for them to handle and their already documented poor service gets worse for all concerned.
  • gt94sss2
    gt94sss2 Posts: 5,629 Forumite
    Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    edited 13 January 2019 at 2:48PM
    JEA wrote: »
    After seeing that OVO and BOOST (their pay as you go) arm have been appointed by Ofgem to take over Economy Energy.

    Ovo had 3% of the market in October 2018 - which actually makes them one of the largest suppliers outside the big 6 and generally seem to score well on CS so not sure where you are getting your facts from.

    We were content customers of theirs years ago. Having said that, they are not the cheapest (for us) so we will be moving away once the account has been transferred to them

    PS: If you're a PAYG customer, this seems to be the link relevant to you: https://www.boostpower.co.uk/economy-energy
  • wavelets
    wavelets Posts: 1,164 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    JEA wrote: »
    After seeing that OVO and BOOST (their pay as you go) arm have been appointed by Ofgem to take over Economy Energy. I obviously checked them out. Not looking very promising, they only have a 6.9 out of 10 rating....

    Welcome to MSE

    According to a MSE review, they were voted 5th best supplier based on customer service with 76% voting them 'Geat' and 16% 'OK'
    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/06/small-suppliers-leading-the-way-for-customer-service/
  • Sterlingtimes
    Sterlingtimes Posts: 2,395 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    edited 13 January 2019 at 4:04PM
    It appears that OVO will offer "Simpler Energy" to ex-Economy Energy clients. From my Google search, I find that Ovo will accept payment in arrears without charging extra. So when Ovo asks for a direct debit mandate, I would like to refuse. Learning from Economy Energy, it is far safer not to let an energy company access your bank account.

    Which payment methods do you accept?
    Most people choose to pay by Direct Debit, one month in advance.
    If you’re on the Simpler plan, you can also pay by cash or cheque in arrears. You can pay over the phone (or on My OVO) with a card, via a bank transfer or by cash with a paying-in slip at your bank.
    We no longer offer Flexible Direct Debit. And we don’t accept PayPal.
    I have osteoarthritis in my hands so I speak my messages into a microphone using Dragon. Some people make "typos" but I often make "speakos".
  • JustAnotherSaver
    JustAnotherSaver Posts: 6,709 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Since Economy Energy have ceased trading, at what point can you 'switch' to something else?


    I saw the email my mother received and it advises not switching while it's all being handled pretty much but then i figured it would do.
    Just wondering at what point she can switch as she's looking to lock in on a decent fixed rate tariff.
  • matelodave
    matelodave Posts: 8,606 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    edited 13 January 2019 at 4:55PM
    It takes around 3-4 weeks to swap over from the bust supplier to the take over supplier - or that what it took for Octopus to take over from IRESA. You can then initiate a transfer - it can go horribly wrong if you try swapping whilst the initial swap is in progress.

    Just make sure that you keep hold of all your data, meter reads, bills. statements etc as it can make the transition from the failed supplier through the take over supplier and the ultimate supplier a bit easier.

    It can still be a mess though if your exitsing billing isn't correct or up to date or you haven't been keeping meter readings up to date.

    As I knew I was in credit (from my own records and calculations, rather than erroneous and estimated bills from IRESA) I cancelled my DD so Octopus couldn't take any more.

    The credit got passed over to Octopus and it paid for the energy that I used whilst with them
    Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers
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