Refunds of credit from your OVO account - DIY tutorial series

Thanks for sharing this, @surema - sounds like a very frustrating journey to get your credit back. 

Can I ask for a bit more info, just to help us comment more? For example are you still with OVO? Do you have smart meters or an update to date statement based on actual meter readings? What reasons have OVO previously given for the delay?

My advice, if you haven’t done this already, is to make sure that letter you sent in gets raised as a complaint. The final point of complaint escalation will be between yourself and our Complaints team. If then your issue is still not resolved as you would like it, a deadlock letter will outline the details for the Ombudsman. However, please be advised that if the issue was raised longer then 8 weeks ago (and you say it was 4 months) you would be able to approach the Ombudsmen directly. 

More info on our complaint process here. 

I have just posted an “Idea” as Conversation and Question options did not allow me to post my COMPLAINT !!!!!

I want a refund as I have £600+ in my account, meter readings sent, only allowed £100+ despite policy of £1000 max.

Also told another claim had to wait 24hrs but guess what “computer says no”.

Disgusting customer service that I notice on this site has been going on for at least four years.

I will be changing supplier without waiting for an apology.

Why are Ovo avoiding refunding the credit that has built up on my account even though I have supplied them with meter reads, photos of meters and a copy of my bank statement?

Yep done all of that. Website says no readings. Staff say send readings, pics, bank statement etc. Still no refund. Still no one can say when the refund will be made. Staff all say they cannot do anymore and there is no one else I can speak to. I have been effectively told to go away and if Ovo decide they will give the £2.5k back they may do that at some point in the future. This is an account on my name on my deceased mothers property. Ovo don’t seem to want to refund the credit which built up due to a reduction in usage. The platitudes on ovo website about supporting customers and charitable giving do not ring true for me. Ovo is using its corporate power to fob me (and I believe others) off. Ovo should not have taken over SSE if they are unable to manage their business and cannot afford to repay customers like me.  Please let me have the contact details for the person in charge of Ovo. 

Already raised a complaint. Received a generic email that says not to email more than once because it will delay the process. What a joke.  I appreciate your attempts to assist but tbh Ive had enough of your  awful company and their attempts to thwart and frustrate my simple request. There always seems to be a reason not to pay and there is no one at Ovo who seems to have authority to make the payment. This refund is overdue and ovo are not paying. Ovo’s behaviour in this instance is typical of dodgy debtors who are trying to avoid paying what they  owe using their power to make the people they owe money to give up and go away. Beneath the platitudes Ovo are simply  a typical greedy corporation pretending that they aren’t.

Tried that. The web portal says I can’t do this because I have not provided readings. I have. Emails I have received from Ovo confirm this.

I think you might be seeking the wrong solution in that case.

If you’re looking after your mothers estate, the easiest way to get the refund out would be to close the entire account down. By default, you don’t usually have permission to access an account that doesn’t belong to you, but with the right documents, you can have it closed down and any refund paid to her estate. Once that’s complete, you can set up a new account in your name and start afresh if needed.

OVO has to protect itself and show that it’s protecting its customers data and finances as well. Know Your Customer checks are important and if you can’t pass them, OVO can’t let you in.

Hi @sidpotato i don't work for OVO, i am just a customer like you. Sorry to hear about your issues, it can be really frustrating when things like this take a long time 

You may have already tried this. 

Try posting a 1 star review on the OVO Trustpilot site.

They always seem to reply in a couple of days and ask you to  Private Message some details. Seems to work when normal channels have been frustrating. The OVO staff who monitor Trustpilot have access to your account. 

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ovoenergy.com

I would simply be factual and ask for help. That seems to work. 

You can also post a link to this thread if you think it might help

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-account-140/why-are-ovo-avoiding-refunding-the-credit-that-has-built-up-on-my-account-10953

I assume you already tried entering the meter readings in the actual OVO website?

Let us know how you get on. 

Hi @sidpotato

You probably already know or have tried all this, so just FYI in case in might be useful for you or anyone else. 

1. You should be able to request a refund on this page

https://account.ovoenergy.com/payments/refunds

2. You can ask OVO to freeze your direct debits for 3 months at a lower rate, this might help if the balance is still increasing.

3. You can check what OVO think you will use over a year at any time. It is the Future Annual Consumption figure on this page on the website not the app

https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan

This figure automatically comes down over time if you start to consistently use less energy. However this can take some time and no automatic system is perfect given the wide variety of usage patterns we all have. 

If you have any more specific queries then feel free to ask in case any of us can suggest anything else that might help. 

Thanks for your comments, Tim. It is the full story. I have provided meter reads, photos of meters and a copy of my bank statement (not entirely sure why this is necessary but I did as requested). These requests were made by Ovo at different times. The account is in my name not my deceased mother’s so your bereavement  guide is not appropriate at n these circumstances. 
On returning from being away, I expected that the refund would have been made in accordance with the timeline that Ovo had previously advised. When I tried to enquire about why the payment had not been received I have experienced very poor communication at Ovo. It is not possible to speak to anyone at Ovo who has any authority to deal with the matter. 
I have already requested help with this but have effectively been told to go away and wait until Ovo feel ready to respond to me. Even the generic email that I received one time told me not to email more than once! 

Ovo’s behaviour here is the same as I have experienced from people that owe my business money and can’t pay or won’t pay. In this case Ovo are also using their power to make it even more difficult. Realistically they know that there is nothing I can do to recover this money without incurring expense or wasting lots more time.  

At a time when people are struggling with soaring energy bills, and difficult personal circumstances Ovo are creating more stress and anxiety.

Another day has gone by and I am still waiting to hear if Ovo will pay the refund ….

 

Hi @sidpotato and thanks for the update. 

I’ll get the Forum_Support team to contact you now via a private message. 

Just a heads up that I did combine your topic with an existing one yesterday, which may have prompted those email notifications. We do this every few weeks just to keep things organised to help people find the right information.