I'm leaving OVO...

This is so funny (not funny). I have left OVO - actually happened today and noticed my Indra app has automatically unlinked the OVO tariff. The car is still registered but not linked to any provider at the time being. I need to activate the octopus EV tariff first. 

I noticed the OVO charge wallet credit and account have closed immediately, I also got an email about the EV charger cover cancelling as well. 

Loved OVO and the ease of OVO charge but I had a few shocking interactions and refusal of a credit refund. So had enough. Sad really 

Ah, so you did nothing, and it all 'just happened'? 

Maybe I should stop stressing if that's the way it goes.

I just want to avoid getting into that twilight world where you can't register your charger with a new supplier because it's somehow still linked to your old supplier but you can't unlink it from your old supplier because they're not your supplier anymore etc etc etc

As it happens, I am also in the process of moving from Ovo to Octopus. Not, in my case, because of any particular problems with Charge Anytime which has been working fine for me, even if my Ohme charger is not supported. I linked CA directly to my Audi and it has worked as it should for the last 6 months or so. My main reason for moving was that Octopus’s EV tariff is not quota-driven like CA; with CA I either had credit left (such as when I went on holiday) or did not have enough - this month I had used my quota in the first week. I also have a solar panel and battery setup so it’s a combination of CA fixed quotas and tariff choices. 

Anyway, be aware that based on my experience there is an interval during the switchover when you are still getting electricity but from Octopus rather than Ovo, but Octopus cannot immediately get access to your smart meter. That means that you cannot sign up for any tariffs apart from your chosen main supply (fixed, variable, whatever) and for that “up to 14 days” (according to Octopus) I cannot get paid for all the energy I am exporting or get cheap-rate overnight charging. I was able to use all my CA quota and public charging credit just before I switched, though!

Thanks for the reminder about decoupling CA from the car, though. Not charger in my case, but my CA account now has my car deleted just in case for when I am able to restart with Octopus.

Hey ​@MikeyB,

It's a bit bittersweet to see you go! While we’re going to miss having you as a customer, we’re really excited for you to explore something new. Just a quick note: even if you're leaving OVO, you're always welcome to stick around on the Forum! We've got a great community here, with members from all suppliers coming together for support.

I reached out to the Charge Anytime team to get tips on making this transition as smooth as possible for you, and they had some great advice:

• If you're on a monthly plan, just a heads up that any remaining credit, like public charging credits, won’t be cash transferable.
• When you leave, the Charge Anytime bolt-on will automatically cancel.
• To make sure everything is unlinked properly, head over to 'Account/Devices' and remove any added devices. Next, go to 'Account > Account Information' to unlink your energy account. Finally, scroll down to delete your account. Once you've done that, you can go ahead and delete the app!

I really hope this helps! If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out. We wish you all the best with your new supplier!

Hi ​@Chris_OVO , thanks for the info. All much clearer now.

Like I say, it's a pity to be going, but OVOs price hike to 14p has made it inevitable I would once a suitable alternative came along.

There are now a few other smart charging products available,  and I've settled on one (EDF Smart Charge) which I think will do the same job at a much lower overall price. 

I hope I'll be back when you become competitive again! 

Update on my switch to Octopus.

Service was taken over on 17th September, the 30 min meter readings didn't start coming through until 18th September.

At that time I was able to add the Octopus intelligent Go tariff. 

Then I had to connect my car/charger to octopus, the setup failed a couple times but this was due to polestar app having a schedule active. Once I removed all schedules from Indra app and polestar app, it required a Boost charge (20mins) for octopus to authenticate and set a smart schedule. 

So last night charged at the office peak rate at 8p. All in the switch took 5 days from submitting on 14th, switched 18th and charged 18th-19th. So no down time really.

You are a lucky man! My official switchover date was 9th Sept and here we are on the 19th and Octopus tell me that they still cannot get my half-hour smart meter readings. Had to do a full-price EV charge last night. Can't really complain yet as their official statement is "up to 14 days".

Hi ​@Peter E , interesting comments from you regarding charging costs and times around the market. I'm not sure you're really right in your assertions...

I'm moving to EDF because they've made their charging - via their Smart Charge bolt-on - almost as convenient as Charge Anytime. In principle it offers cheap (6.66p per kWh) charging slots during the day in addition  to a long (7 hour) cheap rate overnight slot. I plan to try this out as I prefer daytime charging - I like to know what's going on!

Add in the fact that the whole house benefits from the cheap rate during charging, unlike Charge Anytime, and there's the potential for significant further savings.

Yes, they hike the base rate up about 3p per kWh to compensate, but that's a relatively modest increase.

Like I say, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. But it's hardly the scenario you describe - quite the reverse, in fact!