Transfer of ownership rights and generated funds from solar panels following house purchase.

Hey @callum cruickshanks,

I’m really sorry to hear this,

Was the previous change of ownership with your old supplier successful? Did they confirm? 

Yes they have confirmed?

Thanks 

I purchased my property in October 2022 which had solar panels included in the sale. The previous owner had a FIT agreement with OVO so I completed the change of ownership form and sent the relevant supporting documentation. After 2 months I received an email saying there was missing documentation could I provide this. I done this and sent it back and heard nothing for another 4 weeks then got an email again saying there was missing information. This time I called and the girl on the phone told me what I had to do. I asked her was this the last thing I had to do and the reply was yes the application will now be processed. About 6 weeks later i got another email saying information missing. So I called again and again I was told this is the last bit and the application will be processed. I never heard anything for weeks so I called and they said the application was on hold because of missing information. They couldn’t tell me why and that there hands were tied all I could do was wait. A few weeks later I got an email saying I need to re do the application. I called again and was told I took more than 30 days to respond to an email. I then went through every email I had received and responded to on the phone. He said he would escalate it for me and further raised a customer complaint. This was in November I called again in December and was told they couldn’t tell me anymore and that all it said on the ticket was they would be in touch by the beginning of January. I have heard nothing. The FiT team on the phones are useless they can’t give you any information and they can’t put you through to anyone who can. They claim to have no contact thereslves with anybody else. It is the worst customer support I’ve ever came across. It’s now 2024 and I still haven’t managed to get the application sorted. 

I have spent months trying to complete a change of ownership through the Fits OVO team  (originally the SSE Fits Team)- I am in exactly the same situation as many other seemingly. My transfer took place on 25th July 23 & nothing has happened despite hours & hours of calls to South African call centre specific emails etc.
I am now (having made a complaint on 13th Dec & received no proper response ) awaiting 8 weeks to complain to the ombudsman. 
I would like to know if there is anything further that can be done as this team are answerable to no-one seemingly.
I am a property solicitor....& have provided everything that was required!
To whom can one escalate this issue?
Thanks very much

Hi Dibbles,

If it’s any consolation you are not on your own. We are in exactly the same boat.

I guess you problem is that you ara a NON SEGS customer and on the FIT’S Tarriff scheme as we are. It appears OVO do not want to integrate such customers into their system as it doesnt fit their “Backend system” so won’t provide a means to add export readings to your OVO account page. 

Like you we were migrated from SSE and the procesas has been underway for over a year and is still not resolved. 

Your best action will be to bring the Ombudsman into play and eventually we may be able to get OFFGem to review OVO’s  FIT licence maybe. WE are totally fed up with the whole situation, have been overcharged for power consumed and still do not have a method to recover VAT owed to us for energy we provided to OVO. 

They claim to be interested in Green Eergy but are alieanating the very people who provide it.

IT’s A shambles and no one on this Forum can help as it is not de rigeur to add complaints here it seems! 

We have said before that this forum is not for complaint handling. If that’s what you’re after, please step this way.

Also, if you think OVO’s FiT/SEG License can just be revoked… It can’t. OVO is a mandatory FiT/SEG Licensee, so the only way that license can be revoked is by revoking OVO’s entire supply licenses.

Thank you Colin for your reply. It speaks volumes.

There are many who have had & are still having the same problem over what should be a very simple administrative process that is likely to take minutes to complete.

It seems whomever I contact there absolutely no capacity to take responsibility; deal with matters & certainly no procedure or protocol that is based in factual reality.

It is another couple of weeks before I can bring the Ombudsman into this ludicrous situation. I have given the team every opportunity to resolve this simple transfer of ownership, such a waste of everyones time & resources.

As you suggest, the many who will inevitably have to take the same route will highlight all of these failings

Thank you Blastoise186 - I have already submitted a complaint on 13th December to which an automated response suggested a a resolution within 2 working days. I have received nothing further not even a case number.

Dibbles,

thank you I just wanted to share with another in the same boat. You apparently can Elevate your concerns to “Chief Executive”, Ramans office, Tim@ OVOcan give you the details, I did this but got no response. so may not work! 

Apologies to Blastoise186, as when I first raised the issue on the Forum the responses I got were not Helpful, I had by that stage exhausted all avenues of complaint, as Dibbles has done, so turned to the Forum to see if others were having problems. There seems to be a fear on the Forum that it will sink into some sort of Morass if people air their complaints.  I always understood the title “Forum” meant a place to air ideas, interests and subjects of concern of it’s members, I believe this is the definition given. 

As for OVO’s Licences being revoked, I am not saying this is an aim, but I understand Offgem does have the power under the act to do this if a company does not meet it’s financial obligations.

Would Offgem have the Teeth? Who knows, but it is feasable.

The Statement about OVO not wanting to add an Export box so that customer could add their reading because “it did not fit with their backend system” was a response to one of your own Ideas so why are you not surprised there are disgruntled customers in your midst.

The Customer Forum is for customers to have their say and so it should be, Other customers can add their experiences  to strengthen and ammend the discussion. I am sorry if this upset you as it is should not be  any customers intent to upset anotherand it was not mine. It seems we may have to differ however on the intention of the Forum, It is after alll a tool of the company for guaging the customer base as well as a cosy fireside chat place. 

As For OVO being interested in Green energy, I am a High use customer in the winter, BUT a medium sized Solar supplier throughout the summer producing well over 30,000 Kwh of cheap to OVO power all for a small amount of administrtion on their part. Is it too much to be asked to be treated with respect?  

Can I ask whether it’s a transfer of ownership that’s in question here, or is it a question of who manages the FiT payments without any ownership question?
 

I'm guessing it’s the FiT management scheme that‘s falling short here, but just wanted to be sure?

The details of the individual customer grievances do not really matter to other customers.

Where OVO have failed and are still failing, is that they will not engage.

There are many of us who were “migrated” to OVO after their Takeover of SSE, We all originally were sent welcome packs that told us “nothing would change” Well everything has changed, we are now in a worse company for discussing our needs than we were with SSE and they were not particularly good either.

The Migration has been underway for over a year so when it eventually happened there was  an expectation that it would in that time had have the issues ironed out. 

Will it improve? at the current rate it will not and a good number of disgruntled customers will no doubt Move on. There are some who will say good riddance, but remember good folk when companies get this belligerent towards their customers they are at the top of a slippery slope to self destruction. Believe me in my working life I have seen it happen a few times and it aint pretty for all those involved!