What is OVO’s complaints procedure?

Had difficulty complaining, because every time I visited the page that tells me the process, I was immediately redirected into the web chat I had been using. Maddening. I just wanted an email address to send my complaint to. I rang up and they told me to use trustpilot. I don't understand the process because I stil can't view the web page. I somehow found the address complaints@ovoenergy.com and sent it there. The telephone person raised a complaint for me. I put it on trustpilot too. Still have no idea whether any of this will get linked up... Or responded to.... I still cannot view the complaints process page. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback works for me. I can’t find an issue?

If you’re on your phone, can you see a little minimize button ( — ) in the top right-hand corner of the chat window? That should get rid of the conversation and reveal the page beneath.

If you can’t, which phone and browser are you using? 

Does the advice from our Community Members help @Patient1? 

Hi 

can anyone advise if OVO provide actual answers to questions raised in a complaint email / letter? 
 

when I moved into a property 2022 I found out my meters both gas and electric had been registered against my neighbour. After a period of months and me proving the meter numbers etc this was  ‘rectified’ 

About 3 weeks ago my balance shown on the OVO app went from £130 positive on a Friday to MINUS £990 the next day. Just completely out of the blue. 
 

I raised this and was told it was correct. However I noticed on my OVO app my electrical serial number was correct but the pdf bills had started to reference estimated bill based on the neighbours meter again. Very odd especially as they are with British Gas and not OVO. My meter is also correct on the national database. 
 

I took the time to write an email asking various questions  on how this happened and how it was even possible after a year but all I seem to be told is ‘it won’t happen again’ via a phone call 

£10 was offered for the I convince and to ‘close the complaint’ 

im just wondering will I ever get the questions raised in the email and letter I sent to the complaints dept or will this just be classed as a ‘technical error’ 

no one seems capable of telling me why after a year I was getting charged for the wrong electrical meter again al of a sudden  , and how OVO can ‘assure me it won’t happen again’ when they don’t know how it happened is baffling 

it’s really disappointing to be treated like this when I pay my bill via direct debit every month , OVO should not stress people like this then be unable to answer why it happened 

also when a customer takes the time to write a letter asking specific questions they should have the decency to atleast reply covering the questions raised 

Hey @callumrust,

I’m sorry for the issues you’re having,

I’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out, please keep an eye on your private messages.

Hello all,

wonder if anybody has any idea about how to get OVO to interact with me.

They fitted a meter for me at my home knowing full well that there was a solar system at the address but they fitted a meter without an export option.

Now the fits team simply refuse to interact with me on this case. I keep ringing them and they waste my time on the phone but produce no resolution at all.

I have a complaint ref no with OVO and a ref for the fits application which was registered 5 weeks after the initial email I sent them that they have completely ignored.

Every time I have called them they know nothing about my emails and have to find them again - which they do - so they are literally just ignoring my emails.

Does anybody have a magic way of getting OVO to actually interact with there customers and resolve issues with meters and fits application ?

Cheers

Martin 

I have an update …. I called OVO again and was put thorough to the fits call center who this time told me that the ref no I had from them from last month has no information attached to the ref no !!

So they have now attached the email to the case ref and I await with baited breath some form of response from them !

It just gets better …. I was given a number in the UK for OVO complaints 0330 102 7400 so I called that and again explained my issues - sat on hold for 10 mins while the very polite lady looked into the issues - she put me on hold and I fell back into the South African Call center and was answered by somebody who I was just the next call for.

The SA call center has no way of escalation past the person that answers the phone so I’ve raised another complaint about being thrown around the call centers. 

Just spend another hour on the phone trying to actually get to talk to somebody who can or wants to try and help with this issue and got nowhere

So far the only person I have found who sounds like they care is Crystal in Managment squad 48

But she’s impossible to track down. 

After an hour on the phone there phone system cut me off …..

I can’t believe I actually signed up with these people ….. and I can’t believe they are still being allowed to trade...

Hi @martin123 

I’m really sorry to hear about all of this.

I’ve replied already on the thread below, but our Forum_Support should have sent a message over to you:

I have an SEG account with OVO which was set up over a year ago. A year on I’m still not receiving any payment as there is clearly problem with the  first meter reading and I keep on being told that the subsequent meter readings are too low. I also keep on being asked to send photographs of the meter reading but this does nothing to resolve the problem.

As well as long telephone conversations I’ve now written to complaints and subsequently to the CEO but have absolutely no response.

Also my reminder e-mail from OVO takes me to a web page which has no facility to enter the SEG meter reading. I getting to the point where I’m going to involve OFGEN and possibly write to the Guardian. The latter are regularly reporting OVO inefficiency and *Edited by Mod*.

I’m really sorry for the negative experience you’ve had @richard45, it’s a very frustrating experience.

I’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out, please keep an eye on your private messages. 

Forum_support have indeed PM’ed me for some details which I’ve provided 

Interestingly this is yet another way of talking to OVO but I haven't worked out if it’s been off shored or not …. 

I do have the advantage that I have three complaint’s logged at the moment but they are always handled by somebody who can’t be contacted.

The logical way to push all this forward as a customer is to wait till 6 weeks have gone by and then refer the whole lot at OFgem … it takes a lot longer but it does get the provider to actually address the issue. 

This comment was left by a Forum Volunteer

The Forum_Support method is manned exclusively by UK based staff. As it happens, I’ve actually met pretty much all of them - three of them in-person - and they all know me well. They’re considered the A-Team when it comes to getting stuff resolved and have a pretty high success rate.

They only respond to Forum members who have been referred their way. If you try to talk to them for any other reason, chances are they won’t reply.

Thanks.

all of a sudden it all seems to have been resolved. Let’s see what happens when the first SEG payment arrives.

Hey @richard45 

Glad to hear that’s all been resolved now.🙂

Feel free to pop back to the Forum anytime if you’ve ever got any other questions or tips to share with our community.😊

Indeed it’s odd - I’m now being bombarded by people telling me how sorry they are and directing me to pages on the web site that tells me how to complain about the complaints process …. All I actually want is for them to fit the correct meter to my property - if they put 5% of the effort they put into telling me how to escalate my complaint into actually fixing the issue then the whole world would be a better place - I feel quite sorry for the Forum_support people as they must really suffer on a day to day basis at the hands of the people in OVO who are meant to actually be doing the work. Still I’ll hold faith and lets see if the forum_support people can actually fix the problem ….

Hi I’m not a customer ,nor never will be after my experience with this company, somebody with same name as me,who lives in a different part of the country ran up a big debt with ovo and for some reason I received an email which I queried as I wondered what was going on,and they started chasing me for this debt,I went to the energy ombudsman and ovo agreed this wasn’t my debt,and awarded me £200 compensation and I received a letter saying as much, fast forward nearly 12 months and I’m again receiving letters saying I owe money,and threatening me with court action,I’ve rang them that many times now and all I get is the same scripted let me escalate it for you and nothing ever happens,I am now at my wits end with this company and just don’t know which way to turn 

Hi,

I’ve flagged this for Moderator attention. Please wait for a response

This kind of issue with debt thankfully happens very rarely. It is of course not limited to energy companies and hopefully OVO will resolve it for you. Sounds like they never recovered the debt from the party owing and hence the case has been reopened.

I suspect OVO will be able to resolve this as the ultimate outcome would be going to court. Sounds like you have evidence to prove you are not responsible so could be costly for OVO if they were to pursue this route.

I would recommend that you check your credit rating just in case a bad debt has been registered in your name. My suggestion would be to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau with the details of your case and let them help you clear up this mess and prevent any collateral damage to you. Don't delay in doing this.

Always be polite to the people on the phone.

You should say to them, or preferably say by email or in writing, that the ombudsman has already resioved the matter in your favour. Quote your previous ombudsman case number. (It's on your account at the Ombudsman portal).

That should immediately stop any more demands being sent.

I would then give time for any already sent by post demands to be delivered and if any are received after that take legal advice/action for ‘harrasment’.

PS. I have been in a similar situation and advise that you also stop talking to people on the phone, they do not have all the facts and will just give standard answers.

Instead insist that any further contact is by email or letter (where you also have a record of exactly what was said). It also gives you time to calm down after reading it.

if anyone should then phone you, and you answer them, then politely insist again that all contact is in writing and not by phone and politely hang up.

Hey @Schoie61,

I’m really sorry for the issues you’re having, 

I’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out, please keep an eye on your private messages.

Hi there anyone else have problems changing from pay as you go meter to a pay monthly and getting cut off as it’s not set up!!!! 
my parents have been cut off power twice now as OVO can’t seem to set this up properly for them,my dad always pays everything on time and never been in debt,he’s just simple being told he’s on pay monthly when he’s obviously not!!! 
they keep telling him he’s all set up on pay monthly but when his pay as you go meter runs out they get him off!!! 
 

you try phoning the help line and letting them know they live in a situation where it’s an emergency but they don’t care and are completely useless with operators just repeating themselfs on phone like a robot telling you to press A and B on your meter,even though you tell them it’s not working,they just repeat it 20 more times as that’s all they say until your stressed and upset!!! 
 

im sooo angry that this has happened twice to my parents and my poor dads been on phone 20 times trying to sort it out and make sure things are ok so that there not cut off!!! 
my mum has severe Multiple sclerosis and is bedridden and wheelchair bound,she has all sorts of medical equipment,inflatable mattress and electric roof hoists and this is not acceptable that they continue to tell them over phone that it’s all set up now for pay monthly then once emergency meter runs out they switch off power again!!! 

we’re at our wits end and the stress it’s causing our family we need help as can’t seem to get any over phone,they need power to keep working as they live in an emergency situation I’m soo upset!!! 
 

Diane.