This is the Ofgem information regarding back-billing https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules

Hey @Beverly24,

Really sorry to hear this,

I’ll get Forum_Support to reach out. Please keep an eye on your private messages.

Hi all

Long story

had a smart meter installed august 21. Never worked. As no signal to meter. Ovo never resolved. 
checking account and noticed no consumption being charged. Informed Ovo. They were aware billing has stopped and trying to resolve (Feb 22) .

Nov 22 - still no resolve  

keep checking app, providing manual meter readings, paying the amount as instructed by Ovo app  

1/8/23 - account is in credit by £1000+
7/8/23 - receive bill for over £4,400  account in debit. Checked all bills. Tarif changed from 37p to 76p - should be on 37p (2 year fix and protect until April 24).

does anyone know how this is possible? Have tried to resolve over webchat but they can’t help. All the bills I have received from May 2020 all have a generated date of 8/8/23.

please help/offer advice. I think Ovo are trying to resolve back dates bills over 12 months old can they do this? Can they change my tariff to resolve this??

Hi @tesh1981

Sorry to hear that shocking experience. No issue should take since August 2021 to resolve. Blimey that is 2 years!

I will flag one of the ovo moderators to see if they have any comments before I post some comments. 

Thanks Jeffus. 

Unfortunately whenever you open a bill, it shows the current date so unless you save a copy locally it will not give you a definitive date of posting. 
If like some of us you think that’s not right, there’s an idea posted on the subject

Hi. 
that’s the thing - I have had a bill showing consumption usage since May 2020

Sorry that’s “haven’t had a bill…”

There are Ofgem rules on back-billing

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules

Thank you for that. I did read up on that. But playing devils advocate here - I think Ovo have changed my tariff (doubled it) to counteract the fact they haven’t charged for consumption for the year 21-22. For this year the bill is £4,400. Isn’t the price cap supposed to stop prevent this? 

Put the price cap to one side for now (that’s based on tariffs not total cost), if you have a fixed tariff, they can’t change that arbitrarily 

I am (or was) on a 2 year fix and protect which ends April 24 at 37.45p now it’s shot up to 76.41p. 
 

Ok - it’s good that you still have your original info. They have to use this. If Jeffus has tagged a moderator, let’s see what they suggest. 
 

Hey @tesh1981 

Sorry to hear about all of this, let me have our Forum Support reach out to you to see what they can do to help with this.

Look out for a PM here from the team soon: https://forum.ovoenergy.com/inbox/overview 

Hi there

my dad is 77 and lives by himself on an island. He has went downhill and has been in and out of hospital and is now in a nursing home closer to me. 
I have been sorting out all his bills which he kept up to date but just realised he had never set up a direct debit for his electricity as he would always go into bank monthly when bills came in. 
I have just realised he never got a bill from ovo in over a year so has paid nothing. They have just sent a bill after my husband phoned them with every bill since January this year as I recently paid oct22-dec 22 when it came in last month. 
he has racked up a bill of over £2000. I know he has used this but had the bills came in monthly he would have kept on top of it. Is there anything  can do about this or has anyone been in this situation?

I am just angry they never sent any bills or came out for an actual reading.

Sorry to hear that. 

1. Did he use to receive paper bills in the post and these stopped for some reason? 

2. Was he one of the people who were transferred from sse to ovo? 

3. Do you know if he was signed up for the priority service register and meter readings? 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/priority-services-register

You could look at the back billing rules to see if they apply. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-energy-back-billing-rules

Hi there - I wonder if any mods can help.

I have sent numerous emails to complaints at OVO but have not received a response.  I am being chased (backbilled) for energy usage in 2022 despite not receiving the final bill until over a year later (Mar 24).

It is now being passed to a debt collection agency so I’m likely to have to contact the energy Ombudsman to ask for a deadlock.

I have supplied a link to this very thread on all communications I have sent and asked to be contacted via email only as the documentation may be needed that can’t be elicited from phone calls.

OVO appear to have plenty of capacity to chase the debt but zero time to resolve the complaint.

I wonder if this forum might be of better service.

Cheers,

Ben.

Hey @bendyb, 

I’m really sorry for the issues you’ve been experiencing trying to get a response, that’s definitely not the experience we want for our customers.

I’m going to have our Forum_Support team reach out to you so they can look into this further.

Look out for a private message here soon: https://forum.ovoenergy.com/inbox/overview.

Has anyone else left OVO then two years and two months later had a final bill demand that they’ve never seen before or heard of?

I was one of the unfortunate SSE customers first migrated to OVO. No asking me, no choice ,my personal info was simply handed over.  In March 2022 I started to receive non-sensible bills from both companies and on trying to resolve matters was told by both SSE and OVO that they could not help me as I was a customer of the other.

Fed up I the signed up with 8 legged marine creature in March 2022. No problems , life was great.  Jump forward to May 2024 when OVO started sending texts and phone calls saying I owed £337, no explanation, it was a ‘final bill’ and I hadn’t paid it. The phone caller was unable to verify who they were so I suggested they send a ‘real letter’ to prove they weren’t scammers as they were in Africa.  

A letter arrived in May referring to a letter with details of the units etc used many years ago and sent the previous week. No such letter had ever arrived. I wrote stating that they could not bill me years later according to OFGEM rules and blocked the 3+ calls and messages a day that started to arrive. I tried to call OVO but was put on a loop with autopay services. I eventually managed to get a customer representative having written twice to OVO recorded delivery and having had no reply. 

They said they had my letter (not done anything about it) and a final bill had been sent years ago according to their screen. I pointed out as did my letter that if they screen was in fact correct (which I do not believe it was), that no company would chase up an unpaid bill years later, maybe three weeks or less not not two years. 

I felt sorry for the girl on the phone in South Africa but she referred to my getting calls from the debt collection agency and I said that as I’d called her on the number that called me it was no agency but OVO calling. 

So much nonsense. Am I the only one in this crazy situation? 

I have had similar with another supplier trying to bill a long time after I left them with nothing in between.

In the end when they wouldn’t listen to me, and I started getting letters from debt collection agencies, I took it to the energy ombusdman.
The ombudsman agreed with me that the 12 month back billing rule applied, and directed that they stop trying to charge for billing that was first issued more than 12 months after supply.
In my particular case there were 2 months that they were entitled to charge for, but they just dropped it altogether. (or rather they went completely silent and I haven’t heard from them since).

I suggest that you may have to do the same here and make a complaint to the ombudsman, it isn’t difficult to do.

The suppliers are obviously aware of the back billing prohibition, so IMO you have to assume they are hoping that you aren’t aware and will just pay.
(Though why they then keep trying after you tell them that you do know they can’t justifiably charge I find harder to understand).

PS. If your are getting contacted by debt collectors, or start to be, then I posted some advice here about how to shut them up: How to deal with a debt collector when you dispute the alleged debt.

Thanks, I will do that today, 

Hey @bt2024,

I’m really sorry for the negative experience you’ve had,

I wonder if your account was affected by a meter readings dispute:

This topic may be helpful to you:

Keep us posted with how you get on.

Good evening .My pay as you go key meter went blank after a power cut about 6 years ago .I've contacted Scottish power  over 10 times and was told everytime that an engineer would call to fix it ..I had 2 days off work and both times the engineer didn't arrive. ( I received £30 voucher both times) as time has gone on I've had people call to read both meters (electric and gas) they've noted the electric meter is blank and assured me someone would be in touch to repair it .

A few months ago I received an estimated bill going back a year from  ovo saying as the meter wasn't working I would have to pay £1200 for the last unbilled year .

There was a 16hr power cut at the weekend and the meter has started working again when the power was restored .I paid the £1200 and have started topping up using the key again. 

I was told today after giving a meter reading today I owe £4000 as the last reading was very different from what it is now 

I was under the impression I could only be billed for 12 months if I hadn't received any bills due to the meter being faulty ( I live alone and currently use around £60 to £70 a month. )

Can they still demand £4000 for the last 6 years ? I'm confused 

Hi @Ellgar70 , the Ofgem back billing rules are shown here

There is normally a 12 month timeframe but there can be exceptions, so it’s best to check. 
Also do you have the last bill with an actual reading? If so check against the latest reading to see if it makes any sense.