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Can't get OVO to bill my electricity use following smart meter install

  • 10 February 2023
  • 22 replies
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M
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I had SMETS 2 smart meters installed on 21st December, so coming up for eight weeks ago. 

Meter readings for both the gas and electricity are showing up just fine on my account.

My gas usage is billing nicely (but I barely use any of that because I can’t afford to); but, despite submitting meter readings,  I haven't had a single consumption-based charge for electricity since they stopped doing (wildly inaccurate) estimated charges for the old disconnected meter on 9th of January. 

I haven't had a meaningful bill since November and my next bill is due in three days. 

I've spoken to customer services umpteen times, by WhatsApp and voice call, but they are as much use as a chocolate teapot and refuse to let you speak to anyone knowledgeable. 

I am trying to stay ahead by keeping my account in credit by what I THINK the missing charges should be, but I shouldn't have to do that, especially as I am disabled, living with multiple complex health conditions, cognitive impairment resulting from brain damage and on the priority service register. I have asked OVO to help me with working those charges out but they refuse point blank.

I am desperate for an accurate bill. I am terrified about the charges I am going to be hit with when they do finally get this sorted … I also need it sorting so I can get back onto Direct Debit, which isn't going to happen until I do get an accurate bill and a more realistic DD amount than the £170 (£5.59 per day, which is double what my actual average daily use has been during the winter) that OVO currently expect because they aren't working it out based on accurate billing.

Any ideas how one gets OVO to sort this mess out? 

If it isn't sorted out, the next step seems to be to simply refuse to pay anything at all, as is my legal right, until OVO makes a reasonable attempt to meet their statutory obligation to bill accurately; but whilst that might get someone to pull their finger out, it doesn’t help with the stress of outstanding unbilled charges.

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Best answer by Jeffus 13 February 2023, 10:47

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M.isterW
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What is your electricity meter reading? Does the reading on the meter match the figure on the app?

1992 4 bed detached house. Solar PV + battery, Zappi EV charger, Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP and i-life2 fan assisted radiators.... No gas 😊
M
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What is your electricity meter reading? Does the reading on the meter match the figure on the app?

Yes, the meter readings on my online account are accurate … they just aren’t charging me for the electricity (as you can see from the above photos … or rather they are giving me a daily charge for 0.000 kWh).

 

M.isterW
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Your usage is really low. 2kWh per day is less than 70p so I wouldn't worry too much about being hit with a large bill. I would be tempted to wait until the next bill, if it's only a few days away, and see what it says.

The figures on the app don't look right but you might find the bill arrives with the correct figures.

1992 4 bed detached house. Solar PV + battery, Zappi EV charger, Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP and i-life2 fan assisted radiators.... No gas 😊
M
Rank

Your usage is really low. 2kWh per day is less than 70p so I wouldn't worry too much about being hit with a large bill. I would be tempted to wait until the next bill, if it's only a few days away, and see what it says.

The figures on the app don't look right but you might find the bill arrives with the correct figures.

 

I do have VERY low usage - barely 2.5 units of electricity per day - because that is all I can afford - I’ve basically retreated to one room with a halogen heater I use in short bursts when I get REALLY cold - but the meter readings from the new smart meters are entirely consistent with my consumption on the old meters … the bonus being that I make a lot, relative to my consumption, on some of the energy saving events when I simply switch everything off at the fuse box/consumer unit for the duration ;)

The balances probably look odd because I have been paying extra in to keep a credit balance to cover unbilled use. 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Userlevel 7

Hey @MCH59,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

 

It can take 6 weeks to get a statement following a meter upgrade, this is because our systems as well as the national database need to be updated with the new meter details.

 

Also, if your previous meter was faulty, we may need to re-estimate your previous billing. It might be best to contact Support with an update as they’ll have access to your account.

 

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Jeffus
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Updated on 31/10/23 by Abby_OVO

Hey @MCH59,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

 

It can take 6 weeks to get a statement following a meter upgrade, this is because our systems as well as the national database need to be updated with the new meter details.

 

Also, if your previous meter was faulty, we may need to re-estimate your previous billing. It might be best to contact Support with an update as they’ll have access to your account.

 

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

We have seen this before recently @Emmanuelle_OVO . 

The poster sees the electricity smart meter readings on the meter reading page, but these don't feed through to the billing

We are seeing regular examples for some existing customers as well. 

Perhaps there are some edge cases where the Kaluza billing system needs  tweaking? Or some tweaked advice for the Support Team to give out to customers? 

There are examples on the forum if the Kaluza team want them. 

M
Rank

Hey @MCH59,

 

It can take 6 weeks to get a statement following a meter upgrade, this is because our systems as well as the national database need to be updated with the new meter details.

 

Also, if your previous meter was faulty, we may need to re-estimate your previous billing. It might be best to contact Support with an update as they’ll have access to your account.

 

It is 8 weeks since the meters were installed and neither of the old meters were faulty (as far as I am aware - they certainly weren’t replaced because of a suspected fault).

The meter readings are fully populated back to the date of installation, but none of the electricity readings have resulted in billing .. so all I am being charged is my standing charge. 

What may be relevant is the fact that the installer’s closing reading for the meter hasn’t appeared on my account, but that was only 1 kWh different to the manual reading I submitted first thing on the day he changed the meters .. and just in case that is the problem I have twice sent photographs of the meter swap card giving the meter serial numbers and his meter readings.

I am resorting to posting here because I simply can’t get anywhere with support despite weeks of pestering them. I have a case number, but nothing changes and the frontline people refuse to give an explanation and refuse to put me through to anyone knowledgeable.

Anyway, it is billing cutoff today, so I guess that is yet another month with a meaningless bill.

Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Hey @MCH59,

 

It can take 6 weeks to get a statement following a meter upgrade, this is because our systems as well as the national database need to be updated with the new meter details.

 

Also, if your previous meter was faulty, we may need to re-estimate your previous billing. It might be best to contact Support with an update as they’ll have access to your account.

 

It is 8 weeks since the meters were installed and neither of the old meters were faulty (as far as I am aware - they certainly weren’t replaced because of a suspected fault).

The meter readings are fully populated back to the date of installation, but none of the electricity readings have resulted in billing .. so all I am being charged is my standing charge. 

I am resorting to posting here because I simply can’t get anywhere with support despite weeks of pestering them. I have a case number, but nothing changes and the frontline people refuse to give an explanation and refuse to put me through to anyone knowledgeable.

Anyway, it is billing cutoff today, so I guess that is yet another month with a meaningless bill.

We have seen cases where the creation of a bill suddenly fixes the issues (it did for me), so let us know what happens. We have also seen cases where it hasn't. 

I don't work for OVO, i am just a customer like you. 

M
Rank

We have seen cases where the creation of a bill suddenly fixes the issues (it did for me), so let us know what happens. We have also seen cases where it hasn't. 

I don't work for OVO, i am just a customer like you. 

 

I hope so .. and yes, I realised you are one of the helpful volunteers, THANKS

. 

M
Rank

 

 

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

 

So, @Emmanuelle_OVO, this is the update. Finally got through to OVO by phone (having unceremoniously been  cut off twice whilst holding), only to be told that the case was closed last week (without so much as a word of notification or anyone bothering to check with me that it was resolved) because everything is fixed - which is a minor miracle because nothing has been fixed and the account is still as wrong as it was when I first reported the problem two weeks ago. 

Still no adjustments for the estimated readings from the last billing period and still not a single meter-based consumption charge for electricity on my account since 21st December …. and no consumption charges at all for electricity in the current period. 

They still refuse to transfer me to a supervisor or anyone who knows what they are talking about.

Diabolical doesn’t even come close to describing the level of incompetence at work here, but according to OVO customer service there is nothing at all wrong with this image:and any suggestion to the contrary is because I don’t understand … apparently:

 

 

Can’t wait to see what happens to my outstanding request to be switched to the standard Simpler Energy tariff instead of the Economy 7 variety .. as things stand I fully expect that to result in me being switched to PAYG or something like that .

Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
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Hi @MCH59 

You could just leave it and see what happens as you can see the readings, simply budget for paying at some stage.

OVO can only back bill you 12 months... 

There seems little point in speaking to the Support Team again. It is worrying the case was closed, something went wrong there.

Perhaps wait till the end of this week so it is definitely over 8 weeks since your meter was installed. Interestingly we have seen this response before, i wonder if the Support Team can see the exact same screens as you.

Then put in a complaint if you wish, wait 8 weeks if needed and escalate to the Ombudsman

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

You can include a link to this thread

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-account-140/can-t-get-ovo-to-bill-my-electricity-use-13904

You could post a 1 star review on Trustpilot at the end of the week. Again you could post a link to this thread. 

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

These often get picked up by OVO staff. 

Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @MCH59,

 

We don’t have access to customer accounts here on the Forum, so have to make suggestions based on the information provided.

 

It sounds like (from what you’ve said below) we haven’t received the engineering report from the installer which should contain the removal read of the old meter, the install read of the new meter and the new meter serial number. This would be why we’ve asked you for photos, on your new meter you’ll find the serial number near the barcode and there will be a yellow or white sticker with the removal and install readings. 

 

Once these photos have been received by Support, they get passed to our specialist team who will manually update the meter details. 

 

 

It is 8 weeks since the meters were installed and neither of the old meters were faulty (as far as I am aware - they certainly weren’t replaced because of a suspected fault).

The meter readings are fully populated back to the date of installation, but none of the electricity readings have resulted in billing .. so all I am being charged is my standing charge. 

What may be relevant is the fact that the installer’s closing reading for the meter hasn’t appeared on my account, but that was only 1 kWh different to the manual reading I submitted first thing on the day he changed the meters .. and just in case that is the problem I have twice sent photographs of the meter swap card giving the meter serial numbers and his meter readings.

I am resorting to posting here because I simply can’t get anywhere with support despite weeks of pestering them. I have a case number, but nothing changes and the frontline people refuse to give an explanation and refuse to put me through to anyone knowledgeable.

Anyway, it is billing cutoff today, so I guess that is yet another month with a meaningless bill.

 

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

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
M
Rank

Hey @MCH59,

 

It sounds like (from what you’ve said below) we haven’t received the engineering report from the installer which should contain the removal read of the old meter, the install read of the new meter and the new meter serial number. This would be why we’ve asked you for photos, on your new meter you’ll find the serial number near the barcode and there will be a yellow or white sticker with the removal and install readings. 

 

Once these photos have been received by Support, they get passed to our specialist team who will manually update the meter details. 

 

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

 

Hope this helps. 

 

Thanks @Emmanuelle_OVO 

No one at OVO has asked for those photos. I have personally taken the initiative to supply them to support, on at least two occasions, because it seemed logical to me that this could be what the problem is - and on both occasions support told me they had passed the photos to the billing team … but the billing team still closed it as resolved despite it not be resolved..

The notion that they haven’t received the engineering report seems a little implausible given that there are opening reads for both the new meters and meter readings are being received by OVO.

I’ll keep an eye out for the message, thanks.

M
Rank

A big WELL DONE to whomever today’s miracle worker was. Within the last hour all my electricity charges suddenly appeared and my totals for the current and last two billing periods have been updated 🤛

 

 

Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
Badge +2

A big WELL DONE to whomever today’s miracle worker was. Within the last hour all my electricity charges suddenly appeared and my totals for the current and last two billing periods have been updated 🤛

 

 

I suspect it may be the bill triggering that sorted it in some way. 

That happened with mine once, and we have seen it happen before.

Good news it is sorted. 

M
Rank

I suspect it may be the bill triggering that sorted it in some way. 

That happened with mine once, and we have seen it happen before.

Good news it is sorted. 

I suspect not - it was updated again long after the bill went to pending without any consumption charges. Either way it is fixed and it is a big relief.

T
Rank

Why does it take so long to fix a smart meter I have not paid for gas since it was fitted on 21st November 2022

Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
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Why does it take so long to fix a smart meter I have not paid for gas since it was fitted on 21st November 2022

Hi @taxijim33 

What did OVO say when you last asked them that question?

It is impossible for anyone here to know the specifics of your issue and answer. 

All i can say is that it isn't normal for it to take that long, what ever the issue. 

T
Rank

said they would try and solve it thats the 2nd time i asked

 

Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
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. 

T
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Issue is they have not resolved the issue electric readings not a problem bill is bang on gas readings are on my account but no bill for gas used

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