How do I change the name on an OVO account following a death? - all other details unchanged.

Good morning @Norman .

Thanks for asking this one, I think I understand what you’re asking about here. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong though.

Generally, if you need to change the account holder, the best way to do so is to close the existing account down completely so that the previous account holder is fully disassociated from the supply account and then opening up a new account in the name of the new account holder. This can usually be done via the Moving Home feature in MyOVO, but the Support Team can help you out if you get stuck. This is also the fastest way to handle this task.

The biggest reason for this is to ensure that the new account holder is not held liable for the actions of the previous one, such as paying off the bills from the old account (for which the previous account holder remains liable for if there’s still a bill that needs to be paid off). I think it also makes sure you’re not accidentally claiming things like the Warm Home Discount if you’re not eligible yourself but the previous account holder was.

I believe OVO has a very good process for handling bereavement and the Support Team can assist with closing down accounts and settling the bills if the account holder passes away. They can also make sure that any marketing preferences are fully disabled as well, to help reduce the amount of letters and emails that are sent out. I’ve also located an existing answer which may help you.

As for the DWP, the Tell Us Once service can be used to automatically notify most government departments and the local council in one go, by notifying a single entity which will handle the rest of the process on your behalf. It can’t be used to notify private companies like banks or energy suppliers, but it can make sure that things like benefits, tax credits, passports and driving licenses are cancelled in one go. Each organisation that subscribes to the service will then contact you with further instructions if needed.

I hope this answers your question, please let me know if you need help with anything else.

No worries, I can try to answer some of those points based on what I know. However, the Support Team is probably able to advise you more accurately than I can based on your circumstances, since forum volunteers can’t access your account.

1. I think there’s two options available. The Support Team can either help to close the account completely and settle the bill (which can also trigger a final refund if there’s anything left after that) or you can take over the account completely. Doing the latter option may require you to take out a new plan, but the Support Team can discuss your options so you can decide on what to do. They’ll be here to offer you as much help as you need, so please feel free to talk this through with them as much as you need to
2. This shouldn’t be a problem in the majority of cases, but OVO is pretty good at fixing issues that crop up. I suspect the fact that MyOVO has full support for multiple accounts on the same email address might help as well.
3. Yes, that should be the case. Tell Us Once will make sure the DWP is notified along with almost all other relevant government departments/organisations and the local council. If anything gets paid anyway, I think there’s probably a way for you to arrange a repayment to send it back - I know there’s definitely a way to do this if you want to voluntarily repay benefits that you don’t want for any reason (such as if you decide that you don’t need the money anymore and want to also cancel the benefit)
4. That should be fine then. As long as the bills are paid that’s the main thing.

When it comes to name changes, the only cases that I can think of which don’t require a full account reset (i.e. closing the existing account and opening a new one), would be things like you changing your own name via a deed poll, getting married/divorced or basically anything where it’s still the same person in every way except for them changing their own name (like changing their own surname from Smith to Johnson for example). If a different person intends to take control of the account and the existing account holder is no longer going to be on the account, this usually requires a full account reset. There might be other edge cases, but I don’t know of any that I’ve not mentioned.

Thank you for comments. Given hellish few months and all the problems existing and new customers report on this forum and social media about ovo systems and procedures I've decided easiest thing for me (and that's all I'm concerned about) is do nothing and continue to let the account run and administer as I have for last x years and worry about changing name on account next March when current plan ends. 

No reply needed, happy for this matter to be closed on forum posts.

My mother died in November last year and we have had issues with the account since. We contacted SSE and after giving the correct details to access the account over the phone we were put through to OVO, giving the same details, but we’re told they were incorrect. Having explained that mum had died we were asked if she was sitting next to us. 
To cut a long story of incompetence short, we have phoned numerous times as they will not deal with emails, just constantly come back with ‘phone us’, and still they are saying we are in debt and owe them a lot more money than we do. We have made a payment which apparently does not show on their accounts but is on our bank statements. 
We have finally been able to get the account in our name but every time we contact them nothing is sorted.

Frustrating to say the least and adding insult to an already difficult time for us all.

Any suggestions on where to go now would be gratefully received, I have already said we are happy to go to Ofgem.

How do you contact ovo to cancel gas electric and phone contracts due to customer dying 

My husband has recently died and for some reason the online name on the account is his only although he has never used a computer and all the online details have been dealt with by me!  How do I get it changed to my name?  I have looked through the question and answers and the general  answers seem to be to close the account and open a new one and in this situation that makes no sense at all. I suppose it doesn’t make a lot of difference as I keep sending the metre readings as I have always done and deal with the payments as my late husband has not ever dealt with them.