Erroneous Transfer

A couple of questions: are all of the meters for the block in one place? Are they labeled correctly with the correct flat number? How do you pay for your energy? If you have a bill, the number of your meter will appear on it.

An electricity meter number will, usually, be two numbers followed by a letter followed by seven numbers. THIS IMAGE DOES NOT SHOW MY METER - it is one I have borrowed from a smart meter information site. 

The number on your meter and the number on your bill should match. 

It is really important that you check this. Check back as far as you can to see that you have been billed for the correct meter.

You say this has happened before, how many times? When?

Contact OVO in writing so you have a record explaining this and previous similar occurrences and the distress, time and inconvenience this is causing you. 

Ask them directly why this keeps happening and what they can do to prevent it happening again.

Mention your previous conversation (did you get the agents name) and the fact that this should have been sorted when you first pointed out the error.

The CAB should be able to help you structure letters if you are not confident and provide additional guidance and if you don't get a satisfactory response from OVO in a reasonable timescale you can take your complaint to the ombudsman.

The most important thing is to keep copies of all correspondence and names, dates and times of any conversations. Importantly ask them why this keeps happening and what they are going to do to prevent any further occurrences.

And don't let it cause you any stress, it will get sorted.

Thanks for your reply. Each flat has its own meter, located independently within each flat. My meter numbers were all ratified after the last erroneous transfer. I am an old SSE 'THTC' customer, and my last 'resolutions specialist' from OVO said that a smart meter would identify with my meter only etc.  So WHY as soon as any renter within this building leaves that my supply is affected???? I know the Utilities Database is an issue. Instead of flat A,B, C etc, they locate individual flats as 'ground floor right' etc. I don't know if it is a scam among renters to deliberately give the WRONG location within the building, so that they evade a final bill and another customer (ie me) is chased for the outstanding utility bill, and they are long gone.  The first time it was so bad that I had Baillifs at my door demanding payment for a £900 gas bill, trying to pressurise me to pay.  I DO NOT HAVE GAS! So this is how ridiculous it can become. Ultimately I took my proof and paperwork to my local MSP and he had to intervene. Utilities Representatives sit on the Scottish Executive, and I believe my MSP went straight to them. It stopped immediately and OVO had to try and assist me. If OVO hand it to Debt Collection they stop talking and insist upon payment of bad debt. It sounds almost fraudulent to me. There is Utility theft or gross mismanagement somewhere. Is anyone aware of national scams going on to hijack a neigbours indentity to defraud utility companies?? Finally, this did not happen when Meter Readers were employed. I had no issues then. 

You say that the other 5 flats are mainly inhabited by “renters”. Do you know if they are all actually owned by the same person?

I wonder if the other flats are managed by a company on behalf of the owners and that they have a protocol where, when someone moves out, they get the supply, temporarily, transferred to their name?

However, there is no way that anyone but you, your local supply network and OVO should know the number of your meter. I would still advise you to check that the correct meter number appears on all correspondence and bills.

In the meantime, since this is a recurring problem, I suggest that you contact OVO and initiate an “official complaint”. You will then be assigned a complaint number and someone will be assigned at OVO to look into your complaint. Supply them with as much past history as you can, including your bailiff experience!! OVO will then have 56 days to resolve your complaint. After this, you can escalate it to the energy ombudsman. 

Hey ​@Srd02601 

I’m sorry to hear about this, an erroneous transfer can be tricky enough to navigate so I’m really sorry this is a forth erroneous transfer, that’s not something I’ve seen happen.

The other community members have raised some good questions about the overall ownership of the building, I’m not sure if these are details you’ll have access to or knowledge of but it might be helpful to understand who, if there were no renters present, would actually be responsible for this/the meters.

If there’s one overseeing landlord or letting agency for example, this might be helpful in getting a resolution between all renters as it sounds like the national database is also causing issues here.

We don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum, so we can only try and give our best advice based on the information you’ve provided here so far. It does sound like a tricky and complex situation, especially if others moving out continuously causes an erroneous transfer on your account. The following topics may also be helpful:

If this is the forth erroneous transfer as a result of another tenant in the building moving out, it would suggest to me either an issue with or incorrect meter serial number or supply number that’s causing a mix up, or perhaps an issue with the addresses not being laid out correctly, if someone else is giving the same address when moving out. As I say, it can be hard for us to tell exactly from the Forum what’s going on without access to account details. 

I’m going to have one of our metering specialists look over your thread tomorrow when they return from bank holiday.

Do let us know how you get on.

Thanks for all replies. I have done a bit of a deep dive into this. I think the issue is the Utlities Database. This tenement was probably built approx 1897. At that time they had gas lamps in the stairwell , (very relevent). If you were standing in the street, looking up at the building you would notice that my flat was the middle floor and on the left hand side. However, the Utilites Data describes my flat as ' first floor right'.

The database has to use legacy historical records that are full of antiquated terminolgy ie 'ground floor right', 'first floor right', 'top floor right'. These are derived from the Land Registry  and Utilities have to comply with infrastructure rights that are centuries old. The terminolgy is enshrined in law, access, ownership and liability!!!! They cannot use Flat A, B, C etc as they are not in the deeds. I own my flat and the deeds only refer to my flat as 'first floor right'. The A,B C is more for identification for the postal service. People who rent flats around me have no way of knowing about the Utilities database!!!! 

I think it is confusion rather than fraudulent activity. A previous erroneous transfer, was from a flat downstairs at the opposite side. She gave her location as 'first floor right', but that is my location in the building, but she is on the right hand side and many people refer to the ground floor as 'first floor'!!! So when she moved on after her tenency, my supply was affected through confusion more than malice. 

Its like a clash of cultures, late Victorian terminology meets 2026. A nightmare for Utility companies to navigate, as the database HAS to go with what the infrastructure was described over a century ago. 

The left/right issue makes very little sense. But you have to be standing IN the building facing the street, to give the location, hence left flips to become right. Nightmare stuff. Something to do with lamplighters whose job was to go around tenements lighting gas lamps in stairwells!!! Very confusing. 

I am still in contact with OVO for the next stage. This is a bit of a history lesson! Another question when you terminate your supply with OVO do you have to give your meter number???? I notice you can do that on the app, through AI, don' know if that makes a difference. Later blocks of flats won't have this issue. Probably only for properties over a hundred years old. 

That’s quite amazing really ! How about putting up a floor plan near the street door marked up with the olde world names alongside the postal A and B version names. Then all the tenants can see. You could put a copy or note through everyone’s door too, so everyone (literally) knows where they are !

I think that is probably a good idea! 

Hey ​@juliamc ​@Srd02601,

I think it’s a fantastic idea! It would really help everyone understand the confusing layout of the building and hopefully prevent any future mix-ups.

I live in a quaint little estate that has its own share of layout quirks. When you first enter, the road to the left leads you to the “Gardens,” while the right road takes you to the “Groves.” The Groves where I live are split into two sections: one side has the odd-numbered addresses, and the other side has the even ones. This can be a bit tricky, especially when you're walking around, since there’s an odd-numbered building right across from me and i'm also odd numbered.

We were having a lot of trouble with wrong deliveries and missed packages. It was getting a bit frustrating! So, we decided to have three signs installed. The first one simply directs people left for the Groves and right for the Gardens, and the other two point to the odd section and even number section. Since we put those signs up, getting deliveries has been a breeze! Several drivers have mentioned how much easier it is to find places now, which is great to hear. It’s amazing how a few signs can make such a big difference.