High estimated bills but the property is empty?

stupidly i didnt take any opening readings, as i was told smart meters didnt think it was needed.  never at any point did ovo when i spoke to them about the electricity not updating did they bother to say the gas meter wasnt working at all or i could have then, several weeks ago.

will ask land lord but i cant imagine they will respond, or actually have.  they have not been helpful in anyway hence giving it up after 2 months.

Hi @mark2410,

I can see we already have a lot of good information regarding your situation on this thread. If you don’t have access to the opening reads for the property it’s difficult to challenge. Are you able to reach out to the Landlord/Letting Agent and ask them for a copy of the tenancy agreement? This may show the meter readings as they normally will keep a copy of them for their own records. If you can get this our Support Team can raise a read dispute for you. 

I have included a handy article on our live Billing platform for you which gives more information - https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-account-140/ovo-energy-live-billing-platform-and-monthly-summaries-what-do-i-need-to-know-5148?tid=5148&fid=140

Please keep us updated.

If you had an inventory done when you moved in the meter readings should be noted on there. 

got escalated and they came up with a manual adjustment that was far more realistic, im sure ive still wildly over paid but less ridiculously so it is  now over and done with.

thank you for the assistance all

Nice to see a pragmatic attitude.

Unfortunately if you you don't have the proof (on either side) then the best that you can do is reach an acceptable to both compromise.

It may not be the result that either side would like. but without proof then what else can you do?

Hi @mark2410, 

I’m glad to hear that you reached an amicable resolution. I appreciate you taking the time to update us 😊 

Hi.

I was just checking back my usage and noticed a huge electricity surge when I was asleep and nothing being used to cause it. It was charted just before and around midnight as we entered into April 1st. Seems odd! Anyone else had this? Thanks.

It’s worth double checking on your readings as it might have been an estimate. These can sometimes appear with or without a smart meter. 

Can you say what was reported as being used compared with what you would normally use during that time? Be aware that the graph is not necessarily accurate and it is the reported data values which is important. Thanks

It was just a huge spike, off the scale, probably within an hour time-frame. Normally, nothing or very little shows at that time as nothing is on. I'll check back again though. Thanks.

In addition to Peter’s remark about the graphs, I’d mention that there is a fault in both the day usage bar charts and data tables during summertime. I’ll be writing about this elsewhere, but in brief: the first hour’s data, labelled 12:00am and 12:30am, are misplaced. The Usage quantities actually belong at the other end of the day. The ones that should be there are in fact shown at the end of the previous day.

If this is what you’re seeing, then the spike showing at midnight 31/03-01/04 could well actually be from midnight 01/04-02/04, e.g. if the immersion heater were switched on at bedtime. I something like this a possibility?

No. I am fast asleep. Boiler comes on when I wake. Nothing would be being used or running at that time.

Hi @Technophobe 

Have you been able to check out the meter readings section to see if it was an estimated spike, or was it based on actual meter readings?

It’ll be helpful to know if the spike was based on actual readings or not.

We’ve also got some really helpful topics on similar issues that may be of use to you:

Took on the tenancy of a council flat recently.

there is a substantial outstanding balance from previous tennant. (Also ovo). I’m still trying to sign up and submit meter readings from when I moved in.

tried twice online, estimated 55 a month for a small one bed flat, confirmed everything and even put in bank details for direct debit and when the supply starts, then that’s it, radio silence since.

I phoned customer service and they tried to sign me up and are now quoting 400 a month for electric, presumably because of the previous tenants estimated bills, I’m out all day and would be lucky if I spent 100 a month so to quote this and try set up a direct debit for 400 is ludicrous.

its surely not right that I am being estimated off the previous Tennents estimations since they probably never submitted a reading.

dont really know where to go from here, any advice anyone?

thanks

Hey @Kmann, 

I spoke to one of the teams dealing with the change of tenancy, and they advised me of this. The supply direct debit will be based on the previous 12 months' usage, so if there are any issues with what happened during the last tenancy regarding estimated billing, they have ways to work around this. They can set a manual direct debit amount at sign-up, and because this would conflict with the direct debit values based on what it is estimating, they can process an exemption form, which would stop the direct debit from reviewing for 3 months. During this time, they would ask that you submit your monthly readings if you don't have a smart meter, as this would allow the system to access the new usage it's seeing. 

This can only be done over the phone, so if you call them and explain the above, they will know what you're looking at. They are closed today for the bank holiday but will be available tomorrow on 0330 303 5063 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm)

Let us know how things go and if we can offer any other advice. 

Thanks so much for this!

I’ll phone them tomorrow and try explain what you said and hopefully discuss a more realistic monthly debit. 
 

cheers

Sounds good to me @Kmann 🙂 

Please let me know how the call goes!  

I am a landlord and my tenants have bought to my attention a sudden and unexplained increase in the usage of both fuels to coincide with them going away for about a week. On return, they still remain 2 to 3 times higher than before. The boiler and both meters are less than 2 years old.

Any idea what's going on?

There’s not much information to go on here @nodrogsbboh. Is there a smart meter installed? If so the 30 min readings can help to determine what level of energy is being used which in itself could help to identify what is using the power. 
Failing that, you would need to monitor the meter while switching circuits off and on to see what’s connected. 
Of course, we have moved into the winter cycle which will use more energy anyway. 

There is not enough information there for anyone to tell, so guesses are all we can offer at this time.

To start with:

It would be odd for both fuels to suddenly have an increased usage at the same time.
I suspect that it may well be what they are being asked to pay that has increased rather than the actual usages.

So the most important thing to start with:
Have you checked that your tenants metered usage has actually increased like they say that it has?
ie Have they/you actually checked the meter readings and compared them to previous readings?

That should tell you if it is actually their usage that has increased, or if it’s what they are being asked to pay that has increased.

If as I suspect the metered usage is about the same and it’s their payments that have increased:
Has their previous billing been based on actual meter readings, or on estimates?

How do they pay their bills?
If they pay by direct debit then is it their DD payment that has increased?
There are various reasons why that can happen.

Has their tariff changed?
eg if they had a fixed rate tariff that ended without them renewing it then they would automatticly be switched to the Standard Variable Tariff, which costs more.

They say that it started while they were away.
When did they go away? Was it when energy prices went up at the start of October?

If the metered usage has actually increased:
Has something changed, eg. the boiler/heating being turned on for the winter, or the timer being set so that the heating is on for longer, or even set to be on constantly and not on the timer?

Have they got any new/different appliances?

A remote thought - Was anyone else in the property while they were away, did anyone else have access to the property while they were away?

They went away on the 26th October and came back on the 3rd November. From the 27th the usage started to increase 2 to 3 fold for both fuel types. I have seen their phone app to confirm the daily increase is not a mistake or imagined. They assure me they have not changed their habits at all. The gas increase in usage seems to be a little more than the electricity!

Sorry, but you have still not made things clear.

Being honest with you, trying to get information 3rd hand like this is not ideal.
You don’t have access to their billing or account, and so you are not going to be able to give the information needed for us to work out what may be going on.
It would be better if they joined here themselves and so could then give us the answers and information needed,

When you were/are looking at the app were/are you looking at the usage figures in kWh (and/or cubic meters for gas) or were/are you just looking at the cost in £ ?

The cost in £ can sometimes show an increase even when the usage in kWh hasn’t increased.

Do they have smart meters?

But assuming that it is in fact an increased useage and not an increased cost, then the fact that it appears to have started just after they went away could be telling.

It raises questions such as:
Had they meant to turn the heating off and turned it to constant instead?
(BTW Is their heating gas or electric? Is the boiler a combi boiler? Do they also have an immersion heater?)

And again- was anyone still in the property, could anyone have accessed the property after they had left, either with or without their permission?

I’m sorry that the information I have is limited. As they are foreign students who have only been in the country 2 months, I said I would try to help. The property was completely empty while they were away and nothing was left on. Ordinarily, the usage should have been almost zero in these circumstances, however their app shows a marked increase in the number of kw used which is still the case.

I thought there might be a simple answer that somebody else had come across. I will contact OVO on Monday to try and solve this mystery.

Thank you for your responses!

Which is one reason why I was asking if someone may have got in without their permission.

All in all then I think that it would be best to have things checked out, and maybe even a meter inspection may be called for.

(I’m reluctant to mention the possible worst case scenario here, but as a Landlord I’m sure that you will be aware of the problems with cannabis farms being set up in rental properties, and while those guys usually bypass their own meter entirely they don’t care where they abstract power from and tapping into a neighbours supply while they are away may suit them well).

Thanks for the suggestions. Obviously I need to investigate further as no simple explanation seems to explain what is going on!