Historical bills changing without explanation?

Apologies for the confusion. 

I don’t know if this helps at all, but you can usually specify the dates of bills you’re interested in when downloading. For example,  https://smartpaymapi.ovoenergy.com/bast/bill/nnnnnnn?from=2023-09-22&to=2023-11-21 might retrieve one of your missing bills after you change nnnnnnn to your own account number. It won’t if the bill really has been taken down, though. 

Hello

I received a very brief email saying

“I’m Chaitrali, a billing agent here at OVO. I’m getting in touch today to let you know that because of an error on our system, your bills were missing some charges. I’m very sorry about this.

We’ve fixed the problem and your energy account has been updated with your latest balance.”

I have now downloaded a copy of every bill I have ever had and compared with my own copies taken over the past 3 years. It appears that in Sept and October 2022, OVO incorrectly calculated the cost of my gas usage and brought forward the wrong balance from my previous statement. They have now changed every monthly bill I have had since to reflect the change to the invoices in 2022. I cannot believe that this is legal as surely they would have to raise a credit note and then re-issue the invoice and advise me of this. 

Fortunately for me it it is a small amount of money but if everyone elses invoices have been changed it will make an enormous difference to OVO. 

Can others please check to see if their invoices have been changed?

Regards

Bob

Not sure they can do this according to Ofgem

Interesting. I too have a similar experience dating back to 2022 where a ‘technical error’ has necessitated OVO closing my old account and opening me a new one. On porting over the balances of my past bills from the old to new accounts they seem to have calulated using unit prices based on  ‘On Demand’  instead of ‘Direct Debit’. It makes a couple of pence difference per unit but calculated over 2 years it’s a significant loss for me. After nearly 8 weeks it’s still not been sorted.

I asked one of the 11 (yes eleven!) representatives I have contacted as to whether there was some sort of system change in 2022 and that I wasn’t the only one having problems but was told  no changes and it was just my account… I’m not so sure, Smells a bit like The Post Office.

Definitely. Everyone should check past invoices. Good Luck!

Hey @bobsheppard and @Kilgore,

I’m sorry for the issues you’re having, 

This is our backbilling process, let me know if the following information helps:

What is a backbill?

We send a backbill, or ‘catch-up’ bill, when we haven’t charged correctly for energy use. This can be through inaccurate bills or not being billed at all. Backbills can be for any amount, and may be a result of:

• A technical or human error on the customer's account has resulted in a delay in receiving a statement within the usual timeframe
• The customer has supplied a reading that exceeds the previously estimated readings used in their statements
• There is a discrepancy between the information OVO has and the current meter setup, such as crossed meters (where multiple properties have been billed for each other's usage) or a meter exchange not updated before joining OVO, which requires a corrected bill to be issued.

What is a Backbill Write-Off? 

Where we've issued a backbill for usage over 12 months old, not covered by payments made at the time and the reason for the delay in this billing is not the customer's fault, we'll apply a write-off. This backbill write-off will be a credit applied to the account to cover the difference between the updated usages and the payments made at the time.

The main situations where we'll write off usage prior to 12 months ago are: 

• We haven't billed the customer
• We've billed an account but not for all usage at the property i.e. only one fuel was billed
• We've billed the customer inaccurately due to a technical or administrative error

Charge Adjustment Write-Off 

If we discover an account where we realise a customer's previous bills are incorrect this can sometimes mean we have to rebill a customer's usage that is older than 12 months. In these situations, once the account is correct and ready to issue an accurate statement, we'll look to bill the customer back up to date. However, for any usage over 12 months old (from the date we fix and statement the account), we'll need to review the customer's eligibility for a write-off.
 

12+ Months Write-Off

There are occasions where a customer hasn’t been accurately charged for a period longer than 12 months. Although we work hard to ensure this doesn’t happen we have a process in place to rectify this when it does come up. In these situations, once the issues that prevented us from billing are resolved, we'll look to bill the customer up-to-date. However, we'll need to review the customer's eligibility for a write-off.

If we find the charges of our write-off statement would not have been covered by the payments made (or payments leftover), we write off the difference. If the charges have been covered, following backbilling guidelines, we're not required to perform a write-off. Once we’ve added (or not added) a write-off transaction, we then run the write-off statement. Afterwards, we run an up-to-date bill to the most accurate reading available for the customer's usage within the last 12 months. 

Ofgem rules

You can also read Ofgem's explanation of the back-billing rules, covering these topics:

• What are the back-billing rules
• If you get a back bill
• If you haven’t had an energy bill in over a year
• If you can’t pay a back bill

Hi Emmanuelle_OVO

So let’s look at my issue, you said, looking at your response

What is a Backbill Write-Off? 

So I have not received a backbill or catchup I had to go through all my invoices to find the differences myself as no-one at OVO could tell me what the differences were and I am still waiting 2 weeks later to hear from your accounts department who obviously cannot cope with the mess that has been made. 

I did not have any delay in receiving my original invoices.

I did not supply any readings they were taken from the smart meter by you and they were accurate.

There are no crossed meters here, just the one, yours

Charge Adjustment Write-Off 

Yes you have done this but my issue is that I had to go through all my invoices to find and check the differences between my original and now revised invoices.

12+ Months Write-Off

You were not prevented in sending me an invoice for the periods that were incorrect and I missed that you had brought forward the wrong balance, however the calorific value change I would never have found

If I had bought something from a shop or online and the supplier gets the bill wrong this is their issue and they could not be able to come back 1½ years later and say sorry but I got this wrong. Are you going to come back and tell me that you got my bill wrong back in 2021 next and change all the bills again?

I need a letter from yourselves firstly sincerely and honestly laying out what was wrong with my bills. An explanation as to why this occurred would be good too.

I need a promise that you will never do this again on any previous bills from today without first consulting me and to be open and honest with me and not send an email that says we’ve changed your bills with no detail. 

Also, I have to ask what would have happened if I was no longer a customer?

Regards

Bob

I’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out, please keep an eye on your private messages @bobsheppard 

I recently contacted Ovo for help setting up the app, instead of helping me the assistant informed me of a debt on my account of over £2000 which she demanded I paid in full immediately.  
I moved into my property 10 years ago and requested a top up meter, there was no  outstanding debt at the property and none was put on the meter.  

When I queried how I was in debt? How they came to that figure? Requested a statement to show the dates, usage and anything else relevant to the figure, I was told I would get a call back within 2 days.  I received call backs from the bills department adamant I should pay the £2000+ immediately.  I ignored these jokers and contacted customer service again.   They were pleased to tell me I now only owed £370 and requested immediate payment of this sum. 
I have endured a total of over 7hours call time trying to get an answer to my original question.

What is this money owed on for? And from when?

so far I have had numerous contradictory suggestions as to what it may have been for but no accurate response.  Even the figures they throw at me don’t add up and change each time I ask. They refuse to show me anything in writing or explain how it went from £2000 to £300?? 
The only thing they are certain of is that this debt was allegedly from when I was SSE which I migrated from in around 2021/22. They aren’t even consistent on this date when I ask?! 
 my belief is that whatever they are saying is irrelevant as if this supposed money is owed from well over a year ago, and it’s only now they are verbally telling me I have a debt which has never been presented formally, the Ofgem backfilling rule bans them from charging it to me.

This hasn’t been of concern to Ovo though, despite me raising a complaint which still is not resolved, I was just told they added the debt to my meter a week ago and have already taken money from my recent top ups!! 
 

is this usual practice?
 

How long ago is it since you raised the complaint?

If it’s been more than 8 weeks then you can now escalate things to the Energy Ombudsman.

See “Step 3” of the complaints procedure:

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

If t  isn’t being explained to you  just how the charges being demanded have been arrived at then something doesn’t sound right.
The Ombudsman is good at getting to the bottom of things.

PS. The back-billing rule, which is now in the Standard Conditions of Supply,  is a lot more complicated than simply “no billing from before 12 months ago”.
In some circumstances billing for periods older than 12 months is allowed, like I say it’s complicated.

It’s been 8 weeks, I will contact the ombudsman, just don’t understand why I should have to?  The amount of effort they put in to being difficult, avoiding direct questions, using parliamentary non answers and downright lying to me, far outweighs how easy just sending me a statement, or even articulating where they got their figures from!  

What if I had paid the £2000+ sum they were bullying me into hanging over?  Would they have sent me a cheque a week later when without explanation the sum they were hounding me for became £370?? 

How is this behaviour not a criminal offence? 

The ombudsman can only recommend to them what to do, and it’s clear Ovo’s shareholders don’t care how badly they treat customers.   
7 hours on the phone, the time it’s taken to write all this, and just to then have to take it to an independent adjudicator?? If it’s that complicated for them, they shouldn’t be allowed to trade!! 

is there not a way of talking to an executive or someone at a level who can understand what I’m saying, and actually answer a simple question or have authority to take any action to rectify problems?  

 

Morning ​@Daveneill 

I’m sorry to hear of your recent experience - really not good to hear 😣.

If there’s currently a debt balance on the account and you’re calling the normal Customer Services line, then you may be getting redirected through to our Collections team from the sounds of things. My advice is, if you currently have a complaint over eight weeks old then you need to be getting in touch with the Complaints team. If you’ve been sent a complaints reference number then you’ll have a Complaints Handler dedicated to your complaint. You can contact the Complaints team via feedback@ovoenergy.com. More info about our Complaints process can be found here.

If you have traditional Pay as You Go meters and debt has been transferred across onto them from the previous supplier, then this must be assessed. Please do get in touch with our Complaints team about this and ask for the debt to be assessed by the Back Office. 

I hope this is all solved for you soon!

​@Daveneill 

I’m guessing that the people you are talking with cannot explain it because they themselves are just seeing a figure and not where it came from.

The Ombudsman ‘Directions’ are binding on a company, it is not binding on a customer.

I practice either side could ignore the Ombudsman findings/ruling and if they want to then go to court.
Personally I’d regard that as flogging a dead horse, a court is extremely unlikely to overturn an Ombudsman ruling.

It can all take time though, the Ombudsman has to collect evidence from both sides and way up what has probably happened, then rule on/direct how they should put things right.
The parties then have to act on that ruling/direction.

PS. I’ve just been through similar (with a different supplier) from my last flat, a very long story which I won’t repeat here.
The Ombudsman agreed with me and ruled their attempted charges invalid. - However that particular supplier was being extremely awkward, simply ignoring the Ombudsmans ruling/directions for over 18 months.
Each time they (or a debt collection agency) contacted me I simply kept informing the Ombudsman service that their directions were being ignored, and after repeated ‘pokes’ from the Ombudsman they have now eventually complied with the ruling.

PPS. If you are now, or do in future, get Debt Collection agencies contacting you then my advice here tells you how to deal with them effectively and shut them up:

I appreciate what you’re saying ​@Nukecad, it’s just frustrating and also insulting that we are put in the position where we have to go to all this extra effort, pay so much of our time and attention just to end up having to involve 3rd parties, just to avoid these big company’s stealing off us. From my own experiences and what I have read that other Ovo customers have endured, I leads me to believe the refusal to give any straight answers and and lack of any effort to assist and rectify concerns is deliberate.  Every adviser I have spoken too used the same nonsensical rhetoric and seemed to thrive on wasting as much of my time as possible without any furtherance to my query.  
it seems they have been instructed to be as obtuse and belligerent to customers concerns on the hope we just roll over out of frustration and let Mr Buttriss and his board of greedy little piggies, steal from us! 

All telephone customer services are the same, in any organisation, and not just the phones.

(Try dealing with the ‘enquiries’ at the DWP if you really want to waste your time, I never phone them unless I really, really, have to).

It is not because they are being deliberately awkward though.
It certainly isn't personal (unless you start swearing at them), it could not be more impersonal.

They are trained and instructed to never admit that they don't know the answer to your questions.

Which means that when they don’t know then they have to try and come up with some kind of semi-plausible bull**** answer instead.

It frustrates you and it frustrates them.

A simple, clear, "Sorry I don't know and don't know how to find out or who to pass you to" would be better all round, and would let you move on to making a complaint - but they are not allowed to say that to you.
(In some cases they can get a demerit/reprimand for admitting that they don’t know, or even sacked if they do it repeatedly).

Like most things once you realise, and understand the reasons behind, what is going on then it becomes easier to deal with and to work around it.

This may be an old thread, but still relevant. Just like to OP, I have downloaded bills, only to then later log in again to find the bills for the same periods have all changed in value.

In my case, after the initial downloads, I submitted a meter reading. It seems all the bills have subsequently been ‘adjusted’ to new values. If I hadn’t download previous versions, it would be nigh impossible to be any the wiser.

Now adjusting the bill for a new meter reading may be expected …. but EVERY BILL going back TWO YEARS has been adjusted. Today it is July 2025 - all bills going back to period ending June 2023 has been adjusted/amended. Of course over those two years I have left other meter readings and made payments.

Is it even legal to adjust bills that far back ? How can OVO re-assess bills despite having had meter readings in the mean time, and payments made ? Shouldn’t a payment ‘close off’ earlier periods, so no adjustments can be backdated beyond ?

I run a business - when I receive a bill (invoice) it is for a fixed amount - it doesn’t just decide to later adjust itself to a different value, let alone go back years past. OVO’s bills are actually some weird hybrid of an invoice and a statement - which should be, and are, for most businesses two separate documents - and is not really a bill, as it just lumps sums the previous period on it as a running total ; and the months before that ; and the month before that ; & etc.  This is a terrible way to charge people. Have an invoice for the period in question. And a separate statement showing the running total, like every other real company I’ve ever dealt with. Not merge them together obscuring when adjustments have been made to past bills. TWO YEARS of amended bills !!

And this isn’t the first time its happened with OVO either. I actually dread leaving a meter reading, because I know all the bills going back God knows how long will magically have new values, including ones that have had meter readings previously submitted (effectively therefore overwriting those readings ; what is the point of submitting if it later is just scrubbed ?).

Morning ​@Yeti and welcome to the OVO Forum.

I’m sorry to hear of what’s happened here - I can fully understand how frustrating this would be, especially if you’re running your own business. 

Do you have previous copies of the older bills which prove that they’ve been recalculated? It sounds as if maybe a reading wasn’t submitted for a very long time, which would mean that you’d been billed to estimates which were out of line to your usage - I’m not sure whether this is the case? If a read is submitted and it’s out of line with our estimates then we would recalculate previous estimates so that everything falls in line. This can mean that your statements will be readjusted. 

On the Forum we don’t have direct access to customer’s accounts. My recommendation here is to make a complaint. The Advisor that picks it up will then need to log a complaint and give you a complaints reference number, and will contact you with a view to getting this resolved, and explaining what has happened. By all means keep us updated on the Forum as to how you get on - I hope this is resolved quickly for you.