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.

Thanks for reply, couple of points:

1. If old account has to be closed just to change name does this mean fixed plan ends and so 'new' Account holder has to renew on new rates (which are a lot more given recent world events and only going to rise further!)

2. How would OVO handle having to close one account and open another so as to just change account holder name when bank account, email, phone and address details are unchanged? Bet this would cause a system melt down which I'm sure would be a pain to sort.

3. Assume winter fuel allowance etc are triggered by dwp, so provided they have been notified of death then no risk of these being credited to account of deceased.

4. As I have always paid account, issue of being held liable for any prior bills is irrelevant, incidentally account is always maintained with credit balance of £200 - £300.

Given I have always been bill payer and this isn't changing my situation seems closer to someone getting married, divorced and just wants name changed on the system (would these events also trigger having to close and open a new account)?

Rather than open a can of worms now,  think I'll just leave things until next March when current plans end and worry about changing account name or switching supplier then (if any are still in business).

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.

Hi @Norman - there are three entirely separate events which could prevent OVO responding as you’d like to your request.

1: Their internal Billing System is unable to accept modifications to the ‘set’ parameters once the contract is ‘live’. That’s a software issue and could be resolved at some future point.

2: They are constrained by the terms of their licence from Ofgem - the industry regulator. There are clear rules for handling customer accounts, and fines if the Energy Supplier is seen to be in breach of their obligations.

3: It is an anti-fraud measure, designed to prevent identity theft.

This third possibility is a serious problem for energy and water utility companies. I’m not going to explain here on an open Forum why or how fraudsters take this action. But it has happened to me twice due to lack of proper procedures by the (same) company!

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.

What to do if an OVO account holder passes away

Changes that may happen

If you’re already a named contact on the account or are taking ownership following the passing of a spouse or partner, we no longer require you to close the existing account. Speak to our dedicated team who will talk you through the steps required to get the account details updated.

If you’re taking over the account and you weren’t previously named on the account, you may have a new account created, with new online account login details and a new plan. Our dedicated team will make this process as easy to handle as possible as we appreciate that this may be a difficult time.

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.

Firstly, I’m so sorry to hear about your recent loss, @PGrimmett.

We understand that this is a really difficult time so it’s really hard to read about the experience you’ve had contacting the OVO Support Team recently, This is something that I will be passing on the team as I appreciate it’s not been the level of service we strive to offer our members who are contacting us following a bereavement.

As it’s tricky to give more general advice here without knowing the full status of the account and the migration, I’d like to investigate things a little further for you. I’ll be arranging for us to collect some details from you via a Private Message here. You can access and respond to this message by heading to the top right-hand corner of any forum page.

Once again, I’m sincerely sorry and hope we can put things right here.

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

Hi @carron sorry to hear about the situation. Perhaps this link will help

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/bereavement

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. 

Hi @Tania , so sorry for your loss. Although there are comments on closing and opening a new account, this update might be helpful from one of the threads

There are specific routes for communication with OVO in these cases if you need them. 
There’s an online form https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/bereavement and a dedicated team on 0330 175 9683 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm) or email bereavement@ovoenergy.com.