I had a new smart meter fitted by Ovo late November only because of the £150 incentive! Any idea when this will be credited to my account?

Can you give details of this incentive? Where did you see it advertised?

I received multiple emails from OVO with this offer and when the fitting date was arranged over the phone, I double checked I’d be getting it and I was told yes it will come off your bill. It hasn’t though yet

@Hils0305 Could you post the text of the email, leaving out any personal information?

Also can you tell us the dates of the emails?

Hey @Hils0305,

Are you able to take a screenshot of one of the emails, not including personal information and I’ll ask about this internally? 

Hmm… Interesting…

To me, that looks like a rather clever way of encouraging folks to keep their appointments active - timewasters who constantly cancel their appointments can be a real headache, but a £150 bonus for letting OVO do it first time seems tasty.

I suspect it’s not advertised because it’s only used during very specific conditions - though these are just my own thoughts.

The £150 may have been a last minute push in 2023 to meet the ofgem target. It will be interesting to see if they did any better in 2023.

OVO were well short in 2022, hence the Ofgem fine due to being 230k installation short of the Ofgem target.

OVO had less than the National average of smart meter customers in their last published report.

Definitely an area for improvement.

Hi, currently in rented property supplied by OVO and never had a smart meter. We're moving to another rented property and information I've seen so far, regardless of which contract we opt for requires us to have a meter. We've never had or wanted one, is this something which OVO will discuss or 'take it or leave it'? Cheers. 

Does the new property already have a smart meter?

No it doesn't. 

I am not going to try and convince you to have a smart meter.

1. Suppliers are allowed to offer tariff that mandate you have a smart meter. My first fixed tarrif with OVO few years ago did that. That is within the OFGEM rules. Obviously I can't see all the tariff you are being offered by OVO so can't comment on the terms and conditions you are reading. Speak to OVO directly if you have any specific queries about the list of tariff they will offer you

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help#contact_us_container

2. You will find some tariff from all suppliers with conditions around smart meters..This will become more common over time.

3. If a traditional meter breaks or is end of life when the meter is replaced you can't turn down a smart meter if that is all the supplier is able to offer. There is very little stock of traditional meters left. That is within the OFGEM rules.

4. Suppliers are given targets for the number of smart meters they have for their customers. If they don't meet the target they are fined. Ultimately this is likely to cost customers money.

Is the new home already supplied by OVO or by another supplier?

Hey @Mark Robinson,

There are tons of benefits to having a smart meter installed. Not only will it means you no longer have to submit traditional meter readings every month, you can take part in grid balancing schemes like power move or power move plus, they’re a vital tool helping us de-carbonise the energy grid on our journey to Plan Zero.

They can also help you save money! 

If you had a faulty meter, or your traditional meter required recertification the likelihood is it would be replaced by a smart meter, as that is what’s being manufactured now.  

Hi, spoken with OVO and all sorted now. Thanks for the replies. 

Hi,

Can anyone help with how to get PAYG electricity key for a smart meter, please? We moved in the house with PAYG electricity key two years ago. Two years of trying to get this changed and still no success. I keep calling the customer service, but every time they tell me random reasons why they can't change this. It's always different reason and they are never able to explain in detail, when I ask for explanation rather than just an answer that we can't get a smart meter in our house. It's very frustrating.

We work full time and live in rural area. There is not even a shop to top up the electricity key in our village. We have to drive to top up. It would be so much easier if we could top up online or ideally had a monthly/quarterly bill, than having to worry if we run out of electricity. Although it's a rural area, there are new houses being built just next to our house, so I don't think there is a problem with connection. 

One of my many tries to contact the OVO customers service, the person on the phone told me they will book a date to install a smart meter. They were meant to call me back with the date. They never called and when I contacted them, they said they can't change it. Very strange and I keep getting different reason for why we can't get rid of the PAYG electricity every time I contact them.

I'll be grateful for any advice or experience if anyone have been successful in getting PAYG electricity changed. Thank you. 

I think you should try a different tactic instead.

Try asking to go directly to OVO Pay Monthly. It’d put you only a monthly bill and eliminate top-up issues. If accepted, you’d be migrated over to OVO PAYM and upgraded to Smart Meters in the process.

Hey @KriO 

One of our volunteers have left some really helpful advice here already for you.

Our Support Team will be able to help arrange this with you. Let us know how you get on.

When smart meters first came out I arranged a visit to my home to install one but when the installers came they looked at my existing meter but said they would be unable to fit one as my pipes were too old or not suitable (the house is 1936) and it would be a major and probably expensive job to make right.  They said they would report this but I never heard from them again.  Since then, due to new gas pipes being fitted in the road and my drive the gas contractors removed my gas meter to my garage.  I am repeatedly asked to have a smart meter installed but the same problem exists particularly with  my electricity which is still under the stairs.  Not sure how to address this.

Hi @charlierigby, 

I'm sorry to hear this.

Are you able to provide pictures of your meter set up so we can try to advise you further. 

Hmm… I can only take a wild guess here, but could the existing pipes be an unsuitable material and/or diameter perhaps? I’d need to see photos to have any chance of figuring this puzzle out though.

“Wrong pipes” is an odd one, but possible if they were/are old steel pipes, which have different sizes than copper pipe and different connection fittings.

But even then there should be options, and as you say the meter has been moved then I would expect that it's now piped with copper. (And probably a different, newer, meter).

As said, a poto is invaluable in working out what is there and so possible options.

PS  What's the distance between your gas meter in the garage and your (presumably smart) electricity meter under the stairs?