Solved

OVO over-estimated my usage - Will I be refunded now I've submitted meter readings?

Show first post

46 replies

D
Rank

There’s two meters.Daytime and off peak.OP went around the clock years ago.There’s no fault in the meter,it’s just a ridiculous estimate when OVO can clearly see they’ve never used 2763 kw in their lives!They have a teleswiitch controlling the OP meter.

D
Rank

The main meter is fine.The 3371 reading was the one I gave last month ,the 3443 is this month so they’ve used 72 units.The estimate is way out!No justification for it

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Thanks. This helps a lot.

Yeah, it looks like a few thousand kWh needs to be knocked off the bill and this might not be possible to fix with a manual reading that you submit yourself. But what I do know is that manual submissions via the Support Team override almost everything else. This may take some time to investigate, but once you make them aware, someone will get on the case.

I’ve just looked up some information about the meter setup you’ve got there and I recognise it now. It’s one of those rather complicated ones with a whole bunch of spiderwebs all over the place between the two meters and the Radio Teleswitch that’s hooked up to the OP meter. It doesn’t quite look like the most complicated setup possible as there are some setups which are even more complex. But it’s still not ideal to be stuck like this.

In actual fact, your meters are so old that it’s extremely difficult to find information about them on the internet. ABB seems to have sold off parts of their business to Elster which is muddying the trail a bit as well, but I did have some success. While yours are labelled as ABB E200 (alternatively the ABB J11B2A), there are matching identical meters under the Elster brand as well - the Elster E200 (alternatively the Elster J11B2A). And I thought Landis+Gyr were bad enough! It’s been years since I’ve seen anything like these.

To make things worse, it doesn’t even seem as if these models were designed to have any kind of Timeswitches or Radio Teleswitches hooked up to them either...

Upgrading these isn’t easy, not least because it requires some level of re-wiring in your house that OVO can’t do because it’s beyond the remit of the supplier. A friendly local electrician should be able to help though - they’ll need to handle everything that’s beyond the point where the supply reaches your Consumer Unit/Fusebox and also certain segments of the cabling between the meters and Consumer Unit. Most likely, they’ll need to re-organise everything to a less complex setup before the Meter Exchange can go ahead.

However, you’re in luck here. If you can post some more photos of your meters, the Radio Teleswitch and the Consumer Unit (along with a wide angle shot showing all the wiring between them), this will give us a very good picture of what’s going on. Transparent loves these sorts of questions.

I can also ask @Jess_OVO to see whether OVO’s Smart Meter experts can offer any advice on how to get an upgrade sorted out so that it works as smoothly as possible before another attempt is made. That might help to prevent another aborted upgrade as I can appreciate that it’s frustrating to be let down repeatedly. With the right advice however, there can be a higher chance of a successful attempt.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Jess_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

So sorry to hear about that out-of-line estimated statement you received on your parents account, @Davie1969.

 

I’ve moved your post over to a similar topic as the best answer may help to shed some light on why this might have happened. Occasionally if the EAC (Estimated Annual Consumption) figure that we have for the account is wrong, this will mean that anytime we estimate the usage this won’t reflect what’s actually been used. It’s worth checking in with the Support Team to see if they can check the EAC figure on the account.

 

The good news is that if you’ve already submitted an actual reading, this will correct any over-estimated readings,  and the balance should right itself before the next scheduled statement.

 

In terms of a meter replacement - understandably a smart meter exchange would be really helpful in ensuring we wouldn’t need to rely on estimated readings in future. Really sorry to hear that it hasn’t been possible to install one during your previous appointments. Without seeing the details of the account it’s difficult for us to advise on why this wasn’t possible here, our Support Team will be able to request the notes from the previous engineers visits, which can help us advise on the possibility of completing the installation in future. 

 

Let us know how you get on - we’re always on hand here to give advice where we can. 

Powered by Re-knowable Energy!
D
Rank

Now been 2 weeks(10 working days)since I emailed to discuss this issue.Still no reply.I put a complaint in.No reply.Shocking service 

Jess_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

I’m so sorry you’ve not heard back from the team about the over-estimated readings, @Davie1969.

 

If you haven’t already it’s worth reaching out to the Support Team directly to chase this one up. The quickest way to contact the team is via webchat - find a link to this at the bottom of this page.

 

Hope this helps get things sorted.

Powered by Re-knowable Energy!
D
Rank

Sorry..I can’t see a link for chat

Jess_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Sorry for the confusion, @Davie1969 - it should be the pink ‘Online Chat’ button you’re looking for -

 

Not always visible

 

This feature should be available Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm. If you’re still not seeing this option it might be worth giving the team a call on 0330 303 5063.

 

Hope this helps!

Powered by Re-knowable Energy!
D
Rank

I don’t see that option.I’ve called before then put on hold as they “don’t deal with that account “,then waited nearly an hour…no thanks

D
Rank

 

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Hmm… If that’s the case then there’s three likely reasons for the chat option not showing up. It replaces the Email Us option whenever it’s available.

Either:

  • Chat was closed for some reason (out of hours, emergency closure, no free agents etc)
  • You’re still on the legacy billing system. Apparently certain parts of the live chat won’t work if you’re on the old system
  • You’re using Safari on iOS - which is known for being weird. You might want to try another browser on a different device
  • Some kind of bug is preventing the Email Us button from being switched out properly
Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
B
Rank

Why are OVO trying to charge me for more energy than my meter is reading. On 4th July I was £807 in credit, on 5th July I was £996 in debit. Energy used on one day according to them is 23800Kwh my meter reading today is 13649. on my charges detail page, they say that I gave a reading of 11536, not me, I have never sent anybody any readings.

OVO are aware of this but are doing nothing about it.

It is one thing to have incorrect billing but it is another to have to deal with a totally third rate  customer service. I have spent about 30 hours trying to speak to people. Get fed up with trying to understand South African call centre personnel . When I eventually managed to speak to somebody that professed to be in UK, when I mentioned that OVO support was terrible and was the source of any error, she hung up on me even though she agreed that there was a serious error in my account.

Having read the customer service league tables on line, can see why OVO came either bottom or very near to bottom in almost every category.

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

OVO doesn’t use call centres in South Africa. Are you sure you’re calling the right number?

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
D
Rank
Userlevel 1

Same thing happened to me. Put back to simpler energy but exit fees taken - despite me cancelling after only one day into the 14 days cooking off period. Still waiting for my money to be refunded. I class this as theft! 

Tim_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Sorry to hear of any bad experiences when speaking to our Support team, @Bill Andrews. We need meter readings from you to have the best chance of billing you accurately. Could you submit this via your online account so your charges can be updated? I‘d recommend getting a smart meter to automate this. 

 

A call out on that disconnected call: At OVO, we take the health and wellbeing of our team very seriously. A heartfelt thanks to the people who treat us with respect and kindness. Remember, we’re here to help you – and we won’t stand for abuse of any kind.

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
B
Rank

I have been a customer of OVO since January 2020, the company therefore has significant usage history on my account. I am on a smart meter.

I have just converted to the latest fixed price offer, but in doing so I noted that the assumed forward projection of usage was substantially above both the last 12 months usage, and that used in the full year of 2022. We are a high usage household :-

  Electricity Gas  
Projected (Kwh) 13925 31715 OVO projection
2022 Actual (Kwh) 13510 31418 OVO usage data

Last 12 months (Kwh)

March 2022-February 2023

 13161 30131 OVO Usage Data

 

I decided to attempt to get the forecast usage more in line with our (OVO supplied) current figures (like many we have modified our energy usage to reflect the substantial price increases).

 

I could not believe the lack of understanding exhibited by the chat service (Chloe) when contacted. She said they do not propose changing my Direct Debit amount for at least 3 months until they have reviewed my usage under the new rates (which are approximately 10% below my current rates) as they want to assess my usage (in April/May/June !) to check that I am paying enough (I currently have a positive balance of >£400 as we approach Spring and Summer and am paying £650 a month.

 

Extract from Chat

Has anyone had any luck here in getting a logical response regarding usage forecasts - I am not trying to understate the future costs here, however it is frustrating that OVO are using me as a private bank - and with current interest rates I would rather be investing elsewhere than in boosting the prepayment.

 

Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Hi @BrianS

Welcome to the customer forum, i am just a customer like you. 

You can see the projected figure at any time on this link on the website not the app

https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan

Future Annual Consumption 

It is automatically updated as the systems sees your usage. It is automatically averaged over a period longer than 12 months. 

No one can manually update the figure

Feel free to add your vote to the idea. It is a common question that you have asked. 

If at any time you think your balance is too high, you can call collections and ask for some of your credit balance to be returned. As you are on a fixed rate you just need to leave the equivalent of one months DD in your account.

0800 0699 831

The collections team also have more flexibility with DDs. You can ask them to freeze your DD at a lower lever for 3 months.

There might be some more info here you find useful

If you search for Future Annual Consumption or Estimated Annual Consumption on the forum you will find more threads. 

B
Rank

Thanks Jeffus for your input and I have definately added my vote to the list and am about to add a seperate post to re-emphasise how stupid the approach being followed by OVO is.

 

I can see the estimate (as I included in my post) but cannot see how it has been computed.

I am never happy to hear that a bad estimate cannot be changed because it is embedded into the system. Either they should change the system or not use the estimate.

the changed market has inevitably resulted in people changing their energy usage patterns - so linking them to old datas is unnacceptable and worthy of raising public awareness of what is abuse of customers.

Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Thanks Jeffus for your input and I have definately added my vote to the list and am about to add a seperate post to re-emphasise how stupid the approach being followed by OVO is.

 

I can see the estimate (as I included in my post) but cannot see how it has been computed.

I am never happy to hear that a bad estimate cannot be changed because it is embedded into the system. Either they should change the system or not use the estimate.

the changed market has inevitably resulted in people changing their energy usage patterns - so linking them to old datas is unnacceptable and worthy of raising public awareness of what is abuse of customers.

You should definitely see the Future Annual Consumption figure go down if you use less energy, although it will take a few months.

Let us know how you get on if you do call Collections and ask if they will reduce your DD. They definitely have more flexibility than the Support team number.

Thanks for adding your vote to the idea. 

B
Rank

Thanks Jeffus,

 

But my usage has been reduced by 10-15%, each month and continually over the past year/eighteen months. The continued trend can be seen in the reduction from 2022 to 2023.  but it is not being reflected in the EAC - not sure what algorithm they are using to come up with their figures - but it is not a sensible means of projection.

  Electricity Gas  
Projected (Kwh) 13925 31715 OVO projection
2022 Actual (Kwh) 13510 31418 OVO usage data

Last 12 months (Kwh)

March 2022-February 2023

 13161 30131 OVO Usage Data
Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Thanks Jeffus,

 

But my usage has been reduced by 10-15%, each month and continually over the past year/eighteen months. The continued trend can be seen in the reduction from 2022 to 2023.  but it is not being reflected in the EAC - not sure what algorithm they are using to come up with their figures - but it is not a sensible means of projection.

  Electricity Gas  
Projected (Kwh) 13925 31715 OVO projection
2022 Actual (Kwh) 13510 31418 OVO usage data

Last 12 months (Kwh)

March 2022-February 2023

 13161 30131 OVO Usage Data

You could try asking OVO for more specific details of the algorithm and how it works for your data. 

I doubt you will get it phoning up. 

You could try putting in a complaint and ask for the algorithm with your data in it. 

The regular posters on the forum stopped looking into it, you are more than welcome to try if you have the time and inclination. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

The work around always suggested by OVO is to call collections and ask for a DD freeze for 3 months and or return of some of the credit balance. 

0800 0699 831

Reply


Terms & ConditionsCookie settings