My account is over £1200 in credit, but when I have applied for a refund online I'm being told I can't do this until further metre readings and the next statement. This isn't legal - anyone else had this problem?
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Updated on 22/11/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:
Before we allow a refund of any credit you’ve got in your OVO account, we first need to make sure that your account balance is accurate.
If you don’t have a smart meter, make sure you’ve submitted a meter reading in the last 28 days. If you’ve done this and are at least three month’s direct debit amount in credit, you can then ask for a refund via the ‘Payments’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS):
You can apply for a refund of up to £500 online and the balance will return to your bank account in no more than 10 working days (in most cases it will be within 4 working days). Find out more about requesting a refund online here.
If you’d like more credit refunded you can contact our Support Team who can initiate refunds up to £2,000. If the refund is over £599, we will need to check the account has been billed to smart reads, or actual meter readings if your meter is still traditional, and request photos of the meter.
If you’re on a fixed rate tariff, you’ll still be required to keep one month's worth of direct debit as credit in your account. If you’re on the Variable tariff you aren’t required to leave any credit on your account, although it is advisable.
Hi @jamescathycoleman - oh no! This doesn't sound at all good.
But, can I also point out that leaving six posts in ten minutes on the same subject across the Forum now makes it quite difficult for Members like myself to respond.
I have been in precisely the same situation as you... but for 8 months. This was due to Extra Energy (now ceased trading) having failed to correctly notify ECOES, the National Meter Database, that they had taken over as my energy supplier. So I now understand quite a lot about how the system works.
It is entirely the responsibility of the Receiving Supplier to handle all aspects of the Switch Process. If it's going wrong, then your right to complain is through them. If they fail to address your complaint and remedy the situation, then it is they who you take to the Energy Ombudsman.
There are a number of stages involved in the Switch Process. These involve a set of Notifications being passed via ECOES to both the Receiving and Relinquishing Suppliers. At each stage there are timescales by which the Suppliers must object, or else accept the Notification. The process is designed to ensure that the correct meter reference number (MPRN) and the correct reading is agreed by all parties.
If you add together all the time-frames then the Switch Process can take 6 weeks. You will know that it has concluded because the Relinquishing Supplier (OVO in your case) will send you a Final Bill, which is marked as such.
If you leave your Direct Debit open at the bank, then it is inevitable that there will be at least one further monthly amount taken by the Relinquishing Supplier. This is quite normal.
Most Customers do leave the DD "live" because this is the quickest way to receive the credit back from the Relinquishing Supplier. But that's entirely your choice.
If you left OVO in December, and it's now 5th Feb, then I don't think there's anything unusual about what's happening...
... except that you are attempting to be in direct contact with OVO Customer Services.
Nothing that you've written suggests to me that OVO's response is "extremely poor" as you have suggested. They are operating within the regulations laid down by Ofgem, by whom they are regulated.
But, can I also point out that leaving six posts in ten minutes on the same subject across the Forum now makes it quite difficult for Members like myself to respond.
I have been in precisely the same situation as you... but for 8 months. This was due to Extra Energy (now ceased trading) having failed to correctly notify ECOES, the National Meter Database, that they had taken over as my energy supplier. So I now understand quite a lot about how the system works.
It is entirely the responsibility of the Receiving Supplier to handle all aspects of the Switch Process. If it's going wrong, then your right to complain is through them. If they fail to address your complaint and remedy the situation, then it is they who you take to the Energy Ombudsman.
There are a number of stages involved in the Switch Process. These involve a set of Notifications being passed via ECOES to both the Receiving and Relinquishing Suppliers. At each stage there are timescales by which the Suppliers must object, or else accept the Notification. The process is designed to ensure that the correct meter reference number (MPRN) and the correct reading is agreed by all parties.
If you add together all the time-frames then the Switch Process can take 6 weeks. You will know that it has concluded because the Relinquishing Supplier (OVO in your case) will send you a Final Bill, which is marked as such.
If you leave your Direct Debit open at the bank, then it is inevitable that there will be at least one further monthly amount taken by the Relinquishing Supplier. This is quite normal.
Most Customers do leave the DD "live" because this is the quickest way to receive the credit back from the Relinquishing Supplier. But that's entirely your choice.
If you left OVO in December, and it's now 5th Feb, then I don't think there's anything unusual about what's happening...
... except that you are attempting to be in direct contact with OVO Customer Services.
Nothing that you've written suggests to me that OVO's response is "extremely poor" as you have suggested. They are operating within the regulations laid down by Ofgem, by whom they are regulated.
My account is over a grand in credit - which was rather a surprise to find out! My DD is £200 a month and I was really pleased to see an automated "get a refund" option instead of having to phone up. But when I clicked it I was told I had to wait for my next bill, to know if a refund was possible.
Given the amount of credit and the fact you have nearly 2 years' history with me as a customer, you must be able to do better projections. I mean it would be nice when you send me a yearly statement to advise me what my DD should be as well, but the legislation doesn't yet make providers do this.
I was also interested that I can change my DD online (again, great thankyou) but the highest I can set is £82, less than half what I currently pay.
You can cancel your Direct Debit instruction if we're nolonger your supplier. You may get an automated email stating that it's been cancelled, but you can ignore this.
We've been extremely busy recently due to the collapse of Economy Energy, and taking on their customers. This has meant we've been inundated with contact from these customers and it's pushed our call wait times and email response times up. I'm sorry you've been on the receiving end of this. It's not representative of our usual service, and everyone here has been working flat out to get back to everyone that needs our help.
If you did want to call the team today, wait times are currently around 15 minutes, which is still a little higher than average but a lot lower than it has been. Alternatively, you can contact the team on Facebook/Twitter and send them a message with your account number, full name and DoB.
Cheers
I keep trying to apply for a refund on the app but it keeps refusing me even though I'm almost 1k in credit. If I contact them by phone, I lose my interest. It's very annoying.
Hi @Helonearth ,
I've moved your post onto this topic where you can find more information about how to get a refund.
Cheers
I've moved your post onto this topic where you can find more information about how to get a refund.
Cheers
Hi
So first let me point out that Ofgem guidelines state that a reasonable amount for an Energy Supplier to hold in credit in your account is the same as you are paying by Direct Debit. This is particularly relevant at this time of year when the largest energy bills are being issued.
Assuming that you have not attempted to request that your credit be lower than this amount, then this is a classic instruction to send a message on webchat via the Help Centre.
You should put the word Complaint at the start of the message text. You will not lose any financial benefit for a complaint.
The Complaint is, of course, that the App isn't permitting you to request that you are refunded a proportion of what OVO are holding as a credit in your account.
Under OVO's Complaints Procedure, you will receive a response within 5 working days.
OVO have always scored very highly for complaints handling. They are audited on this by Ofgem. So I'd be very surprised if you needed to move to the next stage of the Procedure.
I was advised by OVO to set up combined energy bill with £74 monthly DD. They also fitted a smart meter. Now I am in credit with £533 plus owing to me and they are saying that OVO did not create a statement for Gas usage. And the money that shows as in credit will be used to pay for Gas. This again will take up to two weeks. With all the advanced technology at their fingertips how can OVO make such claims. They also took two months payments even after I switched providers. Interestingly enough now that I have cancelled my DD , the refund page states since I don't have a DD set up with OVO they cannot refund! This is a case of egg and chicken. OVO get your act together. Don't rip off unsuspecting customers.
Hi @Bhavani
I don't have enough information to give you a complete answer. You don't say for example when your Contract started, nor when the Smart Meters were installed. Perhaps you could fill out your Forum Profile page, which is where I first look for these details.
However... it is quite normal for there to be a delay of 4-6 weeks between a Smart Meter installation and OVO being able to receive correct data from them. So the first Statement you receive after that date is when OVO will be able to see whether your payments match the energy you have used.
In the meantime, your account is on "Billing Suspension". I have written more about this process on another Topic here.
I don't have enough information to give you a complete answer. You don't say for example when your Contract started, nor when the Smart Meters were installed. Perhaps you could fill out your Forum Profile page, which is where I first look for these details.
However... it is quite normal for there to be a delay of 4-6 weeks between a Smart Meter installation and OVO being able to receive correct data from them. So the first Statement you receive after that date is when OVO will be able to see whether your payments match the energy you have used.
In the meantime, your account is on "Billing Suspension". I have written more about this process on another Topic here.
Hi @Transparent my contract started on 30 January 2018 and ended on 22 February 2019. Smart meter was installed on 11 May 2018. According to OVO there are no statements for Gas reading. My contract was a combined energy bill and set at estimated usage of both gas and electricity. My readings show our usage has been less than the estimate. I switched providers on 22nd February 2019. OVO has taken money both in Feb and March 2019. I have now cancelled my DD. My account shows I am in credit. But the billing department has not sent the final statement as there is confusion from OVO's side as to why they did not provide gas statements too!
Ah, now I understand @Bhavani !
OK, so the problem stems from a failed communication in May'18 between Xoserve, who run the UK gas meter database, and either OVO or DCC (or both). DCC is the Goverment-owned Data Communications Company who handle all transmissions to/fro Smart Meters.
The failure of the Meter Notification system is extremely rare. However, in your case it has meant that OVO didn't have the authorisation to take readings from your newly-installed gas Smart Meter and apply them to your bill.
The problem has only come to light when you switched to a new Energy Supplier last month. The reason it got noticed is because the new Supplier will have attempted to notify Xoserve that they were taking over your gas meter, and this produced an error when they tried to serve the Notification on the old Supplier (OVO in this case).
OVO are quite correct in stating that they will need to use (some of) the amount by which you are in credit to pay the gas bill, which they must now work out. After all, you and they have a Legal Contract which allows this to happen.
Whatever you feel about this, it is important that OVO do assign this gas bill to you. Without there being an agreed final reading from OVO, it is impossible for Xoserve to receive the Notification that you are not in debt. And without that Notification, the switch to your new Supplier will fail.
OK... so that's the technical part of the process. There remains the matter of the failure which occurred in May last year. Even if the error is due to Xoserve or DCC, you have no Contract with them. So your sole right to complain is against OVO.
Have a look at their Complaints Procedure and decide if you wish to go down that route.
And please feel free to ask for further advice or clarification if you need it.
OK, so the problem stems from a failed communication in May'18 between Xoserve, who run the UK gas meter database, and either OVO or DCC (or both). DCC is the Goverment-owned Data Communications Company who handle all transmissions to/fro Smart Meters.
The failure of the Meter Notification system is extremely rare. However, in your case it has meant that OVO didn't have the authorisation to take readings from your newly-installed gas Smart Meter and apply them to your bill.
The problem has only come to light when you switched to a new Energy Supplier last month. The reason it got noticed is because the new Supplier will have attempted to notify Xoserve that they were taking over your gas meter, and this produced an error when they tried to serve the Notification on the old Supplier (OVO in this case).
OVO are quite correct in stating that they will need to use (some of) the amount by which you are in credit to pay the gas bill, which they must now work out. After all, you and they have a Legal Contract which allows this to happen.
Whatever you feel about this, it is important that OVO do assign this gas bill to you. Without there being an agreed final reading from OVO, it is impossible for Xoserve to receive the Notification that you are not in debt. And without that Notification, the switch to your new Supplier will fail.
OK... so that's the technical part of the process. There remains the matter of the failure which occurred in May last year. Even if the error is due to Xoserve or DCC, you have no Contract with them. So your sole right to complain is against OVO.
Have a look at their Complaints Procedure and decide if you wish to go down that route.
And please feel free to ask for further advice or clarification if you need it.
Cannot use the automated refund procedure. I am a smart user and received an up to date statement on 12th April. This is a long standing issue - has it not been corrected because company policy demands manual intervention if the credit balance exceeds certain limits?
If so, the screen should state this to avoid user frustration.
If so, the screen should state this to avoid user frustration.
Hi @richardo - I've moved your post over here where you can find more info on requesting a large refund.
Hi ..I’ve been trying for months now to get a refund as I have 600 pounds in my account ..all the time it’s saying the same thing to send my meters readings and wait for the next statement ..to be honest I kind of had enough of this ..I’ve been trying to call customer service and discuss this but I’ve been holding for 30 minutes and nobody answered cause apparently are so many calls ..if nothing will be done I will stop my direct debit for few months and when those 600 pounds are finish I will start again the direct debit .cause I’m not planning to loose those money ..
Sorry to hear this, @Ciurte daliana . Take a look at the best answer for more help with this, you'll need to get in touch to get this sorted. I've checked and our wait times didn't exceed 30 minutes yesterday, please ensure you're calling the right number 0330 303 5063.
I wouldn't recommend cancelling your Direct Debit, this could affect your credit history.
I wouldn't recommend cancelling your Direct Debit, this could affect your credit history.
I been trying to call this number and nobody it’s answering..I understand you are busy but all the time when I call there 100 more people calling ? I already have 30 pounds extra charges on my mobile bill because of this calls ..I’m not planning to loose more money trying to fix this problem ..so better give me an option how I can solve this problem..
There may have been a bit of a longer wait than normal yesterday, @Ciurte daliana , this is often the case after a Bank Holiday, call queues are back to normal levels now, apologise for any inconvenience cause.
I've just checked and the current wait time to speak to an agent is under 8 mins, if you're prepared to hold great, if not you can use our call back feature, an agent will call you back. They'll be happy to help you with the refund request.
Hope this helps.
I've just checked and the current wait time to speak to an agent is under 8 mins, if you're prepared to hold great, if not you can use our call back feature, an agent will call you back. They'll be happy to help you with the refund request.
Hope this helps.
I submitted my reading on Friday 23/8/19 and my statement came through the following day. When I try to claim for my refund it’s continues to say that I need to submit a reading.
Can someone please be specific and explain how exactly I need to proceed so I may claim my money back?
If you are unable to be specific in your written answer can I please request you call me to explain the steps to avoid any wasted time?
Thank you
Can someone please be specific and explain how exactly I need to proceed so I may claim my money back?
If you are unable to be specific in your written answer can I please request you call me to explain the steps to avoid any wasted time?
Thank you
I've moved your query to this topic as it's similar,
Here's a our refund policy and how to claim a refund. Message us on Facebook, Twitter or webchat via the Help Centre for more help with this, we'll take a look into your account.
I'm asking for a refund and it says I need to provide a meter read but there's one there everyday s it's a smart metre. so why can't i have a refund
Hi
I’ve moved your post over here where you should be able to find the information you need regarding your query.
Hope this helps!
Hi,
I am in credit on my account (I have had an account for a long time and have a smart meter) and while I have tried to use the ask for a refund option it is saying I cannot?
The credit is for over £1000 and I am looking to rent out the house so I will be moving shortly.
How do I get my credit back please?
Hi there
If you’re planning to rent the house out, I’d recommend using the moving house process to close your current account with OVO at that address and allow the new tenant to open a new one in their own name. This should automatically trigger a refund of all your account credit in one go, as well as making sure you’re not held responsible for any bills run up by tenants.
If you’d still prefer to pull the refund out first, I’d suggest asking the Support Team for help, since that’s a pretty big refund which probably can’t be requested via self service. An agent should be able to arrange that for you once they’ve checked things over.
Hi
Not to worry - just contact Customer Support directly and they’ll get it sorted.
Note that Ofgem guidelines to Energy Suppliers state that your account must act as a credit-account. You will therefore not be able to withdraw all the money because enough must remain to cover the next month’s bill (for the energy you’ve already used!)
Ask again here if you need a longer explanation.
This is a very old post, but I can see others that have had similar problems since: and I am now initiating court proceedings against Ovo for a positive balance they have continually failed to return.
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