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Poor service following a bill query complaint - how do i resolve this?

  • 17 October 2023
  • 26 replies
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When I transferred from SSE to Ovo I came across with a credit of around £70.  I usually had a monthly charge of around £150 (give or take) which is about £5 a day; some were cheaper than this. Then, inexplicably, the next month I was charged  £817 - which equates to £27 a day. Then I went back to around £150 a month.  There is no way on earth that I would have used this much in one month. My DD has been put up to rectify this debit. 

I have contacted Ovo via their chat thing but have not had a satisfactory answer or explanation when I have questioned this massive bill.

On 12/06/23 I sent an e-mail complaint querying this bill but other than the obligatory “we acknowledge your e-mail” which they state that they will contact me within 8 working days - I have had no further reply or any form of communication. 

This is a diabolical service from Ovo and I was wondering if anyone else has had this type of poor service? How they rectified it and what I should do to get this bill looked into by someone who is part way competent.

Thanks. 

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Best answer by Jeffus 17 October 2023, 15:31

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Blastoise186
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Hi @DurhamViking ,

The best option in this case is to chase up again, as per the Complaints Process at https://ovoenergy.com/feedback .

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Jeffus
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When I transferred from SSE to Ovo I came across with a credit of around £70.  I usually had a monthly charge of around £150 (give or take) which is about £5 a day; some were cheaper than this. Then, inexplicably, the next month I was charged  £817 - which equates to £27 a day. Then I went back to around £150 a month.  There is no way on earth that I would have used this much in one month. My DD has been put up to rectify this debit. 

I have contacted Ovo via their chat thing but have not had a satisfactory answer or explanation when I have questioned this massive bill.

On 12/06/23 I sent an e-mail complaint querying this bill but other than the obligatory “we acknowledge your e-mail” which they state that they will contact me within 8 working days - I have had no further reply or any form of communication. 

This is a diabolical service from Ovo and I was wondering if anyone else has had this type of poor service? How they rectified it and what I should do to get this bill looked into by someone who is part way competent.

Thanks. 

Hi @DurhamViking

Sorry to hear that. It is not good when you don't even get a reply. 

Your case has been over 8 weeks so you can go straight to the Energy Ombudsman now.

https://www.energyombudsman.org/

I think that may be better than another email to the ovo complaint team, up to you. It may speed up the process if you end up going to the Ombudsman anyway. The ombudsman may well also ask ovo to pay compensation for not responding. 

You could also email the OVO CEO Team about your experience. Look on the ovo complaint page. I think he would be interested to hear about cases like yours. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

 

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@Jeffus

@Blastoise186

Hi everyone - I contacted Ovo on their WhatsApp thingy and spoke with a guy named Connor. Within an hour he stated that the massive bill was to be wiped, I was to receive some compensation (only £15 but I was not in it to get money from them, just to sort my bill - anyway, rather it be in my pocket than theirs...) and a refund of the VAT I had been paying.

 I started the chat by saying that I needed an update to pass to the Ombudsman - that seemed to ignite a rocket under them. 

I thank you all for your input and I have passed all the advice to someone else who is in need of assistance. 

 

Thank you.

Jeffus
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@Jeffus

@Blastoise186

Hi everyone - I contacted Ovo on their WhatsApp thingy and spoke with a guy named Connor. Within an hour he stated that the massive bill was to be wiped, I was to receive some compensation (only £15 but I was not in it to get money from them, just to sort my bill - anyway, rather it be in my pocket than theirs...).  I started the chat by saying that I needed an update to pass to the Ombudsman - that seemed to ignite a rocket under them. 

I thank you all for your input and I have passed all the advice to someone else who is in need of assistance. 

 

Thank you.

Good news @DurhamViking 

Well done Connor for taking ownership and getting it sorted after all this time. 

Keep an eye on your account to make sure nothing else happens in the next month.

 

M
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@Jeffus

@Blastoise186

Hi everyone - I contacted Ovo on their WhatsApp thingy and spoke with a guy named Connor. Within an hour he stated that the massive bill was to be wiped, I was to receive some compensation (only £15 but I was not in it to get money from them, just to sort my bill - anyway, rather it be in my pocket than theirs...) and a refund of the VAT I had been paying.

 I started the chat by saying that I needed an update to pass to the Ombudsman - that seemed to ignite a rocket under them. 

I thank you all for your input and I have passed all the advice to someone else who is in need of assistance. 

 

Thank you.

Well done, but it’s shame it seems to be a lottery whether you get a good, understanding operative or not.  I had yet another phone call from someone to discuss my disputed bill and, at times he even mentioned gas although I am entirely electric.  I was struggling to get him to understand where the problem lay and he seemed to get it eventually, but as usual said it could take yet another few weeks to resolve.  
 

I am unsure whether to give them a chance to sort it, or just go to the Ombudsman in 8 days time as that will be 8 weeks I have been going back and forward with this.

Jeffus
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@Jeffus

@Blastoise186

Hi everyone - I contacted Ovo on their WhatsApp thingy and spoke with a guy named Connor. Within an hour he stated that the massive bill was to be wiped, I was to receive some compensation (only £15 but I was not in it to get money from them, just to sort my bill - anyway, rather it be in my pocket than theirs...) and a refund of the VAT I had been paying.

 I started the chat by saying that I needed an update to pass to the Ombudsman - that seemed to ignite a rocket under them. 

I thank you all for your input and I have passed all the advice to someone else who is in need of assistance. 

 

Thank you.

Well done, but it’s shame it seems to be a lottery whether you get a good, understanding operative or not.  I had yet another phone call from someone to discuss my disputed bill and, at times he even mentioned gas although I am entirely electric.  I was struggling to get him to understand where the problem lay and he seemed to get it eventually, but as usual said it could take yet another few weeks to resolve.  
 

I am unsure whether to give them a chance to sort it, or just go to the Ombudsman in 8 days time as that will be 8 weeks I have been going back and forward with this.

@Maureen D

You could try making clear the next time you speak to ovo exactly what date you will go to the Ombudsman. You may already have done that of course. 

Personally after 8 weeks I would ask the Ombudsman to help.

Your description of the last call doesn't sound encouraging. 

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Connor said that it would possibly take ten days for the Ovo side of things to be sorted and up to six weeks for the SSE system to be updated. I will keep checking my account and if this is not sorted, as stated, I will contact the ombudsman.

*edited by moderator*

Again, I thank you all. 

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Hello everyone - just to let you know I have had no joy with this and have sent an e-mail to the CEO’s account, as per the complaints’ page. I do not think I will have any joy with this either and will be e-mailing the ombudsman in a day or so. 

 

 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @DurhamViking,

 

I’m really sorry to hear you’ve had to go through the complaint procedure to get this resolved.

 

I hope that this gets sorted for you, if you have any further queries about the complaint process or billing queries please pop back to the Forum and we’ll be happy to advise. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
D
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Hey @DurhamViking,

 

I’m really sorry to hear you’ve had to go through the complaint procedure to get this resolved.

 

I hope that this gets sorted for you, if you have any further queries about the complaint process or billing queries please pop back to the Forum and we’ll be happy to advise. 

 

 

Do you have any idea how long it should take for the CEO (or their team) to get back to me? I will need this for the ombudsman, if it is a long time, to show the complete lack of empathy or the unprofessional approach this company have towards their customers.

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @DurhamViking,

 

It depends on the situation, the general timeframe is 10 working days but of course if it’s an urgent situation for example a customer is off supply, it would be within 24 hours. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Jeffus
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For general emails the aim is 2 working days. 

Also OVO quote 75% of compliants are resolved the next working day. 

It feels a bit surprising it is 10 working days for the CEO email but I have no reason to doubt that. 

 

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Well, it’s been about 49 hours and no reply or any type of communication. 

I am sure there is a reason why they are not contacting me at any stage of this process - I’ll be jiggered if I can think of one, but they will be able to make one up!

As soon as this is sorted out I will be moving company as Ovo’s customer service seems to be non-existent - not what a large company like them should have.  

 

Anyone know the CEO’s personal e-mail - maybe I could e-mail them and make them aware of the issue???

Blastoise186
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We do know that email address, but we’ve agreed to keep it private.

If you mean the personal non-OVO one however, then nope that’s unknown to us.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Jeffus
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Well, it’s been about 49 hours and no reply or any type of communication. 

I am sure there is a reason why they are not contacting me at any stage of this process - I’ll be jiggered if I can think of one, but they will be able to make one up!

As soon as this is sorted out I will be moving company as Ovo’s customer service seems to be non-existent - not what a large company like them should have.  

 

Anyone know the CEO’s personal e-mail - maybe I could e-mail them and make them aware of the issue???

Have you made any progress @DurhamViking 

D
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@Jeffus 

No reply from the CEO team or the customer service team. Nothing at all - not even an acknowledgement e-mail.

This has to be the worst customer service department of any company. 

However, Connor did say that it would take up to six weeks to get sorted on the SSE system - maybe this is the hold up…. then again, probably not. 

 

@Blastoise186  - maybe you could ask the CEO to e-mail me personally and see if we can get this sorted out… 😉

 

Thanks for your interest in this matter. 

 

D
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@Jeffus @Blastoise186 @Emmanuelle_OVO 

I have a copy of the conversation with Connor, and subsequent ones, for my records - I am sure the ombudsman will be happy to see them. 

@Blastoise186 If you are able get the CEO to e-mail me I would be more than happy to let them see the conversations…. 🤣

 

Blastoise186
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Sorry, but I can't arrange that

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
D
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I have just submitted this to the Ombudsman. 

 

Stand by for any updates. 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @DurhamViking,

 

I’m really sorry to hear you weren’t able to get anywhere by going through the complaints process. 

 

The next step and highest port of call is the Ombudsman. Let us know if there’s any general advice you need to know and we can find out for you. 

 

I really hope your issue gets resolved as soon as possible. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Jeffus
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I have just submitted this to the Ombudsman. 

 

Stand by for any updates. 

Unfortunately OVO are currently rated the worst supplier for the number of complaints escalated to 3rd parties (Energy Ombudsman, Citizens Advice) vs the number of customers. The stats are published on the Citizens Advice website.

It is impossible to know why. Hopefully things will improve over the next year.

I hope you get closure quickly, whatever the outcome.

Feel free to post any questions in case any of the regular posters can offer any suggestions

D
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I have just submitted this to the Ombudsman. 

 

Stand by for any updates. 

Unfortunately OVO are currently rated the worst supplier for the number of complaints escalated to 3rd parties (Energy Ombudsman, Citizens Advice) vs the number of customers. The stats are published on the Citizens Advice website.

It is impossible to know why. Hopefully things will improve over the next year.

I hope you get closure quickly, whatever the outcome.

Feel free to post any questions in case any of the regular posters can offer any suggestions

I have received an initial response from Ovo who have offered to remove the overcharge and correct the bill, have offered an apology and have offered £100 as a goodwill. I have seven days to either accept or decline this offer. 

Question - If I declined this offer (made so very quickly after I submitted the complaint) could I possibly be in for more “goodwill”? As I have said before, I did not do this with a view to getting money from them; just my bill being corrected. 

 

Thanks.

 

Blastoise186
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tbh I’d just take the offer. Don’t take risks.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
D
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tbh I’d just take the offer. Don’t take risks.

This is exactly what we were thinking. It could all go pear-shaped if I declined it. 

They will have 28 days to correct it - but by the way that they are going it will probably not happen….

Jeffus
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tbh I’d just take the offer. Don’t take risks.

This is exactly what we were thinking. It could all go pear-shaped if I declined it. 

They will have 28 days to correct it - but by the way that they are going it will probably not happen….

The Energy Ombudsman would also give 28 days as standard for anything.

You may get a bit more compensation but not a lot more, they never offer less.

I suggest going for the offer, but immediately go to the Ombudsman after 28 days if the money isn't paid.

 

 

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