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Why are my monthly charges so high since I entered a meter reading incorrectly?

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C
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Hi Emmanuel

 

Thanks for the reply, I assume you work for Ovo.

I have this issue,  I have a smart meter installed by E.on in 2019.

The readings were in m3 but now the Smart meter is showing kwh.

 

Do you know if there are qualified people in ovo that can sort this out, because I have certainly not spoken to them.

This is proving very difficult to sort out because the bill is in unregistered kwh, then it converts my reads to kwh, OVO is not at all interested in using m3, although i have not come across a gas bill that doesnt convert to kwh.

 

Who can resolve this. CUSTOMER SERVICES and complaints cant.

Do ovo not have a tecchie team?.

 

M
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@cedricthefrog 

I don’t have a smart meter - think they were invented by the devil.  I submit my readings taken directly from the meter.  You can do the same.

Take your readings direct from the actual meter(s).  Don’t allow the pretty in home display (which can display in a number of ways accurately if it's been updated properly and inaccurately otherwise) to confuse matters.  The electric meter reads in kWh and the gas meter in M3.  Use you tube to find out how to read the meters directly.

Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @cedricthefrog,

 

I’m sorry you are still having issues.

 

Could you upload a photo of all the different screens that pop up when you try and take a manual reading of the meter? The meter screen will cycle through a few different screens showing both kWhs and m3. 

 

Then you can get in touch with Support and send them the link to this topic so that you don’t need to repeat yourself. The Support Team can then add this to your account so the right team can work on fixing the issue.

 

If you are unable to upload a photo, you can book in a meter reader to come to your property.  

 

You also have the option to fill out a feedback form through our website. 

 

Keep us posted with how you get on! 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
P
Rank

Last Sunday (exactly a week ago), my OVO app was asking for a gas meter reading as it doesn’t connect efficiently to the smart meter. I put it in wrong and overnight about £800 was wiped off my account. I was over £300 in credit and I’m now -£500.  Obviously an error, so I rang OVO and after two phone calls, I was able to submit a correct meter reading on the Wednesday. The man I spoke to assured me the amount would be readjusted and I would get my credit back. Well guess what? Nothing has happened.

 

OVO have no had the cheek to email me what I would consider a slightly threatening email about increasing my direct debit to TWICE what I was paying before. I’ve only been with them two months and in that short space of time alone I have built up significant credit. They’ve got some nerve telling me my DD will be automatically changed when they still can’t fix the meter error. I’m genuinely worried and getting scared as to what has happened to my money now. No one is being helpful at all. 
 

Has anyone else had a meter error adjustment? Or if anyone at OVO could tell me this is going to be sorted? I want to switch to PAYG from now on as well. I literally do not have £380 a month to spend on an ‘estimated’ bill unless I want to go into mortgage arrears. We won’t be using our heating, it’s that simple but unfortunate it’s come to this. 

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
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Hi,

I’m one of the forum volunteers. I can’t fix the bad meter reading, but I can help diagnose smart meter issues.

To be honest though, moving to PAYG is the worst solution you can do. You’d be better off switching to pay on-demand instead so that you don’t have to worry about running out of credit.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
P
Rank

I’m not worried about running out of credit, we use very little, or do you mean a pre- payment meter? I just want to be billed each month for what I’ve actually used, not what they like to think I’m using through some made up numbers.  My account was in £340 credit until this mistake and now it’s -£541. I want my money back where it was and no one can help!

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
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Paying by Direct Debit is ultimately still the cheapest option. Pay on-demand works in a similar way to Direct Debit, except you have to pay the exact amount owed on each bill once it’s generated. Unlike PAYG, you don’t need to keep topping up to stay connected. It’s a safer bet and is generally more reliable.

Given you mention the gas meter has a bad connection, I wouldn’t recommend PAYG anyway.

You will pay around £200 a year more if you don’t pay by DD.

If you’re not happy with progress, https://ovoenergy.com/feedback is the way to go.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
P
Rank

By PAYG I meant monthly billing based on meter readings, not pre- payment. How can I pay the £380 a month they’re insisting I pay by DD if I literally do not have it? I just want to pay for what I use. I know my winter bills will be higher than my summer ones, that’s fine. I’ve seen others on Twitter in the same boat. It makes no sense at all. 

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
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I’ll give you some advice. If you do get a meter reading wrong again, the easiest fix is to simply re-submit before midnight the same day with the correct reading. Doing so correctly causes the first reading to drop completely and be replaced by the new reading for the day. You have unlimited attempts to get it right as only whatever the final reading for the day is, gets accepted as the one to log to your account.

If you don’t do it on time, it can still be fixed via the Support Team, but it takes much longer to do as it has to be validated manually.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
P
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Yes I’m aware of that, thanks. 

D
Rank
Userlevel 2

It's very frustrating isn't it Pingu? I can't believe it's been nearly 3 weeks since the tariff was changed, and my in home display tracker is still showing unusual values. I was however able to buy some meter keys to enable me to check the meter outside my front door, that one is correct. But it would be better if I didn't have to check that one every time. 😔

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
Badge +1

It's very frustrating isn't it Pingu? I can't believe it's been nearly 3 weeks since the tariff was changed, and my in home display tracker is still showing unusual values. I was however able to buy some meter keys to enable me to check the meter outside my front door, that one is correct. But it would be better if I didn't have to check that one every time. 😔

This is an unrelated thread. Please check the context

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
D
Rank
Userlevel 2

Why is this an unrelated thread Blastoise186? I'm talking about smart meter issues?? 

Tim_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hi @Pingu and thanks for flagging this. 

 

I’d recommend you contact our Collections team, in order to request a Direct Debit review pause of three months. You can tell them about the wrong meter reading causing incorrectly high usage and costs. They might even be able to chase up getting that fixed. In the meantime it sounds like your original payment amount was correct. Although they can help you figure that out by looking at your annual consumption and prices. Call them on: 0800 0699 831.

 

Lastly please see our page detailing OVO’s customer support package: https://www.ovoenergy.com/customer-support-package

 

Eligibility form here: https://www.ovoenergy.com/winter-support-delivery/sign-up

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

Hi all,

I really hope someone here can help. A few days ago, we submitted the gas meter reading, unfortunately with the wrong numbers. I realise all this is our fault as we put one of the red numbers and the result is a ridiculous, huge bill. I am trying to submit the correct gas reading today, but it seems it doesn't work. Not only that, but I also contacted the advisor who tried to help me via the OVO web chat, but when I check in the app if everything is correct, I can see there are still the wrong readings and the massive bill.

Is there anyone here to whom I can explain again our case in details and to get this error corrected?

 

Thanks in advance!

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Hey @Sheppard ,

If you’ve just reported the issue, it takes a bit of time for OVO to fix. Hang in there for now!

You might want to consider getting Smart Meters to avoid this happening again.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Sheppard
Rank

Hi, thank for your reply.

I will check later if it's fixed, if not will try again.  I have tried to book appointment for a smart meter exactly because to avoid any further mistakes, but unfortunately the system sayd I'm not eligible to have one. Isn't this strange?

Actually we never had any issues with SSE as in the app there had a option for scan/photo the readings so I never had to put the numbers manually.

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
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Could you show me both meters please? I might be able to figure out why you can’t upgrade.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Sheppard
Rank

Top one is the gas meter, the bottom one is electric.

For the gas meter we just put one of the red numbers....and now the bill is 5 digits 🥶😱 

Hopefully will get this sorted soon as we talk about just a flat, not a palace. 

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Thanks. I notice you’ve got two electric meters. What tariff setup did you have with SSE?

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Thanks. I notice you’ve got two electric meters. What tariff setup did you have with SSE?

May be a neighbour as it is a flat

Sheppard
Rank

We have only one, ours is that one with the cables in front. The building has 4 flats. 

The tariff with SSE was Green or Eco, something like that.

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
Badge +1

SSE Evergreen?

It might just be there’s no engineers available in your area right now

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Sheppard
Rank

SSE Evergreen?

It might just be there’s no engineers available in your area right now

Yes, that was. 😊

Well, I really hope to get smart meter soon. One thing less to thinking about.

 

Quick Update: I have just checked my account in the app and both readings are correct now.  

Thanks to everyone who helped to solve the problem with the meter reading. 

Still have some minor issues with the Gas meter as it's very old I think, and in the app the serial number is incomplete, but I've already sent photo of the meter to OVO and hopefully it will be fixed soon. 

 

M
Rank

I just found out that a few weeks ago a gas meter reading was added that is 9000 units more than the actual value and increased my bill by £10,000. This reading was not sent by me and I have no idea where it came from.

The system won’t allow me to input a lower one, but I tried anyway. I have emailed photos of both meters. I am happy with what my meter currently says, I just need to get OVO to accept the current reading. After trying to use the online chat on Saturday I have zero confidence that OVO will do the right thing, they told me to pay £10,000 and get a new meter for accurate readings in the future. Totally clueless.

How could a reading be added to my account without my knowledge? Could an agent have read my meter but accidentally read a neighbour’s? (i live in flat)

I know I’m not very good at sending in reading and it’s been a few month, but it always averages out when I do send one. Which makes me wonder if someone from OVO read it because I didn’t.

Any idea how I can handle this and get the spurious reading removed and replaced with an accurate one? I’m more than happy for someone to come and read it again, just need to make sure it’s the right one this time!

This is causing me a lot of stress and anxiety, I just want to get this corrected, there’s no way I can afford this, I didn’t even use the gas they want me to pay for and I can prove it with the meter.

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