Why do I get estimated readings in my bill when I have a smart meter?

Amazing that anyone in a customer support role would actually say that.

If it’s true then somebody should give the ‘accounts team’ a swift kick up the backside, and remind them that for customers getting the correct billing would be seen as a basic essential, and the highest priority to fix if it isn’t correct

I know - couldn't believe it when I got that response. Apparently of the previous person I spoke to had flagged it as highly important it would have been looked at sooner. It's been a month and still not done. Must be one hell of a backlog 

Hey @Rheamean14,

I have asked our Forum_Support team reach out to you so they can help look into this further.

Look out for a private message here soon: https://forum.ovoenergy.com/inbox/overview.

I’m curious  , how I can use 8 to 12 kWh per day and then suddenly jump to 17.58 kWH yesterday? I was at work all day, only home in the evening.. No heating on… minimal hot water usage … 

Can someone explain to me please? To me it looks like I’m being charged for gas i’ve not used… 

Ta Much 

Do you have a Smart Meter for gas, or are you sending manual readings?

Is that 16th May figure an actual reading or is it an estimate?

If it's an estimate then in some circumstances they can sometimes be well out like that, I've had that issue myself in the past with estimated gas usage.
(Generally why it happens with some estimates is known, but the circumstances and details are complicated to pin down and fix - it is being investigated).

If you already have a smart meter for gas then it may simply be that that days reading was not received at OVO for whatever reason, in which case they would estimate (possibly by too much) for that day until they did get a new reading at which point the estimate(s) would be corrected to your actual use.

If you have a ‘manual reading’ meter and not 'smart' then one way you can have an influence yourself on reducing incorrect/too-high estimates is to send more frequent meter readings.
Weekly at least, and I'd suggest perhaps daily for the first week or two to imitate what a smart meter does.
I have done that myself with my manual reading gas meter and can confirm that it works to reduce the estimates.
I’d also look at/request having it changed to a smart meter: https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/how-to-get-a-smart-meter

Thanks for your response

I do indeed have a smart meter, which isn’t very smart ;) .. It often doesn’t pick up readings and I have to send a manual one in… It’s quite variable on sending readings and not sending them. 

The one from the 17th May was after I had done a manual reading as it had been a good few days since it was picked up… 

Then the 16th May was probably just a too-high estimate, and should be corrected once a new reading was/is received.

This should be apparent from the reading history page: smart readings, estimates and manual readings should be labelled as such.

Hi @Amerififer, 

I can see some great advice has already been given by our forum volunteers about this.

As we don’t have access to your account here we can only really guess what has caused this jump in gas usage. It sounds like it is most likely to be an estimated reading however, I’d advise contacting our Support team so they can look into this further for you.

Please let us know how you get on.

Hi, 

I have received two bills for the same time period but the second bill states: 

"Here's your statement explained for the period [date] to [date], it replaces our charges of £x including VAT of £x"

Ovo have then charged my account for both bills even though the second bill has the statement above written on. 

Both bills have the same start readings but different end readings. The calculation for the second bill is correct and considers the start and end. 

Should the first bill be disregarded in full sue to the statement?

Thanks 

​​​

It rather depends on how you pay for your energy.

• If you pay by Direct Debit, all you need to do is make sure that the first - incorrect - bill is removed from your account. Support should be able to make that happen.
• If you pay on receipt of bill, you should pay whatever the second bill instructs you to, if you’re satisfied that it’s correct.

Do you have a smart meter? If not, were the readings used for these bills ones submitted by you or OVO estimates? If they were actual readings for the closing date of the bill, you have nothing to worry about. If they were estimates, make sure to submit regular readings including one on the first day of each billing period.   

Support should be able to sort this out after the weekend.

Concerned about a high bill? This topic may have some helpful advice.  

• Questions about your energy use? Check out our handy FAQ F.A.Q.

 

 Hey @Confused terminology 

I can understand your confusion! Firedog has given some helpful advice here:

I just wanted to add the following topic 😊

• OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly summaries - What do I need to know? F.A.Q.

Pop back if you have any further questions.

Thanks firedog,

I really appreciate the advice. Its a shame the support team don't understand and i have got no further even with a complaint as the adviser said it would be the best action...

I’m sorry to hear this ​@Confused terminology. If you’re unhappy with the resolution the complaints team have proposed you can escalate your complaint further. Find out more about the complaints process here.

Throughout the month of December, my kwh usage on the app was showing around 17kwh per day. However by the end of the month, it was showing as 23kwh per day. I thought I was on track to pay the same amount as the previous month but was surprised when the bill came through and my debit suddenly increased. Does anybody know the reason for this?

Many thanks in advance!

You should check whether the bill is based on actual or estimated readings (it can be estimated even with a smart meter sometimes).

There was also a cold snap towards the end of the month which could have increased your usage?

Thanks very much for your reply. Would I have to check that with OVO or can you see if it is an estimate on the app?

Regarding usage, it is showing a similar usage from 1 Dec right through to 31 Dec. It is just strange that the usage jumped for all of the days.

If you look at the daily readings, it should show whether it’s manual (usually when you’ve input a reading, smart (directly from a smart meter) or estimated (when the system has estimated).

Hey ​@brb2024 

Welcome to the Forum, I’m glad to see BPLightlog has already stopped by with some really helpful advice here. 

It sounds likely to be something to do with estimated/smart readings. Were you able to find your readings on your account? Did that help clear things up further?

Let us know how you get on.

Hello,

Thanks for the tips. I couldn't see in the app where you can tell if it is an estimate or not. Unfortunately, I also didn't download any data for Dec so I can't show you what I mean. It seemed to show pretty accurate data for each day but these changed at the end of the month (we have a smart meter). I think they must have been estimates based on my usage the previous month. I was expecting a higher bill in December but not as much as it turned out to be! I'll be aware of that this month.

Thanks again for your reply.

You’ll find that under Account > Meter Readings. If you have Beyond, the Account button is in the top right on the home page of the app.

Thanks very much, I just found it! Yeah it does look like they were estimates as it is saying there was a reading on 1 Dec and the next one was on 1 Jan. Thanks for helping to clear that up, I really appreciate it.

No worries. To help prevent this, you might want to crank up the reading schedule to Daily or Half-Hourly so that you basically never see estimates. You can do that in the app.

I didn't realise you could do this! But I have just set it now. Thanks very much!

Muhahahahahaha! SkyNet Blastoise Strikes Again! :D

No worries! We’re here if ya need us. :)