Pay as you go bill for debt! How is that possible?

Hey @RW1987, 

It looks like our Forum_Support have reached out to you. Please check your private messages 🙂

I have just received a debt letter when I am pay as you go and always in credit I have never used emergency credit my smart meter tells me I am in credit so how on earth has a £111 debt occurred and the meter doesn't display this debt.  But how can this be when in credit always?? I have spoken to ovo not getting anywhere in clear explanations and no notification of this debt occurring its not fair to claim this when un true 

Thank you for your reply.

I have never had a debt. Never used emergency credit. And I have lived in this property for over 10 years. I was with SSE all of that time with no problems. Then it was taken over by ovo 1 year ago. I am pay as you go and ALWAYS in credit. My smart meter is what I look at which says credit. How can a debt accure? They say because I didn't top up in March when I had £200 credit so there was no need to top up and I was also told backscreen debt from disconnection period?? What does that mean. Even so I am always in credit should not be happening. OVO has given me undue stress and worry it makes me ill to think I am in debt when I am not. I need to sort this so I can change my supplier 

I have asked for the contract and a breakdown of payments and usage i am still waiting 

If this doesn’t resolve the issue there is the option to raise a complaint. I’m sorry, it sounds like a very frustrating experience @Mandymonkey. 

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

Exactly the same is happening to me at the moment

Please could someone help me.

My mum passed away in April. I’m the executor of her estate.

She had an electricity key meter for many years with SSE and then Ovo and had never ever been in debit.

I received an email today saying that there is an issue with our meter balance. Our top ups haven’t covered the total cost of the energy used and there is a balance of £412 to pay. 

There is a breakdown of the charges that go back to 15th September 2023. Interestingly, the charge from 1st April to 31st June 2024 (they can’t even get the date right!) is £147.74 and 1st to 31st July 2024 is £45.93. Once my mum died in April there was no one living in the house. How could we have used that much electricity?

On the listing of energy used it gives the Kwh as rate 2. Does anyone know what that means?

My husband has phoned them three times today for help. One person he spoke to said that the charges were probably more like £117. We he phoned back later the department he needed to speak to had gone home.

I’m in a bit of a panic because after receiving a letter on Tuesday saying that the certificate for the meter has run out they needed to replace the meter as soon as possible. They are coming tomorrow between 8am and noon to fit a new meter. If we cancel there is a £35 charge.

Please could someone help me. I’m grieving for my mum and i really don’t need this stress. I know other people have had problems, did they manage to resolve it? Thank you very much.

Hi @Pleasehelp , sorry for your loss. That must be a difficult time. 
Although I don’t have experience of this you might be able to contact them via social media (direct message) for after hours help. 
The social media team on Facebook or Twitter might be worth a try. 
If the meter needs changing then as long as someone can take readings before the meter is taken, it might be worth letting the swap go ahead. 
As to the charges, they should be able to confirm that for you - there will be the standing charge of course, even with no usage unfortunately. There is a dedicated team in these situations but they are generally not available out of hours. 

Hope you get things sorted. 

Hey @Pleasehelp, 

I’m so sorry for your loss and this must be the last thing that you need to be dealing with. 

We have a dedicated team that deals with all aspects of bereavement within OVO. You can find all the information and how to contact them here. They’ll be in the best position to answer any questions you have and give you advice should you need it. Please get in touch with them and they can help take care of things for you. 

I hope this helps and if you need anything else please reach out. We don’t have account access here but we can give you advice and point you in the right direction to get help!