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Renewal prices are too high - do you price match?

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S
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Hey @Robby P

In regards to current pricing, on Tuesday 18 December 2018, we increased the gas and electricity unit rates of our Better & 2 Year Fixed plans.

This price change is a 4.9% increase to our headline price for Better energy and a 2.2% increase to our headline price for 2 year Fixed energy.

We review our prices on a regular basis - this change is a result of competition across the energy market and increasingly volatile wholesale energy costs in regards to how much it costs us to buy the energy we supply you.

You can get more info here: https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/pricing
Worth checking if the unit costs you quoted include VAT or not? We definitely haven't increased unit prices by that much, so looks like the lower cost might be excluding VAT and the higher number, includes VAT. Worth double checking.

Darran

I was delighted to join Ovo in March last year and have been very happy with all aspects of the company, many of which are outlined above on this topic.

Naturally I was aware of rising energy prices and was expecting price increases of the order outlined above by Darran - if not higher, having seen a figure of 12.4% quoted somewhere in the media.

In the personalised breakdown I have received I have been quoted an absolutely staggering 31% increase, amounting to nearly £400 per year. This is quite unbelievable but appears to have happened to others and I can't see what it has to do with VAT.

Darran, you state "We definitely haven't increased unit prices by that much" and yet my electricity unit cost rises by over 35% and my gas by very nearly 29%. I assume you are a representative of the company so I naturally place trust and reliance on what you say.

What on earth is going on? I hadn't changed my energy provider for about 20 years and really thought I'd made a great choice, looking forward to many years with Ovo, but I'm left feeling utterly duped and misled.
S
Rank
No response on this and it looks like an email or even a phone call is going to cost me my "self-service reward" now. Prices being beaten by Big 6, customer service firewall, reviews sliding - not the company I thought I was signing up with for years. Sadly, time to go.
Tim_OVO
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Userlevel 7
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Not a good read this @SteveP - not the quickest reply wither.

We will always offer the very best prices we can for all.

These prices on offer need to be sustainable prices, and we can't rip off the customers we have on the variable tariffs in order to subsidise loss leading tariffs. That's not our way. We do things right, we work hard on being efficient with our costs and offer the best we can with this approach.

However you choose (us hopefully), we hope it goes well in 2019!
Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there!
O
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Has anyone requested a quote for supply after your contract expires?
Nancy_OVO
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Userlevel 6
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Hey @Oddies - I've moved your post onto this topic about renewal price changes.

Thanks
Your guiding light(bulb)
A
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Hello all,
does anybody know is it possible to negotiate renewal price with OVO? They have offered as their renewal rates:
Unit Rate = 15.78p/kWh excludes VAT
Standing charge = 27.40p/day excludes VAT

While one of those comparison sites recommended a provider that charges
Unit Rate = 13.87p/kWh excludes VAT
Standing charge = 17.85p/day excludes VAT
(it is also 12 months fixed plan)

I like how hassle free OVO is so would like them to come closer to those rates, is that possible at all?

Thanks in advance!
Andy
Nancy_OVO
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Userlevel 6
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Hi @Andy-S,

We don't price match or undercut other companies, as we believe in fair pricing. This means the rates we offer are the same for everyone. The rates we've offered you for your renewal would be the same as a new customer signing up in your area.

Cheers
Your guiding light(bulb)
A
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OK, thanks for getting back to me. £300 a year makes a difference. Thank you for providing good service thus far.
S
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Long term customer of OVO

Even with online and maximum credit at 5% new proposed tariff is well above the market.

Have a second property too, and FITS (payment is slow on this) so disappointed to have to leave.
Nancy_OVO
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Userlevel 6
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Hi @Sunningdale Power Station - I've moved your post onto this thread about renewing your contract. You should be able to find more info about why our prices might have increased on here.

Thanks
Your guiding light(bulb)
G
Rank
I have been with OVO just over 2 years and my 2 year fixed rate deal ends in mid August, in that time I have got both my son and daughter onto OVO, service is good and we all have Smart meters so very easy to manage. I am on a very good deal so the new 2 year deal on offer is a lot more expensive which I can understand. What I do not understand is my daughters deal ended in mid June and she is on a new one year deal and rates are much lower than what is now on offer and I mean it is a substantial change. Should I just keep looking at your system for any new deals as you do seem to change regularly, I really do not want to leave OVO
Amy_OVO
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Welcome to the forum, @GaryF, I've moved your post here, there is a lot of handy info in the thread.

Please check out @stateofit's best answer.

Hope this helps!
OVO-Joyed to help!
Rooty
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I've just signed up with Bulb Energy as my electric (in particular) and gas tariff with Ovo was due to go up by an eye-watering amount once my 2-year fixed contract ended. I think I've been with Ovo for four years now and have noticed a decline in both quality of service (the whole "reward" saga for example), and a disinterest in pricing competitiveness, and that's before we talk about one of the highest daily standing charges in the energy market.

If you use MoneySavingExperts' Cheap Energy Club, it's easy to see how much Ovo's tariff has increased and other suppliers' customer satisfaction has risen.

I am going to have to read my own smart -- soon to be dumb -- meters until the whole SMET1 fiasco is resolved. This is not Ovo's fault of course, but reading my own meters with Bulb Energy saves me £300 - £400 per year at current Ovo / Bulb Energy rates and that's not to be sniffed at.

All that said, I'm a bit sad to leave Ovo, as in many ways, despite my criticisms, they at least make an effort to deal with customers fairly, and that's not something that can be said of all energy suppliers.
O
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Add me to the list of people leaving because I find Ovo hundreds of pounds higher than competitors at renewal time.

This is a shame because Ovo have been good. But even good service isn’t worth £400 a year 😞
Amy_OVO
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It's a shame to hear you're leaving, @Organic.

We don't offer different prices to our customers based on tenure, this wouldn't be in line with us priding ourselves on transparency.

We do however, reward our loyal customers, they are very important to us. Our OVO Interest Reward is our way of thanking our customers for their loyalty. You'll start with a 3% reward in your first year, before we increase it to 4% in year two, and 5% the following year. Essentially, the longer you stay with us, the more we'll say thanks.

If our rates are more favorable for you in the future please keep us in mind.

Thanks!
OVO-Joyed to help!
O
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@Amy_OVO The interest reward is good but I'd have to put in £8k to recoup the £400 which I don't even think is possible ;-)

Thank you for you kind words - and yes I hope to be back. This is the end of my second stint with Ovo and both times I've left because of pricing. I think this just emphasises the market is truly broken as you don't want me to switch, I don't want to switch but we have to do this dance every few years 🙂
E
Rank
Userlevel 3
Yeah I'm really finding it hard to convince myself to stay. I originally joined in 2017, and my fixed rate ends on the 28th September. Currently I pay £1318/year, and the new projection for the 'cheapest' fixed rate is £1628/year. The cheapest I've found using the usual comparison sites is sitting at £1407/year projected, and even some of the big 6 are coming in under the projected renewal from Ovo...

The only thing putting me off from switching supplier, is the absolute nightmare I have when changing supplier, as when I switched to Ovo from Scottish Power, it took 3 Months to complete, as I'm on an IGT, and it just took a stupidly long amount of time! I had the same issue when moving supplier before then too, with an equally absurd length of time to sort out...

So...

Do I stay with Ovo, knowing I can save just shy of £200 over the year, but expect a 3 month wait to sort out the switchover due to being on an IGT and revert back to a 'Dumb' meter which I won't even know if I can still bond a CAD to.

The other option is to switch to Octopus, as both have you have teamed up with Monzo to give a cashback incentive if you switch, and they say that my current meter should work fine with it being made by Secure... but again, is that worth the hassle of transferring due to the IGT...
R
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OK - my 2 year plan is due up in a month
I am paying £76/month dual fuel
I am currently in credit to the amount of £87 (will go up higher on DD day in 2 days)
Renewal quote - where the prices are not that different - is £86
The only major difference is en extra 3p on the electric KWh. I used 3000 last year - so £90

What is going on?
Rooty
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@ErTnEc Only you can decide whether Ovo (or any other) supplier is right for you.

I stated in a previous post that I was moving to Bulb for precisely the reasons you give: Ovo's tariff.

However, I changed my mind during the cooling off period and decided to stick with them.

For me, it was mainly the annoyance of having a SMET1 first generation smart meter and losing all functionality. So a slow handclap to the originators of that piece of kit for inhibiting customer movement. 😡

All things considered though, to be fair to Ovo, even though they really want us to "get in touch via social media" -- an anathema to me -- they have always come good when I've had to deal with them in the past. Bulb remain an unknown in this regard.
Eva_OVO
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Userlevel 5
Your Direct Debit isn't increased when you renew with us, @raddy59. The suggested amount doesn't take any current credit/debit balances into consideration. The unit rates may have changed since your last contract with us.
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt!
R
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The unit rates have changed, but not by much. The new dd for renewal is specified in my renewal notice - it is +£10 ! So, if I think this is too much, how do I renew maintaining my old DD amount? If I plug in my annual KWh usage rates into comparison sites it works out more or less what I'm paying currently - £76.
Ed_OVO
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In that case, @raddy59, I'd get in touch with us to renew over the phone. Call the team on 0330 303 5063 when you can (we're open 9am-5pm today) and they'll be able to check the Direct Debits and get the renewal processed at the current Direct Debit amount.

Thanks,
Ed
I'm shocking at energy puns...
R
Rank
OK - tried that today, and the renewal amount is +£20 (so I am £100 in credit, and the new plan will be £240 per year more). Guess its goodbye OVO...
Darran_OVO
Userlevel 7
Badge +2
Hey @raddy59 based on the time of year and knowing that we are all going to start using more energy over winter, the new DD will be worked out based on that. Obviously if you are giving monthly readings etc and not using as much as we think you will (based on your previous usage), you can go into your account an adjust your DD amount.

I renewed with OVO 2 weeks ago, and it advised on the renewal page that my DD will go up a bit, but I know actually after winter, I'll be able to reduce it down again once I start using less, therefore balancing out the overall cost over the contract length.

Hope this helps.

Darran
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R
Rank
Renewal was based on last years usage - can easily renew at my old rate (£76/month) on any comparison site, numerous suppliers. I think OVO have lost the plot. The rates are up by 30% per fuel on average, plus I will pay 54p/day standing charge (27p per fuel). Bearing in mind fuel prices are forecast to drop i n October.

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