** UPDATE**

Amazing what registering a case at the Ombudsman can do….

Within 48 hours of registering my case, I have received six amended bills all of which say Economy 10 (you know that tariff that Ovo dont support)

Needless to say no explanation as to how they have been calculated, but I guess its just from the readings which they have suddenly realised they had all along!

No proposal on how to correct the overbilling, compensate me for the aggro, or most importantly how they propose to sort this mess out going forward

The funniest part was how they very kindly infomed me how important it was to clear the (small) outstanding balance within 14 days. Dream on….maybe I will take six months like Ovo did, or just wait for Ovo to adjust me back into credit

I’m glad to hear you’ve finally had your amended bills @MikeMilf, I’m sorry the process was such a long, frustrating one.

Ive had amended bills @Emmanuelle_OVO but I dont agree they are correct so the complaint goes om

@Emmanuelle_OVO Remind me again how long have OVO been saying E10 will be live ‘soon’ ?? 

Spent two and a half hours this morning printing, highlighting and annonating the most relevant emails to/from Ovo. All then had to be scanned and uploaded

When I re-read them it reads like a descent into madness lolol, but Im please I kept them polite and businesslike.

Ive uploaded all my evidence, deadline for Ovo to do the same is 26.02

I know what financial remedy I have in mind, but more importantly what the hell are they going to do going forward?

Not much to do now until the 26th so I can only hope that Ovo are going to see sense and go for a quick resolution to the complaint. Im certainly not looking for anything unreasnable, so I hope they wont be economical with the truth

Its the ongoing situation moving forward that is giving me cause for concern. In reality I dont think Ovo will support E10 so what do I do? Can the meter be reprogrammed or is it a replacement situation?

Given the existence of night storage heaters, E7 is the only alternative I think so will a change of meters automatically change the times at which my off peak circuits switch on and off? If not, what will? Sorry if thats a technically dumb question

Certainly looking around, E10 limits the number of providers that you can switch to if Ovo cant find a solution. The one being pushed to @JessicaRose (revert to non smart meter) would be a real non-starter for me

@MikeMilf - I have replied to OVO saying that a meter from the dark ages is not acceptable and that, as they chose to migrate my account t knowing full well what the meter configuration was, I require the situation to be resolved correctly whilst keeping a smart meter installed. This have also stated that the installation of my smart meter was specifically linked to my E10 tariff by SSE and that I have written proof of that.  If OVO continue to refuse to resolve the I will begin proceedings for breech of contract. 
 

I have also contacted the Martin Lewis Money Program and pasted the matter to Ofgem in the hope that they can hold OVO to account 

I genuinely can’t believe that on the 16th March, this debacle will have been going on for 6 months without resolution!  Absolutely shameful.

Perfect end to the day…..type a post and have it disappear with the comment “Somethings gone wrong”

Wonderful

That is being fixed by the forum provider at the moment. It’s not OVO’s fault.

Hmmm….dont recall saying it was?

Join the club 

While they’re trying to fix this, there is (on Windows, at any rate) a workaround. Click where the text used to be, then Undo (Ctrl-Z) twice to restore it. Ctrl-A C to copy it all so it’s not lost again, refresh the page, then Ctrl-V to paste it back into the editor box. 

Thanks @Firedog noted

Well apparently both sides have now uploaded their evidence for the Ombudsman to consider.

I say apparently because whereas I uploaded carefully annotated emails and before/after bills, Ovo’s evidence consisted of two blurred screenshots of some account readings and some line graphs.

No explanations, no apologies and no proposals going forward…..I think Im insulted at their total lack of effort. Im obviously not worth it

The most amusing thing was at the bottom of the account screenshot was the comment ‘Ovo does not support E10’ but at the top of the same screenshot their system clearly says ‘Current Tariff Economy 10’.

If the Ombudsman finds in their favour after this latest shambles then the system is outright bent imho!

In absolute fairness to Ovo I was in the wrong earlier as they had given a conclusion and suggested remedies, just not in the place I expected to find it.

Unfrotunately I wholly disagree with their conclusion as they have focussed entirely on the original inverted tariffs issue (which was corrected early October) and ignored the overbilling due to the afternoon/eveing E10 periods being recorded as peak. In fact they state there is no over billing…..sigh

According to them I have used considerably more peak electricity than off peak which I know is not right as winter usage is included and their figures are contradicted by two years of previous billing history with SEB

Fun night spent uploading comments onto the Ombudsman website, but I do feel it was right to correct my earlier mis-posting here

Getting a real sinking feeling….

Presumably in response to me disputing their ‘evidence’ last night, they have revised their revised invoices and pushed even more usage into peak rate. Result? a futher £67 off my credit balance

In my last twelve months with SEB on E10,  off peak usage was pretty much level with peak. Now according to Ovo I use nearly 40% more peak than off-peak. This is the same guy, in the same flat, working from home on his PC with night storage heaters on in winter.

I sincerely hope the ombudsman guy can see to the heart of this issue - ie Ovo cannot handle E10 meters

@MikeMilf , @pegem @Firedog  et al - I don't want to speak too soon and jinx things but I think I have actually got somewhere with this whole sorry debacle at long last.

Following on from my response to Ovos’ attempt to force a meter from the dark ages on to me and a a very forthright email stating that I intended to begin legal action for breach of contract and escalate to Ofgem and have been in contact with the Martin Lewis Money Programme, I had a response from Ovo this morning stating that my complaint had now been passed to an Ombudsman Complaint Team Manager (instead of the usual front line infantry that I have been dealing with) and then something strange and damn near miraculous happened...

I got home from work to discover the power had been out at some point.  I then noticed that my IHD was telling me that the meter had been initialised (like it did when Ovo first messed this lot up).  Amazingly, if my IHD is to be believed, it is switching to the correct tariff at the correct time for E10.  

So this mess IS solvable, it just takes 6 months of moaning, an Ombudsman complaint, escalating to Ofgem and the threat of imminent action and dragging Ovo in the national media!

For anyone that can benefit, my current JSON is attached as well but stay strong and keep pushing - we can get Ovo to resolve this and here is (I hope) the proof.

@JessicaRose 

Thats fantastic news and I hope your success is permanent as I share the same kind of meter.

I have messaged my contact at the Ombudsman to draw his attention to this development. I dont know if he will be allowed to view these forums, but surely Ovo cannot continue to parrot the “we dont support E10 mantra”

Now,….onto the overbilling lol

Im genuinely made up for you!!

@JessicaRose I'm really pleased that someone's got somewhere! I'm glad I'm on your side! I'd do a load test and check your heaters are really cycling E10 timings, in case the ECAUL locally switching and the TPR are mismatched, they have been known to get things wrong! LOL.

Hi @JessicaRose 

I know it’s not been an easy road for you trying to get this resolved, but I;m glad it seems like you’re finally getting somewhere. Keep us updated with how that all plays out, as if they’ve not already, they’ll need to agree to close the complaint once you’re satisfied all has been resolved.

@MikeMilf Anything on the Forum is public, so if you feel there’s something here that might help in your case, absolutely feel free to share it with them.

Repeating my pleasure at @JessicaRose ‘s success but a thought has come to mind

Given that more and more providers dont seem to be offering E10, are we not restricting our abiliity to switch if (when) our patience runs out with Ovo?

Im debating whether E7 might be a better outcome as it increases the chance of being able to leave Ovo. Having said that, my old mum has been happily on E7 with Ovo since being migrated from SSE some 4 months before me

Cant believe im saying this lol….its like seeing the winning line in front of you then running off at a tangent!

Decisions, decisions…...happy to get your thoughts ladies and gents

Just to point out the main difference between E10 and E7: the afternoon and evening boost:
  

My E7 storage heaters have run out of steam by teatime and don’t get recharged again until after midnight. I can boost their stamina a bit by not demanding heat during the day, but only for an hour or two. I can imagine the premium I’d have to pay for the E10 timings would be worth it in comfort.

 This is really good news 

I wouldn’t rely on the IHD for anything! Rather check the meter itself:

• Is it turning the switched circuit on and off at the right times? Look at the little o¯o symbols in the bottom right-hand corner; they should be different during peak and offpeak periods.
• Is it showing the right tariff - the higher rate during a peak period?
• Are the right registers incrementing?

And your online account:

• On the Meter readings page, are the right numbers appearing against the Peak and Offpeak labels?
  • Do you see any change in the sequence at the time when the remote adjustments were made? 
• On the Usage pages, are the half-hourly readings coming through as before on the Day tab?
•  On the current Billing page, do the meter readings make sense? Do they appear to have jumped, or do you only see the opening and current readings? 

Thanks. That’s still the same as it was a couple of months ago. Remember, this is from the billing platform, and I’m not sure where they get it from nor how often it’s updated. I do think, though, that it should eventually give an accurate picture of the situation, so I’d keep an eye on it for a couple of weeks.

I assume your Plan page hasn’t changed and it’s still showing the unsupported E10 tariff.

Meanwhile, enjoy your cheap afternoon and evening heat 

@Firedog Of course you are right when it comes to storage heaters running out of puff in the afternoon/evenings, but Im trying to weigh that up against E7 being much more freely available with other energy providers

My heaters are only in use for 2-3 months a year, and at the moment my faith in Ovo is at rock bottom. Maybe that will change with the eventual outcome of my complaint. Unfortunately Im getting the distinct impression they are trying to wriggle, rather than holding their hands up and admitting errors

I guess we shall see

I’m going to be in a similar position at some point as I currently have a THTC set up with 2 meters, one RTS controlled one for heating/hot water and another for daytime use.

I will need to be changed to a smart meter before the RTS is switched off, and at that point, I am also considering asking if I can just go Economy 7 as I feel it will give me more tariff options and freedom to swap suppliers too.

After having fought with Ovo for several months to get billing errors sorted out after transfer from SSE, they don’t inspire me with confidence going forward with any more changes to my set up.

Unfortunately, a quirk of THTC is that in some cases you’re on it because the DNO requires you to be on it. If you have Storage Heaters and are in a Load Managed Area - this is determined by the DNO rather than your supplier - then the only permitted tariff is, I’m afraid, THTC. If you are NOT in a Load Managed Area and/or you no longer run Storage Heaters, transitioning away from THTC may be easier.

OVO is developing Smart Meters that are capable of handling THTC but they’re not ready just yet last time I checked. I know this because I saw them with my own eyes in November 2022 when OVO invited me down to their head office for the day. It’s possible that OVO has started rolling them out since I last asked though.

There’s still one more year yet before RTS is shutdown completely and the plan is to have as many folks as possible off of RTS before that point. If you refuse to migrate, no promises can be made as to whether your heating and hot water will continue to work once the RTS service is turned off.