I've got smart meters, so why did Morrisons Data Services come to read my meters?

I have recently (4th April) migrated from SSE to OVO both PAYG. I have a smart meter, so I’ve never had to send meter readings.  This afternoon a man turned up saying he was asked by OVO to read my meters.  Is this something they would usually do because of the change over?

Welcome @Katie B B B ,

That’s normal, but not switchover related. It’s a thing that happens every so often to make sure the meters are working properly, check for signs of tampering and take a verification reading. As long as everything is above board, they’re usually in and out in under 10 minutes.

OVO uses a company called Morrison Data Services to do this. They always carry ID and you can ask them to show it at anytime. If you’re not satisfied, you have the right to refuse entry and have OVO re-arrange it.

Thank you Blastoise 186 for your reply.

He wasn’t here very long and seemed a nice guy.   As soon as he went I took photo’s of my meter readings. 

I think in the past with my energy company I set up a security name with them.

Good question. 

I see you can setup a password for meter reading if you are on the Priority Service Register. 

• Send an engineer to read your meter – if there’s no one at home to help read your meter, we’re happy to send someone over. For your peace of mind, you can ask our OVO engineer to use a password, so you know who you’re letting in.

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/priority-services-register

So i wonder if OVO can set a password for these types of visits for those on the Priority Service Register and other customers @Blastoise186 

It is supported on PSR, I call it the Engineer Password. Not sure about support for everyone else, but I see it as a valid idea worth asking about adding support for.

I have a smart meter fitted and have been on holiday, why have I been asked to supply a gas meter reading by Morrison Data Services.

Hi @wullie4917 and welcome to this customer forum group. All meters have to be checked from time to time. The Morrisons team are one of those used but you should also check anyone’s identity of course. 

Thanks for your reply, its over 48 hrs since the card was posted through my door so I’ll leave sending in a meter reading for now. 

Anyone else had a meter reader round tonight around 6pm ??

Hey @Ellay,

Did they say they were from Morrisons? That’s the name of our data collector. 

We’re required to carry out checks every 1-2 years, even if a customer has a smart meter. If your meters are inside the property and you don’t feel comfortable letting them in, that is your right. You could also ask to see some ID.

Hope this helps. 

Emmanuelle_OVO that's a great help .  Thanks so much :)

Is Morrisons taking a meter reading for billing purposes? Or is it only ‘data collection’ I felt  a bit flustered and didn’t ask. He was nice and showed his badge and gave me time to read if and showed me the info on his phone. As others have said an unexpected visit and these days you don’t trust people easily, it did make me a bit uncomfortable. OVO should definitely inform customers that they may get a visit

@MoiraF , as was mentioned earlier, the supplier has an obligation to check meter readings every 1-2 years to see all is in order

We have a smart meter fitted for our gas but today we had someone from OVO come and read the meter. 
 

Seems odd to me as the account shows a consistent reading every hour/half hour. 
 

Is this something that normally happens to check it’s calibrated correctly? 
 

Thanks