Hi Jeffus,

Thanks for asking.

I have had a reply, as follows:

“My name is Peter, and I’m in the Advanced Resolution Team here at OVO Energy.

I’m sorry that you’ve had to contact us regarding your concerns.

We’ve received your complaint and I want you to know we take all of our customers' concerns seriously. We’re working hard for you and would like to find a suitable resolution as soon as possible. 

We have completed an initial review of your complaint today and will assign it to a dedicated specialist soon. The specialist will aim to contact you within the next five working days. They will then be your point of contact and work with you to reach a suitable resolution to your concerns.  

Until then, I would like to give you some information that you may find useful:”

They then went on to give me lots of info about tariffs and what to do if I am struggling to pay.  Yup, not sure what that has to do with it either.

Anyway, am pleased to know that they take “customers’ (sic) concerns seriously” and are working hard.  I have been assigned a dedicated specialist (haven’t heard from them yet).  Not sure why it has taken since May to be given a “dedicated specialist”, but there we go.

I note what others have written above about the initial e-mail from Ovo (shown above) and my point that it was tech heavy jargon and, in my opinion, designed to put off the man in the street consumer.  Interesting to note that, having navigated this level, and having explained that I understood all about DCC and T3 aerials, I have been moved on to the next link in the chain.  I fear that others would have given up at this point.

Interestingly, two of my neighbours have had smart meters installed (this is the smoking gun, as far as I am concerned).  One of them (v tech savvy) actually sat on the Smart Meter Advisory Board and has a smart meter installed by OVO.  the other had one installed by another company within the last four months.

I rest my case.  Somehow, someone has flagged a Potential Tech Abort notice on my account (despite never coming to my property) and no one is prepared to challenge this.  It is easier to hide behind what it says on the computer screen in front of you than to apply a bit of logical reality.

Will keep you posted on the next chapter….

I’ve read the initial post again.

In my opinion as the Forum Volunteer here who specialises in the Smart Meter stuff… There is only one jargon term that wasn’t clearly explained in the email - T3 Aerial. However, it’s been covered many times on the Forum and upstream resources like SmartMe.

I can’t find anything else in there which would be confusing and nor can anyone else around the world who’ve read this thread.

Hi Blastoise186,

I didn’t realise that you were the Forum Volunteer who specialises in Smart Meter stuff.  As such, I assume that you know quite a bit about smart meters and other tech things.  From your previous post I can see that you are very up to speed with internet routers etc.  Far more so than the rest of us, I would guess.  With this in mind, I am not surprised that you didn’t find the initial e-mail from OVO to be confusing.  I am not sure about the “anyone else around the world who’ve read this thread” but I will take your word for it.  All I am saying is that, having shown it to various people in my office, all of whom are bright people, they could not decipher exactly what was being said.

Let’s look at the wording again. 

Upon investigating the account I can see that there was a cancellation due to a predicted technical abort, technical about means when the engineer is unable to install the smart meter in the address due to an issue relating to T3 aerial.

Upon checking the account I can see that the cancellation has been done as we would require T3 Aerial as well as the DCC (Data Communications Company) to come out to the property.

So, the appointment, that I took a day off work for, was cancelled (no one phoned me to cancel it, they just failed to show up) due to a “predicted technical abort”.  The word predicted, in my view, is important.  It suggests that something may happen, but it may not.

You are right in that an explanation of “technical abort” is then given -technical about (sic) means when the engineer is unable to install the smart meter in the address due to an issue relating to T3 aerial. But this is what I have been questioning all along.  It says that the engineer (the one who, I assume cancelled my appointment?) is unable to install the meter..This suggests that he has tried to but can’t do it.  It goes on to say that he can’t do it because of an issue relating to T3 aerial (how is the average OVO customer meant to know what an issue relating to T3 aerial is?  What is the “issue”?  I know you say that this is all covered off in this forum but that’s not the point - when a customer receives this e-mail they don’t know about OVO forums and the like, they are just reading what is in front of them and trying to work out why the engineer, that they waited in all day for, didn’t turn up.

The email then goes on to give a slightly contradictory reason for the cancellation, saying that a T3 aerial would be required and now, also, that the DCC would need to come out to the property.  Again, does the man in the street have a clue who the DCC are?  And the obvious response, on reading the mail would be “fine, get hold of the aerial that you need and the men from the DCC”.

Anyway, confusing or not, my point remains the same - How does OVO work out that, at my address, 1. an engineer is unable to install a smart meter.  2. A T3 aerial is required.  3. The DCC will have to come out to my property.  What are all these firm convictions based on?  Especially when other properties close by have had smart meters installed without any issue and my closest neighbours has had an OVO smart meter for four years. 

As I have said all along, my account, for reasons unknown has “Predicted Technical Abort” flagged up beside it.  No one will give me an answer as to why, when and by whom this was done.  This then leads to customer service assistants saying that the appointment was cancelled because of T3 and DCC issues.  Based on what?  The mysterious map has been the answer put forward so far but if this map says it doesn’t work for me, why does it work for my neighbours?

I will wait to see what the response will be from the dedicated specialist on the Advanced Resolution Team.

My day job is in IT and I’m an experienced Admin. I can tell you from experience - Wi-Fi sucks, especially when you don’t use the right equipment. In fact, the experience of using anything wireless is often terrible if it’s not done properly. This is partly why there’s checks in place before an engineer even stops by your house. If these fail, the entire appointment is blocked from being booked at all in 99% of cases, but is sometimes caught later.

I’ve literally known cases where you can walk from one end of a room to another and go from full mobile 4G signal to absolutely zero signal at all, even in a high signal area. Or even outside, you can move 1m and totally lose coverage with absolutely nothing obvious blocking it.

Hey @rvintner,

I don’t have access to your account but I’d imagine the ‘predicted technical abort’ refers to us predicting the signal in the error was going to be problematic.

In order to go ahead with the T3 aerial installation we need to go through appointments like these to demonstrate we can’t fix the communication issues without a T3.

It is then up to the DCC to decide whether a T3 would work and provide one. 

Hi Emmanuelle,

Thanks for input.

I don’t disagree with you - I’m sure that Ovo did predict that the signal would be bad.  But it doesn’t actually know.  As Blastoise 186 points out above, a signal can vary within a small area so until someone actually comes out we will never know for sure.  Oh, and it does work for my neighbour, who has an OVO smart meter.

Your second paragraph also makes sense.  But again, I just need someone to come out to actually check to see if a T3 aerial is required or not.  Once this is done we can move forward, but if it isn’t we remain in the world of assumptions.  For now, I am being told it will not work despite the fact that two neighbours have smart meters and no issues.  You can see my dilemma.  

In summary, I just need OVO to move in the direction of showing me that they are trying to make this work rather than coming up with unsubstantiated reasons as to why it will not.

@rvintner

Fingers crossed you make progress now it has been escalated and you know your neighbours have smart meters. 

If you get fed up you could try switching to Octopus. Quite a few posters have reported that they have found it easier to resolve meter issues in general with Octopus. This isn't the same as yours, but did involve a flag on an account. Of course the issue may have been solved in the same time if the poster had stayed around with OVO, impossible to know. 

Thanks Jeffus.  Once I hear back from OVO team I will be sure to report back on the outcome.  

I have nothing against OVO, it is simply the frustration, that we all face in today’s world, when you push up against a seemingly impenetrable system and have to fight that little bit harder to get your voice heard and for someone to take action.  It is the same with all utility companies, with insurance everything.  It is just the way of the world but it can use up a lot of time and energy to get to where you want to get to.  However, if all else fails, I will look at Octopus and I thank you for this suggestion.

Keep us posted with how your situation develops @rvintner, it could help other Community Members

8 days and counting since Ovo promised to move my request up to the next level and ask a Specialist to call me but still no response from them.  Nothing.  Silence.

Looks like Octopus is the next best option.

I’ll ask our Forum Support team to reach out via a private message to take some details and chase this up for you, @rvintner. 

Dear Friends in Forum World,

Today, 10 days after being told that I would be contacted by a Dedicated Specialist, I received a call from Susie at Ovo.  A courtesy call, she said, about my “billing query”.  My “Billing Query”??  Yes, dear reader, six months of writing to Ovo to try and have  a smart meter installed, or, as they wrote in a letter to me back in August, “Changing your meter is simple and stress-free”, and the person calling me hadn’t even read my notes.  

And we are no further forward.  The script is still the same - “We are waiting to hear back from the Technical Team”.  Which is what everyone I have spoken to since 10th May has been telling me.  It is a wonderful get out clause that shifts the blame to the Technical Team and suggests that they are the ones that never communicate.  But this has been going on for six months.  And it is likely to go on for another six months as I see no evidence that anyone is actually doing anything.  Every time I get a new person “looking after my complaint” we go back to square one and the same script is passed on.

It can’t be this complicated.  My neighbour has an OVO smart meter, has done for over four years.  Another neighbour has had one installed in the last six months.

I feel that we are in a state of paralysis and no one can actually unblock the system and get someone to come out.  As I think I said in a previous post, the emphasis seems to have switched to excuses as to why this can’t happen as opposed to finding a way to make sure that it can.

I remain positive and hope that, one day, this might get resolved.  More updates as and when I get them from the Dedicated Specialist.

As a final note - I see that the original Heading that I used on this post appears to have been changed and it has SOLVED beside it.  Sadly not.

@rvintner

Yep, the forum marks as SOLVED when the best advice possible at the time has been posted, never when the issue has been fixed. It can be confusing. The forum isn't a replacement or run in parallel with the complaint process.

Do you know when your complaint was  logged and how far you are into the 8 weeks before the Energy Ombudsman can take over? They can often speed things up.

Hi,

Update from my last post five days ago.

The latest mail from OVO today as follows:

“The reason we know if a customer has a T3 aerial or not is through their Meter Point Administration Number and also through Smart Support. I cannot request an engineers to come round to the property as my request will declint (sic) as you have an aerial type that we cannot connect.”

Now this is interesting.  If you have read my previous posts you will see that I have been trying to get a smart meter installed.  Simples, one would hope.  Anyway, everyone keeps telling me that I can’t have one because I need a T3 aerial (despite the fact that my neighbour has an OVO smart meter and no special aerial), but no one can explain why they think I need a T3 aerial and no one has come out to check if I need a T3 aerial.  But now I get this e-mail shown above.  Well, the way I read that is that they know that I have a T3 aerial and they know that is through the MPAN and Smart Support (I have no idea what that is).  They go on to say that an engineer will not come out as I “have an aerial type that we cannot connect”.  

This has really lost me.  As far as I am aware, I don’t have an aerial as I don't have a smart meter (although apparently OVO can tell that I do have one.  In fact “they know”).  And they are saying that an engineer can’t come out as I have an aerial type (T3) that “we cannot connect”.  When before everyone was saying that they can only connect if I do have a T3 aerial but no one can supply one of those and no one knows if I need one anyway.

I mean really, as an exercise in obfuscation this is hitting new highs.  As before, I just want someone to believe that this can work and try to make it work (I live near Colchester for goodness sake) instead I just get a litany of reasons as to why it won't work but no-one, not one person, can tell me why they have arrived at that conclusion.

I will keep trying..

Have you made any further progress @rvintner 

It is rare a thread goes on this long on a single customer issue...

Hey @rvintner 

Adding onto Jeffus’ ask if you’ve made progress, I’ve had the Forum Support reach out to you again to see if they can help - especially with this email, it sounds like some information isn;t right somewhere, and we’d like to get things set straight so we can get the issue resolved. Keep an eye out here for a Private Message. 

Jeffus and Abby, thank you for contacting me.

I received the message below from OVO yesterday.

Just a regurgitation of the previous mail from OVO.  But it remains as opaque as ever.  

As noted in my previous post above, this whole bit about “Therefore our systems show that you have a T3 aerial” is driving me mad.  I repeat again and again - I don’t have a smart meter and I don’t have a T3 aerial.  But “The System” says that I do.  But no one will look beyond The System and try and make an informed decision.

This has gone on for so long and no one can tell me why an Ovo installed smart meter works in my neighbour’s house but will not work in mine.  Everyone just falls back on The System Says No.  But how does that make any sense?

It looks like we have reached the end of the road and I will have to take this to the ombudsman and see if they can persuade anyone to look at this sensibly.

So frustrating….

Good Morning Mr Nunn,

Thank you for your Email.

As I explained previously the reason we know if a customer has a T3 aerial or not is through their Meter Point Administration Number and also through Smart Support. Therefore our systems show that you have a T3 aerial and this is something that our engineers do not install.

I am sorry that you are disappointed with the outcome of your complaint, but if this is not a service OVO provide then I cannot arrange an appointment for you. But thank you for your feedback, it is much appreciated and we will keep your comments in mind.

I have thoroughly investigated your complaint and there isn't anything further that we can do under your circumstances. However, just as a goodwill gesture for your disappointment, I would like to offer to credit £30 onto your account balance upon agreement of closing the complaint down as resolved.

If you would like to accept this then please let me know, and I will credit the account immediately. You can reach out either by simply replying to this email or by calling 0330 102 7400 and asking to speak to me. I have included your case reference number in the subject of this email. I am available Monday - Friday, 09:00 - 17:30.

Again, I am sorry for your disappointment, but if this is a service we ever offer in the future, we will be very happy to help you.

Kind regards,

Suzie

Advanced Resolutions Specialist

This reads like a Kafka novel, and I feel for you.

I take it you’ve checked that this MPAN that allegedly has a smart meter with a T3 aerial is in fact your MPAN? There have been cases where MPANs have got mixed up.

Just to be sure you know what this means: the MPAN is a unique identifier for the electricity supply to your house. It won’t normally change, even if the house is sold or a new meter is installed, and it’s pretty important that it’s correctly recorded on your account and everywhere else. 

The other vital piece of information is the Meter Serial Number, MSN. Nowadays, this gives an indication of how old the meter is - the first two digits are the year of certification - but this may not be the case for older meters like yours, if it’s due for replacement. 

These two numbers are uniquely tied together, and they should both be shown on your bills. In particular, I find it surprising that OVO support are claiming that you have a smart meter even though its MSN is indicating that its certification has expired (or is about to). Please check that the MSN on your bills matches the number on the meter itself. 

You can find your ‘official’ MPAN by contacting your electricity distributor, the DNO. That is in your area UKPN. You should then know whether your MSN and your MPAN are properly recorded on the national database. 

Since OVO Support ‘know’ that you have a smart meter with a T3 aerial when you know you haven’t, there must be something wrong in the details they’re finding for your supply point. 

It might help our understanding if you could post a clear photo of your meter so we can see its certification stamp and serial number.

For no good reason, I’m wondering if in that first paragraph, it is supposed to say “Therefore our systems show that you need a T3 aerial and that is something our engineers do not install”.

Although the outcome is still frustrating, the response makes more sense as I believe that DCC need to be involved to install the T3. 

Hi Firedog,

Thank you for your reply.  

Indeed, very Kafkaesque.  Or maybe more like Groundhog Day when it comes to going around and around with the same, obscure response.

Anyway, your reply is the first constructive and comprehensive one that I am yet to receive.  Thank you for your info and for the explanations, all of which I understand.

I have checked the numbers as suggested and they do correspond to what's shown on my bills.  So that part is correct.  Yes, it is an old meter (I will look to add a photo if I can), which is why, as you point out, I have been receiving various letters/e-mails from OVO saying that my meter is out of date and needs replacing (oh the irony!!).

I think that Suzie might be getting a little bit confused in her communication (it sometimes reads like a cut and paste reply).  However, she does write “our systems show that you have a T3 aerial”.  That is fairly unequivocal.  If you replaced “have” with “require” then it would make more sense but even when I have talked to Suzie on the phone she has been adamant that the system shows that I have a T3 aerial.

When all this began, back in May (I know, it has sucked up a huge amount in time and energy) the main issue, it seemed, was that The System was showing “predicted technical abort” re my property.  But nobody could explain how or why, other than an apparent engineer report from Scottish Power.  But I have lived here for fifteen years and never seen any engineer.  My guess, following on from your mail above, is that maybe the numbers that show on their System are wrong.  Although if they are showing as correct on my bill then I would be surprised if this is the case.

Anyway, I don’t know how to get to the bottom of this.  We are in a world where everyone is seemingly desperate to roll out smart meters and yet when i try to get one I meet with nothing but resistance.  I wouldn’t care other than the fact that I want to benefit from the hugely improved EV tariff  and also that this type of The Computer Says No drives me mad.

 So, I would welcome any further thoughts.  Maybe I call OVO and ask them to confirm the MPAN and MSN that they are looking at on The System.  And, if they are the same, why that MPAN leads them to believe that I have a smart meter and a T3 aerial when I don’t.  As I say, my guess is that Suzie, my Advanced Resolutions Specialist, is in a muddle and is confusing have with require.  But, even if that is the case, we go back to where we were, namely the question of how my MPAN and MSN indicate that I need a T3 aerial.  How does that work?  Surely a T3 aerial requirement would be based on signal strength etc?  So how does the number determine this?  Am guessing that it locates my property at a point on a map and The System is saying that a Smart Meter will not work here without a T3 aerial.  But, I ask again, then how does it work with my neighbour who, interestingly, is a technical boffin who sat on the steering committee for smart meter roll out (I know, you couldn’t write the script).

My summary of all of this is that it is all being based on what the computer is saying.  I get that, sometimes we need computers to help manage the daily tasks, but despite my best efforts, I can’t seem too engage human override on this to check that what the computer is saying is 100% correct when it relates to my actual property (not a dot on the map) in November 2023.  In my view, this will only be confirmed by a human being coming to the property to do the relevant checks.  But, as I see it, humans are expensive and no one wants to take that risk so it is easier to just fall back on the System says no.

Onwards and upwards.  

@rvintner 

Electricity smart meter serial numbers start with two numbers and a letter so that can be a good indication of what meter you have.

Hi Jeffus.

As per all the stuff above, I don’t have a smart meter.  My MSN starts K0.  As I understand it, this is why OVO have been sending me notes saying that my meter is old and needs updating because they can see from the MSN.  As per my note above, I think that my Specialist is confused although she is very specific in saying that The System says that I have a smart meter and a T3 aerial.

Is all slightly doing my head in.

You could try emailing the CEO

Raman-complaints@ovoenergy.com

I would also include a link to this thread

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-136/smart-meter-installation-problems-poor-signal-16310

It may be worth one last try before either going to the Ombudsman or switching suppliers to see if that helps. I doubt you will make progress otherwise now.

Thanks Jeffus.

I have sent one more mail asking OVO to confirm what MSN and MPAN that they are basing their decisions on. Because, as Firedog notes above, these can sometimes be noted incorrectly.

Failing that, I will do as you suggest.  I would like to think that this will genuinely be looked at by people higher up the chain, even if not the CEO, but I am sceptical.  But I will definitely try.

Thanks for your input.

If you have the ovo app, have a look at this page 

Account - Energy Tariff 

That should in theory show the latest details ovo are looking at.