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Long story …. short(ish) version >>>

 

My Economy 7 electricity meter completely failed on 16th October and since then I have had no midnight switch to heat my hot water cylinder and storage heaters.

 

Not great when you are 65 years old and been extremely unwell with flu during this period.

 

Ovo Energy initially offered a smart meter replacement on 17th November. Totally unacceptable given that I have no hot water or heating.

 

After repeated pressure, they finally agreed to treat this as an emergency.

 

Monday 30th October …. smart meter installed by MDS …. Aclara smart meter serial number 21M0364172 …. Aclara smart meter model SGM1416-B (SMETS2) for dual rate day peak and night off-peak (Economy 7)

 

Tuesday 31st October …. smart meter supposedly commissioned and configured correctly by MDS …. but quite evidently not!

 

Wednesday 1st November …. SMS engineer visited and tested the smart meter since I still had no hot water and heating …. engineer confirmed that the smart meter is working correctly and stated that he was “99% certain” that heating of hot water and storage heaters would be switched on at midnight

 

I went to bed more in hope than expectation.

 

Yet again, no overnight switch so I still have no hot water or heating!

 

I have a continual electricity supply, including at night, and a check shows that the smart meter and the IHD switches from rate 1 tariff (peak day) to rate 2 tariff (off-peak Economy 7) at midnight.

 

The smart meter and the IHD both show the 2 rates and both meter readings have changed so electricity use is being recorded on both tariffs.

 

The electricity consumption on the rate 2 tariff (off-peak Economy 7) is very low, not surprising given that there is no automatic switching on of the heating of hot water and storage heaters at midnight.

 

It is quite clear to even a non-technical person that the smart meter has clearly not been commissioned or configured correctly. This conclusion has been supported by other discussion threads that I have read on this forum.

 

So …. 3 more hours on the Ovo Energy live chat this morning.

 

Initially they agreed to send out an engineer again, not to test the physical installation (that was done yesterday 1st November) but to test the commissioning and configuration of the smart meter, specifically in respect of the 5th port/terminal and ALCS programmed settings. This is what I asked for given what I had read elsewhere in other discussion threads.

 

Then they backtracked claiming that 2 engineer’s reports showed that everything had been checked and was working correctly. The single check visit by an engineer yesterday (1st November) merely checked the physical installation. There was absolutely no sign of a tablet/ipad as there was on the commissioning engineer visit on 31st October.

 

The 3 hour live chat/discussion/dispute concluded with Ovo Energy ….

 

  • Insisting that there is no problem with my new smart meter and claiming that it has been checked by 2 engineers.

 

In fact, I have only had a check from a single engineer and that was just a physical check of the installation.

 

This visit did not include a check of the commissioning and configuration of the smart meter and I believe that there is an issue here that is causing a failure of the midnight switch to heat my hot water and storage heaters.

 

  • Refusing to send out an engineer again to check the commissioning and configuration settings, specifically those in respect of the 5th port/terminal and the ALCS which enable the midnight switching of my heating of hot water and storage heaters.

 

  • Suggesting that there was a problem with my hot water cylinder and storage heaters and that this needed to be resolved by an electrician at my cost, despite that fact that everything was operating perfectly prior to my electricity meter failing on or around 16th October.

 

  • Offering me a further engineer visit (which I was demanding to undertake a check of all the programmed settings) at a cost of £135 to me despite the fact that it is, or should be, their responsibility to investigate and resolve.

 

I have no reason at all to suspect that my lack of hot water and heating is due to faults with both my hot water cylinder and storage heaters and that any faults with both arose at exactly the same time as my electricity meter failed. That would be a huge and unbelievable coincidence! I don’t know how Ovo Energy can seriously suggest this.

 

So, after Ovo Energy terminating the live chat and telling me to have a nice day (thank you so much!), there is a complete stalemate and I still have no hot water or heating.

 

Can anyone please advise and assist?

 

What should I do and what can I do other than instigate a complaint with Ovo Energy’s CEO?

 

 

Hey @rlchew 

 

I’m really sorry to hear about the issues you’re having with the storage heaters and hot water. 

 

Unfortunately we don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum, and as this sounds like a very account specific issue, it’s very difficult for us to guess and make suggestions on this so we’d recommend contacting the Support Team to discuss your options for this.

 

I know in the past that some charges may be refunded if the issue is found to be our fault, but without full details and account information here, we can simply only speculate.

 

We would of course hope that the team can agree a solution for you before having to take the complaint route, but you are always free to raise a complaint regarding this matter.

 

I’ll also have the Forum Support reach out to you to see what they can do to help. Look out for a PM here soon: 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/inbox/overview

I went through precisely the same experience last month. It was quickly remedied (well, it only took a week), but not before I’d used devious means to get someone to spark. I’ve now tried to intervene on your behalf, so watch out for a private message: https://forum.ovoenergy.com/inbox/overview

 

Did you get your issue sorted @rlchew ?

My smart meter mysteriously started to work at midnight 3rd November by switching on my Economy 7 overnight heating of my hot water and storage heaters.

There was no intervention on my part or by an electrician or by Ovo Energy who had refused to send out an engineer to test the commissioning and configuration settings as I request.

Ovo Energy need to explain this.

So …. at long last, at least I now have hot water and heating.

I sent in a detailed formal complaint to Ovo Energy on 4th November 2023 raising multiple issues regarding this fiasco and asking multiple questions.

I have received no information to date in respect of a named complaints handler or a complaints reference number.

I have only received 2 e-mails from a so-called “Complaints Resolution Agent” (who didn’t respond to any of the multiple issues that I raised or answer any of the multiple questions that I asked and merely doubled down on what she had told me at the end of a 3.5 hour live chat on 2nd November 2023 which she terminated with no resolution) and a so-called “Advisor” who just said I would receive a phone call.

I have advised Ovo Energy that unless there is some progress in responding to my formal complaint by 5 p.m. 18th November 2023, I will be escalating to their CEO and thereafter, as necessary, on 30th December 2023 to the Energy Ombudsman.

I suppose that I should not be surprised at this appalling approach to complaints handling given >>> https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-opens-compliance-engagement-respect-ovos-complaints-handling-process

 

 

 

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