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I’m hoping anyone on here can shed some light on this.

Before I go into the issue in more detail, my questions is as follows:

What can cause a manual reading on an ovo smart meter (when you press number 9) to be different to the smart readings ovo are receiving? 

History (mainly so I can keep a record of whats happening as its starting to get confusing).

Over 4 years ago Ovo came out and installed an electric smart meter. During their visit, they were unable to install the smart gas meter (since it was semi submerged in the ground in a box). As such they only installed the electric meter.

After a month I noticed that due to my thick walls, ovo was not receiving any readings. I contacted ovo who came out and installed an separate aerial. However, once connected the meter started signaling it had a WAN connection so the external aerial was left inside the house (in the cupboard with the meter) instead of being mounted outside the house.

Forward a few months later and again the meter started to lose signal, to combat this, I unwound the aerial and hung it near window (or to be more precise, as close to the window the short cable would let me). This seemed to work but was not idea. Contacted ovo again who said they would look into this and get a meter company out (nothing happen).

Fast forward a few more months and I got a meter man turn up at the house to take a reading, he took one from the electric and I noticed it seemed high. Checked this against my ovo smart meter accounts and sure enough the reading was several hundred units higher. 

I rang customer service who said this was caused by the meter going into “economy 7 mode when it loses reception and not to worry as Ovo had the correct readings”. I don’t have economy 7 so was a bit confused (and to be honest, they also sounded a bit puzzled). As such, I am not sure this is correct 

Then the pandemic hit. 

Then electric/gas prices starting to go up .

I looked around and as I could get cheaper electric from another supplier, I rang them to arrange a migration. However, until my meter readings matched, I was advised not to move as it could result in ovo sending me an incorrect final bill. This is because I would need to give the new company the meter reading manually and since this is higher than what ovo have, they advised that ovo may send a bill for the different. In turn I would then need to fight with ovo to try and get my money back since the meter reading is incorrect.

I sent an e-mail to Ovo desperately explaining the situation, explaining how it was stating to cause significant stress (even now I’m still petrified that im going to get an incorrect bill for ££££).

I didn't get a response.

I then went on live chat and after speaking to someone I got an e-mail asking me to send a “photo of your meter as a reply to this email”.

I sent a youtube video link of my meter and explained the issue again and that the smart meter and manual readings do not match. I also send a copy of every smart meter reading from 21 Apr 2022 to 25 May 2023 and stated “As mentioned on the live chat, I currently have the aerial hanging across my living room so it can get some signal but it is only a matter of time before it loses signal again and I am petrified that I’m suddenly, incorrectly going to get a bill £1000’s for the incorrect difference. I’d really appreciate it if I could get rid of this meter and make sure the incorrect number is not submitted to Ovo’s systems (which I am almost positive would result in an incorrect bill and then me having to chase up a refund). ”. 

This time I got a response on the 25th May:

“Thanks for getting in touch with us. My name is ******. I'm a Account Management here at OVO. I am just emailing you confirming that all your meter reads that you just sent are correct and that you dont have anything to worry about. I have went through each one you sent and they defintely all match which is great! Hope you have a nice day and thanks for emailing us if you need anything else just email us or ring. “

However, as I didn’t receive any further communication regarding getting the meter removed etc I replied (and CC’d complaints@ovoenergy.com) on the 14/06/2023 with:

“As of 14/06/2023 I have not received any further communication regarding this issue.

Since I am unable to move to another supplier due to the incorrect meter readings caused by the meter installed by Ovo, I am now at a deadlock.

This issue is causing substantial distress, causing me to miss out of offers from other companies and resulting in a substantial amount of my time being wasted. I understand that during covid times were difficult staffing wise but I feel nearly 4 years to resolve this issue is more than enough considering how I have explained to staff members on the phone and via e-mail numerous times over the years the issue and the problems it is causing.

Please can someone action this asap and get back to me as I really need this resolving.”

I then got a call back from a Guy who to be fair was helpful. However, no one really seems to know why my meter was doing what it was. All they could offer was to fill in a smart meter health check over the phone and advise “I will raise this with our site works team and you will get a response within 45 days”.

On the 19/06/2023 I got an e-mail from a person who is a ‘works advisor’. They stated:

“With regard to your query relating to your Electric smart meter not transferring correct reads to us. 

I have checked over all the details and tried to pull a meter read through manually, however there was no connection.

We would there for need to arrange for an engineer to visit your property to exchange your electric meter.

Could I please ask you to contact our customer services on 0330 303 5063 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) to arrange an appointment that would be suitable for you.

There are morning or afternoon appointments available. 

I do sincerely apologise if this situation has caused you any stress or concerns, once your meter is exchanged it should communicate with us, and transfer the correct reads for more accurate billing.”

Ok, so I think I’m slowly getting somewhere. The problem now I have is two fold:

  1. If I get a new meter fitted and the meter replacement guys submit the incorrect reading, ovo are just going to send me a bill for a stupid amount and I will need to fight with them to get it stopped / claim it back. (I’ve already been charged incorrect several times recently (including charging me £60 for an early exit fee even though I never left!).
  2. No one has fully explained why my meter is showing a different number.

I rang the number provided and briefly explained to the woman on the phone the situation (again was a different person so had to give them the very brief overview). They didn’t know why the meter would be acting this way but would e-mail me regarding an appointment to change the meter. I asked if the person who sent the last e-mail could call me since they appear to be a works advise so maybe they know why the meter is acting up.

A few minutes after the call, I got an e-mail stating they booked an appointment in for 14/07/2023 to replace the meter. They also let me know I could not speak to the woman who sent the e-mail as “she is not customer facing, she is unable to do any call back”

I went back with the below:

“Thank you.

Can someone please give me a call who would know why my meter is doing this? I appreciate it is going to get replaced but at this point in time I am truly petrified that when the new one is added, a manual reading is going to get submitted to ovo resulting in an incorrect bill for £££. This is causing considerable stress to me and my partner and I am desperate to know :
1)    Why this is happening?
2)    How ovo will stop an incorrect bill being applied?

Please, please, please can someone get back to me regarding this with a detailed explanation?”
 

Hopefully I will get  a response from someone who knows about the meters.

In the mean time, if you have any idea why the meter is different please let me know below. I’ve researched online for hours but not been able to find anything.

They are listed on the smartme site https://www.smartme.co.uk/smets-2.html

 

Similar cases have been discussed before regarding these external aerial. So it might be worth a search of the forum to see if anyone has actually actually reporting getting one installed and if so how they navigated the ovo processes. This is from 2 years ago

 

Hey @vegas22,

 

Got an update from the team about T3 Aerials: 

 

They are (waterproof) but we cannot request one. If the aerial we’ve installed and meter isn’t work but the DCC is saying there is WAN there then we raise a No WAN incident. The DCC investigate what's the problem on site and will propose potential resolutions, one of which may be to try install a T3, that then requires a specific job to be booked to meet the DCC on site, following a rather drawn out desktop analysis, before using a stand alone booking portal to get 2 engineers on site to try a T3. Which may or may not resolve the WAN issue,  so yes a T3 aerial is an option but we don't have a BAU process to fit them.

Hello @Emmanuelle_OVO , Thank you for your help with this.

so I guess my next question is what do I do now? I'm still waiting for ovo to call me today but as the T2 Aerial is currently screwed to my ceiling to get reception, should I put it back in the cupboard?

I could try and create a waterproof box for the t2 aerial and drill throught to outside but since the meter is clipped I would need to cut the tie security wire to get access aerial port which I'm assuming will probably break some form of T&C or law etc

 

Hey @vegas22,

 

Got an update from the team about T3 Aerials: 

 

They are (waterproof) but we cannot request one. If the aerial we’ve installed and meter isn’t work but the DCC is saying there is WAN there then we raise a No WAN incident. The DCC investigate what's the problem on site and will propose potential resolutions, one of which may be to try install a T3, that then requires a specific job to be booked to meet the DCC on site, following a rather drawn out desktop analysis, before using a stand alone booking portal to get 2 engineers on site to try a T3. Which may or may not resolve the WAN issue,  so yes a T3 aerial is an option but we don't have a BAU process to fit them.

Blimey, I think that is an interesting example of bureaucracy from the DCC. This isn't directed at OVO. 

All these things add to the cost of the smart meter rollout and maintenance, adding costs to our bills.

On the face of it to me, it feels like another failure of regulation. 

Hey @vegas22,

 

I’d advise leaving the aerial where it initially was placed by the engineer, waiting 6 weeks (the timeframe it takes to update meter details following an exchange), then if it’s not in communication complete a ‘smart meter health check’ this will be picked up by our team of experts who will look into this and decide next steps. I wouldn’t advise putting it outside even if you make a box, it may be unsafe. 

 

In the meantime once the meter serial number has updated online to show the new meter, submit meter readings manually to ensure you are billed correctly. 

@Emmanuelle_OVO thank you for your help. 6 weeks is quite a long time. I'm desperate to get this all up and running so I can leave ovo. Whilst the forum support is good and helpful, yet again ovo haven't returned my call / call back as promised. They really are a shocking company to deal with directly.

Hey @vegas22,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

 

It sounds like the issue you have is poor signal in your area, I don’t know that this issue would necessarily be resolved by switching to a new provider. 

 

There is always the option of raising a complaint if you feel there has been a issue with the customer service you’ve received. There is more information on this on our website.

 

I hope the issues with your meter get resolved soon. 

@vegas22

I think  ovo should have already logged a complaint on 14/06 as you mentioned including the complaint email address. 

I think the Ombudsman would probably accept this. 

So I would assume 8 weeks from 14/06 and then approach the Ombudsman if the issue still isn't resolved. 

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy

I would ask ovo for a reference number for your complaint and the name of your complaint handler. 

I would then provide your ovo  complaint handler a link to this thread

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/smart-meters-136/smart-meter-manual-reading-different-to-smart-reading-15310?postid=96118#post96118

Personally I would give up trying to resolve this outside the formal complaint process now. 

Ive sent another e-mail today to complaints@ovoenergy.com and assuming this isn’t resolved before the 8 weeks is up, I will reach out to the Ombudsman to see if they can force ovo to actually act like a proper company and fix what really are simple common problems.

 

On a side note, I now can’t see any meter readings in my account and I can’t alter my monthly direct debit which is now set to £246 a month (currently £602 in credit and counting!) When I try to change it, it says :

Good to know that my DD needs to be between 246 and some number that can not be loaded! 🙄

@Emmanuelle_OVO The signal is the issue but only in the house, outside the house is fine. Problem is switching providers has been impossible for over 4 years due to ovo not fixing the meter issue. 

The maximum permitted DD amount per month is something like £2,000 iirc. Hardly anyone would be on that level mind you.

Ive sent another e-mail today to complaints@ovoenergy.com and assuming this isn’t resolved before the 8 weeks is up, I will reach out to the Ombudsman to see if they can force ovo to actually act like a proper company and fix what really are simple common problems.

 

On a side note, I now can’t see any meter readings in my account and I can’t alter my monthly direct debit which is now set to £246 a month (currently £602 in credit and counting!) When I try to change it, it says :

Good to know that my DD needs to be between 246 and some number that can not be loaded! 🙄

@Emmanuelle_OVO The signal is the issue but only in the house, outside the house is fine. Problem is switching providers has been impossible for over 4 years due to ovo not fixing the meter issue. 

I haven't read all the posts. 

If you want a refund of some or all of your credit while you wait for OVO to address your complaint then you can call ovo collections and ask for 100% of your credit to be refunded under the ofgem rules if you are on the Variable tariff. May be best not to take it all. 

0800 0699 831

Am not sure if you have tried anything like that. You mentioned being with OVO for over  4 years so I assume you get the 5% interest reward tax free on any credit balance up to £1000.

@Jeffus “ 4 years so I assume you get the 5% interest reward tax free on any credit balance up to £1000.” That’s correct. 

I’ve emailed ovo several more times (sent on 27th July) regarding this and even provided them a link to this forum thread but got no reply! (even with the complaints email CC in).

Currently on live chat with them to get my £593.95 credit returned so I can move to another company and be done with OVO. Shame as they were good at one point. I asked the live chat agent if they had got my e-mail, they said they had but it had not been assigned anyone yet! 

If you’re leaving a supplier, it’s not recommended to do a refund just before you go. It’s best to leave the credit where it is so that you can automatically pay the final bill from the credit balance - the rest will be returned to you automatically after that.

@Blastoise186 thanks for the heads up but there’s no way I trust ovo to refund me! I’d rather owe them money and pay the balance manually than rely on them refunding me.

Just a quick and final update on this as I am now switched over to Octopus.

No one from OVO actually got back to me. Spoke to two people on live chat. One said that they could see my e-mail and it had not been allocated to anyone yet. The 2nd one today said there was no e-mail on my account and no one was assigned to it. They also told me I should speak to my new supplier to resolve the issue!! (How can my new supplier tell me if ovo had allocated someone to my old complaint email!)

So all in all 4+ years of incredibly stressful communication and fear about being over charged, lost out on fixed energy deals with other providers because I was unable to leave ovo due to the meter issue, and even now I’m not sure I’ve been billed right (lost the will to even try and speak to someone to work it out).

Octopus has been fantastic since joining them. They answer the phone, call you back and their billing system actually makes sense. Reminded me of how OVO used to be back in the early days.

The forum on here though was very helpful, lots of knowledgeable people willing to share help, just a shame ovo’s own staff aren’t anywhere near as well trained or care.

Toodle-pip OVO, you won’t be missed!

Thanks again forum members 

 

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