My switch away was rejected as I have a 'profile class 0' (commercial) supply - how do I get database updated?

Thank you Nancy_OVO. Who should I contact to update the profile class? I have no idea if this is the reason for the delay just that I am keen to do all I can to move this along.

As topic title. My account is with OVO, price comparison sites - including a price comparison with OVO - has the meter registered as an card meter but it is not. I pay by DD.

How can I get this updated?

Hi everyone, my girlfriend has recently come off of prepay with Scottish power and had the prepay meters removed and replaced. There have been a few issues with linking the smart metres and the electric still doesn't submit metre readings, these are all issues to be resolved.

When I come to check prices with Ovo, the website states that this address is currently still showing as a prepayment address. How do I override this as I know this is now incorrect?

And finally, will this issue stop a switch going through to Ovo who I use without any issues. I appreciate it is easy enough to have Ovo replace the metres at her house with Ovo smart ones and be billed for anything used with Scottish power since they changed their metres.

Any advice is gratefully received!

Steven

@Amy_OVO Thank you for the reply. We have spoken again to SP about this and they are adamant that the national database is correct and that the fault lies elsewhere. Do you have any advice? Can OVO not switch us over regardless of this issue, as both of the prepayment metres have been removed by SP and replaced with post payment metres.

I also don't want to ring up OVO and find I lose the referral money for us both.

steven

@Amy_OVO Many thanks, I will do this.

Well I’m unsurprised that the new Energy Supplier rejected the switch. Meter Profile Class 00 is a commercial user with peak demand in excess of 100kW

Historically this won’t have been a problem, but the National electricity meter database, ECOES, are continually honing the rules in order to clear out just such anomolies.  Energy Suppliers must register with Ofgem according to the types of customer contracts they provide. So a Supplier registered for Profile classes 1 & 2 can’t take over a meter that’s Class 0.

Yes, just email OVO with the suggested proof of identity and ask them to get it changed. hello@ovoenergy.com

HI @HelsTC 

 

I’ve moved your back and forth with @Transparent over to this topic. Please see the ‘best answer’ (at the top) for info on the likely cause of this issue, and how to resolve. 

 

Could you also consider coming back here to update us on what happened and in what time frames? It will be useful for anyone with the same query :)

Update: having contacted OVO regarding the need to amend my meter details on the national database they have advised me the amendment should be done in 4 weeks, from tomorrow. Information provided to them: my account no., name and date of birth.

Yes, it does seem like a long time but no doubt there's a reason. It's enough time to estimate any loss of savings resulting from the delay to the switch and to work out who 'sold' me the smart meter. 

Unfortunately that remains unacceptable in light of the fact I flagged this issue 1 year ago in an attempt to switch away and neither OVO or the supplier I wished to switch to had answers other than ‘it’s a commercial meter’ or ‘it’s not a commercial meter but other suppliers don’t understand that’. So 1 year later,  I attempt another switch away and find I am now unable to complete that switch before the OVO announced price increase due to the same issue (the switch should, under normal circumstances, have completed on 26.9.20). Pennies it may be, but that is not the point. OVO will know exactly which suppliers customers go to and which suppliers their new customers come from: that ought to make it easy to resolve this issue in a communication to other suppliers, or do suppliers not communicate for the good of customers?

Yep as @Transparent mentioned, a bad background story/experience for you @HelsTC 

 

If we can find some kind of trace to suggest that you flagged this to us earlier then the few weeks ago that you mentioned, I’m sure the agent, or their manager, would be able to consider this in a resolution. Having worked in the ‘Complaints’ team for years, I would suggest (assuming we can confirm evidence of you contacting us about this issue last year) that we could look to cover any difference in prices from the supplier of your choice at the time.  

 

One bit of defense for OVO here: it’s the new supplier that has rejected this switch. It’s their prerogative to reach out. But even if they did, you’d need to restart the switch directly with them. 

 

Hope this gets resolved quickly. Feel free to send the URL of this topic to any agent you speak to on the web chat team

@Transparent. Thank you. Unfortunately I just did not have the time to see it through last year as it was evident to me from the responses of both suppliers last August that neither recognised it was unacceptable to expect me to spend time convincing the other supplier that they were the party in this situation that needed to address the issue. In fact neither recognised a dead end / stale mate had been reached. This was probably not reflective of OVO organisational culture, but clearly this one individual did not recognise the situation I was being put in.

I agree, OVO are a great provider in my experience and I am confident the people with the right problems solving skills now have this on their radar, and would be highly surprised if I found myself in the position in which the Ombudsman was the next step.