How do I challenge a meter reading dispute?

One of the things you would need is your final bill from British Gas. What suppliers tend to do is go through an industry scheme to match end and start readings at hand over. If these are different to what is being proposed then you would have a chance. Conversely if the end reading from BG agrees with a lower start reading suggested then that would take precedence 

Thank you for your replies. I have a final bill from British Gas which shows the correct meter readings. OVO however have suggested that they have been in contact with BG and have agreed to use a ‘new opening Gas read’. If the previous occupant had remotely similar readings to those that I sent in, it should prove my readings were correct. But then again I can’t see why BG would spend much time looking into the dispute as they have nothing to gain. 

I have raised a complaint with OVO so will see how that goes. In short however, can I expect my date/time stamped photos to be admissible as evidence? Furthermore, if I don’t get anywhere with a complaint, will I still be able to escalate things with the Energy Ombudsman. I’m unpleasantly surprised that OVO can be so cavalier with their billing policy. 

After 8 weeks or a deadlock letter from OVO you can go to the Energy Ombudsman if you are not happy. You could try asking for a deadlock letter now if OVO say they won't look into it further. There is no reason for them not to issue a deadlock letter if they say they won't look into it any more.

In my humble opinion a final bill from Brtish Gas and a date/time stamped photo should be sufficient for OVO and the Energy Ombudsman. OVO should have used this in the industry  Meter Reading Dispute Process in my opinion  so they may have failed in their duties as it appears from what you have said that the dispute process has already been completed.

But obviously you don't know what the new occupiers have submitted or what British Gas has told OVO. So it is impossible to know exactly where the issue is.

OVO currently have the worst record for escalated company to the Energy Ombudsman and Citizens Advice, so be interesting to see if they settle this case before you get the Ombudsman involved. OVO are trying to improve their complaint statistics at the moment.

The average compensation awarded against OVO for billing mistakes is currently is £206. 96% of ovo complaints taken to the Ombudsman result in financial compensation.

It is worth keeping the thread updated as your complaint progresses. The OVO moderators here read all the posts and respond to some.

You can find some information on meter reading Disputes here. You may already have read this

The alternative is to try asking British Gas to reissue your final bill with a lower final reading that they are claiming and ask British Gas to refund the difference, but that may just complicate matters and obviously you think the higher reading was correct.

If you already have a final bill from BG then that suggests to me that their side of the ‘agreed’ readings was completed. 
Aside from the complaints process and ultimately Ombudsman if necessary, you would also have the re-billing to visit if the new readings were to stick although I agree that dated photos (images include EXIF data which includes date and time) and your final BG bill should be sufficient. 
Have BG been in touch at all on the subject?

Thank you again for your replies. I will update the thread as and when. 

I’ve just spoken to BG who have now adopted OVO’s version of what the readings ‘should’ have been. It seems very unfair that British Gas would retrospectively amend previously confirmed readings without any due diligence or contact with me. Fortunately I have a paper copy of the final bill confirming what the readings were originally.

As I was with BG for a month (after moving but before switching to OVO) it makes absolutely no sense for me to have submitted a greatly inflated reading before switching, as I would have been financially liable for the usage anyway. Furthermore it wouldn't have tallied with the previous occupants final reading. BG are being unhelpful in the fact that they won't tell me what the previous occupant’s readings were.

In theory I could go back to BG for an amended final bill, however I’d probably end up going round in circles. Also, it is incorrect, and all I’d like is for them to adopt the correct (photographically documented) readings. 

Thanks

Good to hear you are making progress with British Gas @ajjarman 

Thank you for all the helpful comments.

Unfortunately I don’t seem to be making any progress with OVO. I have been allocated a ‘Specialist in Advanced Resolutions Team’, however she is quite slow on the uptake and I have spent hours trying to explain what should be a very straightforward situation. The cynical side of me suspects this is done on purpose to try to exhaust my efforts. I hope this isn’t the case!

OVO suggest that the meter readings I have submitted do not tally with their estimations of what I theoretically should have used. They have therefore disregarded my submitted opening reading on 26/5/2023 of 32477, in favour of an estimated reading of 31613. This inflates my gas usage in line with what they think my property should have used since switching to OVO. The problem is that I took a photo of my meter shortly before on 10/5/2023 and emailed it to OVO the very same day with a reading of 32437. I simply can’t see how this is not irrefutable proof that their estimated readings are incorrect and that my submitted reading is accurate. I have a copy of the original email (with meter reading photo attached) and have sent it to OVO 4 times now and still they fail to acknowledge it. Every time I forward a copy of the email I ask for confirmation of receipt but they never provide it. 

OVO are also very poor at providing information on what my options are. If it hadn’t been for the comments on here I wouldn’t know about a need for a deadlock letter or the Energy Ombudsman. I think these are my inevitable next steps. In addition I have also contacted Jill from the Sunday Times Money helper section. She seems adept at helping people being mistreated by large companies and I am interested to see whether she publishes details of OVO’s poor customer service. 

Thanks again. 

But on OVO’s side they have to be certain that you’re not pulling a fast one, nor trying to commit fraud. Unfortunately… There are some folks who would try those tricks.

The rejection might also have been from the industry rather than OVO. In those cases, sorting this out unfortunately takes quite a while.

I agree that they need to investigate properly. They are not doing this however, as this would include acknowledging the email I sent to OVO with a photo of my meter. The date of my email with photographic meter reading make it impossible for their estimated readings to be accurate. As I mentioned before, I have sent a copy of this email 4 times, accompanied by a request to confirm receipt, but they have not done so.