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How is it possible for my supply to switch erroneously?

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I have had the “Sorry you are leaving us” email from OVO today, which turns out to be an “erroneous Transfer” error, I know this is supposedly a Human Error as I never requested it, what I do not understand is, if I want to send you a message, speak to you via phone, or just have a look at my account, I need to submit my full name, account number, password, and email address. Yet someone can transfer me to another supplier by typing in the wrong Meter Point Number. I think you have problems with either your security or protocols. You should at least check with your customer that this is the case before sending “Sorry you are leaving us” emails, I am now told it will take between 12-18 weeks to resolve, I am not happy with this outcome after spending 1.5 hours on the phone and messaging you about the problem.

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Best answer by Jeffus 3 May 2023, 21:43

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BPLightlog
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Hi @Geoff Dickson that sounds a strange situation. There is another post here which might help 

Just to be clear, this isn’t a direct channel to OVO. No one has access to your account so any feedback here will be based on presumed info. 
Most posters (like me) are customers as well

Sitting in a Faraday cage, waiting for a signal
Jeffus
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@Geoff Dickson

Some information on compensation. Make sure you get the minimum £30 as required by law. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/problems-with-your-energy-supply/youve-been-switched-to-a-new-energy-supplier-without-your-agreement/

You may be entitled to more if other regulated timescales are not met.

All payments should automatically be paid within 10 days, if they are not paid in time you are entitled to another £30

 

G
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Thank you for the information jeffus it may come in handy, what I don’t understand is why OVO  does not check with their customer first, before sending a “Sorry you are leaving us” email, this would save me being in limbo for 12-18 weeks whilst they sort it out.

D
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Hopefully OVO will learn from this mistake Geoff and setup a procedure to stop it happening again and not just ignoring it. If it was human error that person or persons just need to be retraining and to be shown in your case Geoff how upsetting it can be for its customers 

Jeffus
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Thank you for the information jeffus it may come in handy, what I don’t understand is why OVO  does not check with their customer first, before sending a “Sorry you are leaving us” email, this would save me being in limbo for 12-18 weeks whilst they sort it out.

It would probably need changes to the regulations around switching and the recent introduction of the industry wide faster switching service to do that.

The target is currently 5 days for a switch under the regulations, this will be changing to 2 days in the future.

The are frequent ofgem consultation, including on things like switching if you feel strongly about any supplier related activities. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/engagement/consultations

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Thank you again jeffus for the information, but why all the rush from 5 days to 2 days to change supplier, had I have got the email whilst on holiday for 2 weeks by the time I got back it would have all been sorted, I responded within an hour of getting the email saying “Sorry you are leaving us” but it is still going to take between 12-18 weeks to get resolved.

When you are an old person as I am, you can do without all this hassle, from what I have been told I will not get an invoice for my GAS usage now until it is resolved, do I reduce my direct debit or keep paying, who knows, and who do I approach for compensation as far as I can see it is nothing to do with OVO but the supplier who tried to move my GAS account.

Abby_OVO
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Hey @Geoff Dickson ,

 

Sorry about the trouble you’ve been having with the account.

 

Thank you again jeffus for the information, but why all the rush from 5 days to 2 days to change supplier, had I have got the email whilst on holiday for 2 weeks by the time I got back it would have all been sorted, I responded within an hour of getting the email saying “Sorry you are leaving us” but it is still going to take between 12-18 weeks to get resolved.

This change of timeframe is an industry wide change that all suppliers must now follow. Take a look at this topic here for more information on this change.

 

 

 

Regarding the compensation payment mentioned by Jeffus, you should automatically receive that £30 compensation from the new supplier within 10 working days from the date they agree a mistake was made. They’ll either send this to you by post, or directly to your bank if they already have your bank details. You can view more details on how this payment works here.

 

Location: Electric Avenue
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Thank you for the Information Abby, I have emailed Eon giving them my details but not my bank details, a cheque will suffice.

Kind regards

Geoff Dickson.

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Hi Abby. It’s been 10 days now since I reported my Erroneous Transfer and have not heard from anyone other than you. When I log in to my Ovo account I am still being greeted with “We are sorry to hear you are leaving” PLUS “We will stop supplying your energy on the 27th May 2023.” Doesn’t sound like progress to me, I have also had an Advert pop up on my laptop saying “Switch to OVO it only takes 2 Minutes” yet here I am in limbo for 12-18 weeks, it doesn’t add up.

Blastoise186
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It takes quite some time to resolve an ET I’m afraid. The whole process is more complicated than you might expect.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
G
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Hi Blastoise186. I hear what you are saying, but am of the opinion “If it’s that complicated make it simple” how about starting with “asking the customer why they are leaving before doing anything” instead of going ahead without the customers knowledge, that would resolve the issue before it became an issue.

Blastoise186
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When things work under normal circumstances, the reason you’re leaving one supplier for another is because you’ve explicitly chosen to switch away by notifying your newly chosen supplier of your intention to switch. It’s done this way to reduce the hassle of having to tell both suppliers and works fine 99% of the time. For the rare cases of an ET, there’s a process to shut it down early if you’re fast enough and otherwise recall the account back to the original supplier.

Your suggestion would drag us back to the dark ages of suppliers refusing to let customers go without talking to them first to force them to stay. It’d ruin 99% of switches just to please ~1% of them. It’d ultimately make 99% of switches more complicated which probably won’t be welcomed by many.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
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Sorry Blastoise186 but am afraid I have to disagree, how much hassle is it to send Ovo or whoever, an email or text, to say sorry I am leaving its courteous, not that it means much these days. Secondly I informed Ovo within an hour of finding out I was leaving, don’t think you can be much quicker than that, and I haven’t heard a word from the company I am supposed to be switching to (Eon), nor from Ovo who still greet me when I log in with “we hear you are leaving”.    So all I can do is keep making a noise… For that is the Geoff Dickson way! methinks you have been watching to many Mandalorian Episodes.

 

Jeffus
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Sorry Blastoise186 but am afraid I have to disagree, how much hassle is it to send Ovo or whoever, an email or text, to say sorry I am leaving its courteous, not that it means much these days. Secondly I informed Ovo within an hour of finding out I was leaving, don’t think you can be much quicker than that, and I haven’t heard a word from the company I am supposed to be switching to (Eon), nor from Ovo who still greet me when I log in with “we hear you are leaving”.    So all I can do is keep making a noise… For that is the Geoff Dickson way! methinks you have been watching to many Mandalorian Episodes.

 

Other compensation payments from OVO rather than Eon will kick in if you sit tight and wait under the legislation 

------

All suppliers must follow the deadlines in the ‘erroneous transfer customer charter’. You'll be entitled to an extra £30 of compensation if any of the following apply:

  • the supplier takes more than 20 working days to reply 
  • your old and new suppliers take more than 20 working days to agree whether your switch was correct - they both owe you £30 if this happens
  • your old supplier takes more than 21 working days to re-register you once they know about the mistake

If you’re entitled to compensation the supplier should pay you within 10 working days, otherwise they’ll owe you an extra £30 in compensation. If they haven’t paid, you should make a complaint and ask for the money you think they owe.

Blastoise186
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That may be true. But when it comes to making noise… Sure, I could throw Vicetone Animal down a call at full blast with Dolby Atmos using Samurott (which is already a very loud laptop!) which makes an absolute ton of noise. However, it’s just a load of noise that doesn’t actually do anything useful.

If you’re making noise, it’s not just about maxing out the volume. You have to be smart about where and how you do it. And that is The Blastoise Way.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
G
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Hi Abby, I have now had a reply from Eon and according to them the issue is resolved, I have been returned to Ovo so hopefully that’s the last I hear of it and everything returns to normal.

Geoff Dickson.

Abby_OVO
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Hi @Geoff Dickson 

 

Glad to hear you’ve heard from EON about this! Hopefully that’ll be the last of it for you.🙂

Location: Electric Avenue
P
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Why are OVO trying to switch me back from Octopus when I left them in October? Luckily Octopus said no - but nor OVO are saying my transfer to Octopus was erroneous but it was deliberate !

 

Hi Paul,

Thanks for getting in touch with us. 

A quick update on your account. We raised an erroneous transfer request to MRCY (Octopus Energy) to return your electricity supply to OVO. 

Unfortunately, MRCY (Octopus Energy) have rejected our request to return your supply, stating that you have a valid contract with them.  

We recommend that you get in touch with MRCY (Octopus Energy) if you think this is wrong, and let us know how it goes. 

 

If you have any questions about this or anything else, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

Blastoise186
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If you want to stay where you are, then I’d recommend just ignoring that email and deleting it. Nothing will happen from here unless you do something.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
V

I have received a contract and a first bill from OVO but I have never requested to set this up or switch to OVO (in fact, my account with my current energy supplier is still active).

Is this normal? The contract is in my name but with a slightly incorrect address (right street and house number and no flat number) and it looks like something that was not set up with my permission.

Blastoise186
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Hi,

I strongly recommend you contact OVO first thing in the morning about this to get it fixed. They can close the account if it’s not needed.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Abby_OVO
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Hey @vanearv 

 

Sorry about the issue you’re having.

 

Blastoise186 is correct here. We don’t have access to accounts here at the Forum so the best thing to do will be to contact the Support Team if you’ve not done so already today. 

Location: Electric Avenue
G
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Hi vanearv.

Unfortunately you are on your own, I have just been through an erroneous transfer, I was told I could get compensation, nothing happened, I was told the company responsible would be in touch and sort it out, nothing happened, Ovo still greet me when I log in with “We hear you are leaving” so nothings happened. A month later still in the dark as to what is happening, so the forum is a waste of time. I think you should stop paying everyone and see who comes out of the woodwork.

For that is the Geoff Dickson way!

 

Jeffus
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Hi vanearv.

Unfortunately you are on your own, I have just been through an erroneous transfer, I was told I could get compensation, nothing happened, I was told the company responsible would be in touch and sort it out, nothing happened, Ovo still greet me when I log in with “We hear you are leaving” so nothings happened. A month later still in the dark as to what is happening, so the forum is a waste of time. I think you should stop paying everyone and see who comes out of the woodwork.

For that is the Geoff Dickson way!

 

Have you put in a complaint?

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

The Energy Ombudsman is very good at sorting out compensation if a supplier doesn't pay. 

The average over any statutory compensation is an additional £80 for each complaint the Ombudsman rules in favour of. 

The process isn't always quick so patience is needed. 

 

 

 

 

 

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