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.
How is it possible for my supply to switch erroneously?
+2
- Plan Zero Hero
- 2658 replies
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21 November 2023
can you help?
Hey
I’m sorry to hear this is still an ongoing matter.
I believe the Forum Support team have been in touch with you and are currently working on this for you.
They have access to teams that we don’t, so they’ll be reaching out to teams in charge of cases or the complaints team. They’ll keep you up to date with any changes or if they have any other questions to help, they’ll let you know.
+2
- Plan Zero Hero
- 2658 replies
-
22 November 2023
Ovo Energy is the worst company I've ever dealt with. I've been with them since March 2023, paying my bills regularly through direct debit. But in November, I got a letter saying I was leaving and had a final bill. Turns out, they closed my account without even asking me. They claimed someone else registered at my address, so they opened a new account without checking with me first. It was a big mess, and I had to go through a bunch of paperwork to open a new account.
Then, they sent me a huge bill of £1500, saying I didn't pay anything the previous year. After bugging them for two months, they deducted about £900, even though I'd already paid around £1100 until October. And the whole time, their customer service kept threatening me about my credit report if I didn't pay up. It's ridiculous because they messed up by closing my account without asking, and they don't even know how much I paid!
Its a shame that as a company they have no idea how much money I paid. After that I sent them all the bills I got from them, but they haven't bothered to reply or fix the problem. Ovo Energy in Bristol is just a terrible company to deal with.
Hey
I’m really sorry to hear this,
It sounds like you had an erroneous transfer on your account.
Why have you let me know I’m leaving OVO when I didn’t request to switch?
Sometimes we receive a request for us to switch your supply away from us in error. Whilst it’s quite rare there’s a few reasons this may have happened,
- Human error - someone may have entered your address details accidentally when applying for a genuine switch
- Fraud - very occasionally fraudsters may use your details to apply for an energy switch (if the details held by the other supplier match your details it might be worth contacting your bank and checking your internet security procedures)
- Mistake in your address listing on the national database - If way your address is listed is unclear or incorrect this can cause issues switching. Check out this topic for more advice in getting this corrected.
When this happens, we contact the supplier who has taken the supply in error and request for them to switch the supply back to us. During this time, you’ll need to continue paying for your energy usage as once the supply returns you’ll be charged as though the supply never left. We aim to sort out an erroneous transfer within 12 weeks.
You can find out more about this process here.
Can I get compensation for an erroneous transfer?
Yes! If you’ve been switched by mistake, on or after 1 May 2019, you may get compensation.
You’ll get a minimum of £30 for the inconvenience. The maximum is £120, which is payable if your energy isn’t switched back to your original supplier in a timely way1. The new supplier (the one you’re switched to) is the one that pays up.
This rule was introduced by the energy regulator, Ofgem.
If you’re concerned about the size of your bill, it’s worth checking the meter readings used have been actual readings you’ve submitted and not estimates.
I hope this helps.
I went through an ET last year that took months to resolve; eventually went to Ombudsman - they saw in my favour and sorted it out.
However a year later i’m back with another ET on my account and looks like the same story.
Why is it possible to switch to a different supplier quickly but not have it returned in the same time frame when an ET complaint is made. Why at no point do the energy suppliers contact the customers to figure out what has gone wrong or make sure the details are correct?
This process seems flawed and it’s not just OVO, seems like most energy companies have not managed to work out how to deal with this problem adequately.
Hi
I’m sorry to hear you’ve experienced this. I’ve responded to you on this thread.
Reply
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