I'm a landlord. I've already told OVO my new tenants have moved in but I'm still being billed? Why?

Hi OK thank you :).  Variable DD set up

PS we will be selling- can’t go through this again!

That’s ok too. If that’s the case, here’s what I’d recommend doing. This should make things as smooth as possible between yourself and OVO.

1. Set up a temporary landlord account for now, to move the previous tenant one out of the way
2. Pay the bills in the meantime from the date the tenant moved out (that meter reading you took should help!)
3. When you’re ready to sell and you know the property has been sold successfully, notify OVO that you’re moving out. You can do so either via MyOVO (which is the fastest way!) or getting in touch with Support. This will commence the closure of your temporary landlord account. The estate agent might offer to take on the supply while the house is on the market, so I’d recommend checking with them too, just in case
4. Advise the new owner to sign up with OVO via https://switch.ovoenergy.com to create their own account

If you follow these steps correctly, everything should work out with OVO. If you fancy installing a Smart Meter while you’re still in control of the property (which is recommended!) you’ll be able to do that too via https://smart-booking.ovoenergy.com . However, I’ll let you decide whether to do that or not. If you’d rather not, that’s totally fine too.

Not sure you’ve set up a variable dd as OVO doesn’t support them….?

Perhaps it’s a variable plan (Simpler energy) with a Direct Debit… good to hear the account’s getting set up, @Jane hr !

Hi you are right it wasn’t a variable DD and I spent another half hour or so on the web chat reducing my fixed estimated tariff of £209 to a manageable £15 per month for an unoccupied property.  So much for ease. I must be doing something wrong as apparently this enquiry was solved with a few links! I couldn’t find reference to a landlord account.  

No worries. I tend to refer to this as being a landlord account because it helps others looking for answers (and it’s good for SEO with Google, admittedly). As far as OVO sees things, they’re the same as regular accounts on the system but might have notes saying it’s a temporary account being managed by a landlord.

I am a Landlord and my tenants have just moved out. They previously held an account with OVO which they have now cancelled. I need to open an account with OVO in order to carry on paying the standing charges while the house is empty. Every time I go online to open an account it keeps asking me for an account number, which I obviously don’t have. So, how do I open an account without an account number?????

If the house is empty, all you have to do is provide a final meter reading and give your name as the new occupier. They will contact you and give you an account number urging you to access it online. You are the new customer and it’s down to them to allocate a new account. I don’t see how they can charge you anything if you aren’t using their services.

In your position, I’d look for a different supplier. My experience with OVO has been so poor that I wouldn’t recommend them to anybody. I know it’s difficult to switch suppliers at the moment but that would be my intention.

You can’t just switch away without having an account and as a landlord, it’s actually recommended to leave the current supplier active.

@triss tristram please get in touch with OVO via the options at https://help.ovoenergy.com and they can sort you out. You’ll need to let them know the property is currently empty and that you’re the landlord.