I moved house and closed my OVO account but my details have been found through 'trace and search' - how can I stop the debt collectors contacting me?

Search and Trace should never have found our address because we have not had an account with Ovo. 

Ben is talking about from before you owned the property.

Particularly if the property may have been stood empty for a while. (So standing charge but no usage).

Does the bill indicate the dates that the standing charges apply to?

If the bill is for a period before you owned the property it is still owed by someone - but not by you.

PS.Search and Trace just links names to a property, not to any company/account.

S&T will find any name associated with the property, often that's the current occupier and not the person who actually owes the bill, the debtor is someone who was there before.

For clarification the property has not been left empty. We have lived there for over 25 years. It is freehold. Owner occupiers. We have never had an Ovo account. There are never any electricity usage charges just standing charges. 

Then that sounds as if somehow an extra MPAN or an extra meter number may have been (wrongly) associated with your property.

The bill in question should have the MPAN and meter number stated on it.

Compare that to the MPAN and meter number on bills from your current supplier - are they the same or different?

PS. You didn't say what dates the standing charges are for?

Will check over the weekend. Bills are from July 2023.

So no chance it's a previous owner then.

“From 2023” also suggests to me that although you sorted it out “2-3 years ago” it was ony that bill that was cancelled but the underlying cause wasn't tackled and so a new bill has cropped up again 3-years on.

That makes it even more interesting to see if the MPAN and meter numbers match on the ‘suspect’ bills and your current suppliers bills.

If there is a mismatch then that's a big step on the way to getting a resoultion.

It's always easier to complain about, and rectify, a problem if you know just what is causing it and so needs to be rectified.

Thanks I appreciate your advice. 

What happened 

A fraudulent utility energy account has been opened using my wife’s personal details without her knowledge or consent. Her name was used to create an account with Ovo Energy Ltd, and she has no connection with the account. She did not open the account or authorize anyone to use her identity for this purpose. This is a clear case of identity theft.

We did a credit report check, because we are applying for a mortgage, and found out that a utility energy account has been opened in her name. This was the first indication that her identity had been misused. She has never opened an account with this company.

Actions taken so far

- Reported the account to Ovo Energy Ltd as fraudulent.  

- Asked for written confirmation that my wife will not be held liable for any charges.  

- Requested removal of her personal details from their system where they were used without consent.  

- Began investigating and provides details linked to the account.

Response from Ovo 

"Due to current policy, all queries and complaints relating to accounts in litigation must be handled directly by appointed law firm.

The appointed law firm will handle the full investigation and will liaise with OVO internally if they need any information from us.

Because this account is now managed entirely by our legal partner, we must close your complaint from OVO’s side."

Impacts 

This incident has caused significant concern regarding the misuse of my wife’s personal information and the potential for further identity fraud. We are also worried about possible negative effects on her credit record and the risk of additional fraudulent accounts being opened.

We're stuck in our mortgage application due to constant decline from lenders. 

Hey ​@Julamax 

I’m really sorry to hear about this.

It does sound as though this has happened through the ‘Trace and Search’ process where we’re given details for who lives at a property by third party contacts such as Land Registries, Landlords, the Post Office etc. Sometimes the info we get given via this process can be wrong, as may have happened here by the sounds of it. 

If you’ve raised a complaint you should have been given a complaints reference number. You’ll also have a dedicated complaints handler who needs to remain in contact with you until this is resolved. If you’ve received an email with your complaints reference number I recommend replying to it and asking for an update, and asking them to reverse the Trace and Search and also recall the debt from the Debt Collector (these are both things we can do when the Trace and search process has gone wrong). 

It sounds as though it’s already been ongoing for some time for it to be at lawyer stage though, so if you’ve not already please do also raise a complaint.

The following similar topic may also be helpful here:

Do let us know how you get on with this.

Sorry to butt in Abby but the op has already stated:

“Because this account is now managed entirely by our legal partner, we must close your complaint from OVO’s side."

… so what’s the point of trying to raise a complaint again ?