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?

Hey there @ambr2307 !

I’m really sorry for the delay. I was out all day and only just checked in. Please allow me to introduce myself real quick. I’m Blastoise186, one of the trusted forum volunteers on here. I can’t make changes to accounts or access your information, but I can offer advice completely free of charge and can often help you solve tricky puzzles. As this is a public forum, please make sure to avoid posting personal info, just in case.

What I can say is that if you are NOT liable for the debt in question because it was racked up by someone completely unrelated to you, then you are NOT LIABLE for the debt at all. Even if you just so happen to have picked up that persons old phone number, that alone is not good enough to actually link you to them. If you have made any payments to the debt collectors, you will be entitled to a full refund of every penny you have paid them on the basis they’re not supposed to have taken it from you at all.

I’ll let @Tim_OVO and @Jess_OVO know about this thread when they check in on Monday morning. But if the debt collectors call again, tell them that they are committing harassment and are attempting to enforce invalid debts against the wrong person. Citizens Advice can also help out here. You can’t be expected to know who the debtor is as GDPR means you can’t find that out. The debt collectors need to understand that a phone number alone does not guarantee finding the actual debtor because numbers can and do get recycled.

I’ll be here if you need more advice, so please ask me for as much help as you need. We’ll do what we can to help you get this cleared up.

I have had this phone number for about 20years. I can understand if it might have automatically come to me as the previous owner - however it has my number registered with a different name so I can’t find out anymore information to try and chase this due to GDPR. My account for the address has zero balance.
Surely having purchased another house the trace and search would have placed me and my number there. A document to show where I was living won’t prove anything different than what they have as the name on the account isn’t mine hence why I can’t get any information, just calls and messages saying I owe money.

I really appreciate the frustration, @ambr2307. I’ve checked in with the Trace and Search experts who have shed some more light on how your contact number may have been located. We use information that is provided to us by Experian, so the fact that your number was located and attached to someone else’s name suggests that these details have been used together at some point to apply for credit (such as setting up a phone contact or internet plan). This may just be as simple as a friend or family member using your phone number when completing a sign-up.

In your case, as you have confirmed the number belongs to you, we will remove it from the account so you should stop receiving contact in relation to the erroneous debt. Please be aware that you may still receive contact in the next 7 days whilst this is fully updated. It might also be worth contacting Experian to ensure that the information that is held on your phone number is up to date.

Hope this helps.

The other thing that may also be worth doing as well, would be to get Experian to run a credit report and credit score check - but I’d recommend waiting at least seven to 14 days from today first to allow OVO to sort things out. If all goes well, the Collections Team (I think that’s the right one for this process) will zap any black marks within the next few days or so. If you want to play it super safe, I’d also recommend running the numbers with Equifax, TransUnion (formerly Callcredit) and Crediva as well.

OVO’s team should make sure that any black marks on your credit record from this issue are either completely struck off and wiped out completely, or at very least have some kind of ignore flag set to tell everyone else to disregard the mark. If you still see any traces after 14 days, please feel free to get in touch with OVO’s Support Team and mention that you’ve had help from me and Jess here on the Forum. If you provide a link to this thread, that’ll also help too. The Support Team will then make sure the records are repaired and that you’re credit files are restored to what they would have been in had this issue not occurred.

If you need anything else, we’ll be here for you. :)

Thank you 😊

No worries!

We’re really sorry for any trouble there too. If you still get any calls from the debt collectors or the Collections Team in the meantime, please let them know that enforcement of the debt against you has been terminated and that (if it’s the debt collector) they need to check in with their client to get the corrected case details. Seven days should be long enough to have all further enforcement stop, but if you get lucky it might be faster.

However, if you still have any trouble beyond that, please let us know! If needed, I can ask Jess to reach out to the Collections Team again and ask for them to force the process to stop.

This is a great suggestion from our ever helpful community volunteer, @Blastoise186. It’s worth mentioning here that as this erroneous debt has only been linked to your phone number and not your name, it should have any negative impact on your personal credit score, @ambr2307.

In cases where there is an negative mark reported in error our Collections team can, of course, correct this. However we as we only report to Experian monthly, it’s worth bearing in mind that it could take up to a month for this correction to be applied.

Hope this helps set things straight.   

I am leaving in the “A”  and not leaving in the said “B” flat. Both these flat has same post code. New tenant come in the “B” in April/22 and I came in “A”  in Aug/22.

OVO energy made a search on credit score firm and sending me bill for the flat “B” from April/22 onward where i have no connection. I called them many times to make a complaint that remove my name from the bill but they are not doing it and not listening to me. Even i said to them this will affect my credit score and some agent said it wont but actually it is showing debt in my credit report. 

Now, should i go to ombudsman or police for this matter as OVO customer support is useless.

Well… The police won’t accept the case as it’s not a criminal matter, so good luck with that route, and the ombudsman won’t bite if you didn’t give the supplier a chance to resolve it first.

Try using the form at https://ovoenergy.com/feedback .

I have mailed them from my end but they are not helping me saying it is not made from the registred email adress.

should i go to court for this now ??

Email is no longer a valid contact option. You need to use the options at https://help.ovoenergy.com to get in touch generally, or to make a complaint it’s https://ovoenergy.com/feedback .

DO NOT take the matter to court, it’ll likely get thrown out and leave you with a big bill - especially because Alternative Dispute Resolution exists for this stuff.

As previously mentioned, you cannot take this matter to the police as they will not accept it. If you try to force them to act despite this warning, you may find yourself in trouble for wasting police time.

Hey @Chiragmacwan,

Sorry for the issues you’ve had.

It sounds like due to the address mix up (the postcodes being the same), your details have been found through trace and search for the property next to you.

If you have a tenancy agreement I'd advise contacting Support with this to show you are in fact liable for flat A. You can also send a photograph of your meter as this will show the meter serial number which will confirm you are not liable for the OVO supply.

Here are some similar threads with advice that might be helpful to you:

Hope this helps. 

I have raised a case as I am being hounded for money I don’t owe.  We left the property in July last year, paid by DD and they refunded over £600 we had overpaid.  The account was in my husband’s name.  Now, new tenants in the property obviously did not tell Ovo who they were and Ovo found my name and I am getting letters from them.  I have rang and written to them - I have a case number - but now I have received a letter (by redirection) saying that they are handing this over to a debt collection agency.  It’s only £92.47 would I be better to just pay it and see an end to this.  It is making me ill.

Hey @LBrooker ,

Personally, I’d advise against making payment for debts you don’t owe. It causes other headaches further down the line. I’d call Collections again on 0800 069 9831 to report that letter. They should be able to help freeze it.

Thank you - I will try that - but as I have spoken to them so many times and nothing has been done I’m so worried.  

You’re welcome. Please keep me updated with how things go. I’ve got more tricks up my sleeve if you need them.

Hey @LBrooker,

Really sorry to hear, it sounds like a very stressful situation to be in. 

It sounds to me like your name was found and wrongly assigned to the property through a process called ‘trace and search’. If a case has been raised to resolve this, then you shouldn’t experience any more letters. 

It may be that the re-directed letter was sent before the case was raised.

If you have any further issues I'd advise contacting our Collections Team and giving them your case number (if you have it to hand), it should also be on your account.

Hope this helps. 

Good day 

We had moved to new home in July last year. Called to your good company for set up the account. Nothing was happening till received the first and second billing invoice under “occupier” account

I had called to your company again in September 2022, provided my personal detail. Nothing happened but received the invoice under “occupier” account.

I had called it again in Oct 2022 provided my detail. It had received the WELCOME PACKAGE under my wife name. I never even provided it via telephone conversation. 

We were shocking when received the welcome package because the package including the DUPLICATED BILLING, under my wife name, covered from July 2022 to OCT 2022. Nevertheless,  OUR family had been settled all expenses from July 2022 to Oct 2022, once received the billing under name of “occupier” . 

WE had made make calls and sent a email to your good company to require to resolve this simple matter including our complaint either by email or by photo.  Please bear in mind that one of your employee declared I should receive the follow up call within 72 hours but nothing receive as usual. 

Until today, what I had received from your good company are :-

• Billing from July 2022 to Oct 2022 under name of “Occupier”
• Billing from July 2022 to Dec 2022 under my wife name (I still considered this is illegal collection the data since I had called your good company third times to provide my detail NOT my wife) 
• Reminder letter to set up the account, at least three times 
•  Reminder letter to pay the “OUTSTANDING” payment. Indeed the outstanding is considering caused by a duplicated billing
• Email requested to provide the evidence WE had paid to you good company 
• Email declared your good company could not locate my payment (I am not sure how come the paper invoice, under name of “occupier” was mentioned received safety) 
• Pressurize letter, date 19 Dec 2022, to settle the “OUTSTANDING” billing. OTHERWISE passed the detail to DEBT Collection agency

Following is what I had sent till today 

1.  Evidences including bank statements for proved WE had settled the billing TWICE 
2. Several complaint emails and clearly requested to CEASE the reminder of OUTSTANDING message. 
3. Also cleared mentioned WE do not have spare money to resolve the “ISSUE” temporarily.  
4. In complaint emails, it had clearly mentioned that we are suffering the impact of “Credit rating” by this "OUTSANDING issues” due to your good company system failure. 

Otherwise, We do not receive any official telephone call or written letter or email from your good company regarding complaint, migration account and duplicated invoices but potentially facing the scary from DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY because your failure 

Might we take this opportunity to asking your response in this forums how to resolve this problem, response our complaint and  scary from the  “ILLEAGE” action.

Hey @cyc1683,

Really sorry to hear of the issues you’ve had, it sounds like a very stressful situation.

I’ll get Forum_Support to reach out to you, please keep an eye on your private messages.

Hope this helps. 

Why have I received a letter advising of money owing on a closed account for energy incorrectly billed by yourselves over three years ago ? (Back billing)

I have spoken to Ovo who wrote off £30 of the bill requested but not all and insisted I had to pay the outstanding £8.55 for an error in billing in 2018.

According to Ofgem energy not billed by error can not be charged after 12 months of usage.

Sorry @Simon.p but no one here has access to your account as it’s a public forum

To be honest, if it’s such a small amount, you’re probably better off just paying it and getting it over with. Amounts under £10 are rarely worth fighting over and paying it now will mean it gets wiped immediately without further issue.

Good day 

follow up with unprosfessional follow up from your good company. 

How dare you are charging Missed Payment Charge ? Are you asking your customer to pay the cost for your system failure ? 

Kindly advise 

BTW, the billing charge is also inaccurate as well. 

Did forum support get in contact? As this is account specific we can’t help on the forum.
Can I commiserate with you though, and thank you for being so polite on here even under these very frustrating circumstances.