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Updated on 20/06/24 by Shads_OVO

 

Your guide to setting up an account after a home move

 

Just moved home? Welcome to the new pad! :house_with_garden:

 

 

Finding out the current energy supplier

 

So it might not be the first thing on your to-do list when you're packing up and moving into a new place - but before you make a start on the unpacking it’s always best to find out who’s supplying the energy. You might have found out that’s us through the letting agency or previous homeowners. Or you might see a nice ‘Welcome’ letter from OVO waiting for you when you move in. But if you’re not quite sure and want to get a head start on finding out, use this online tool to find out your gas supplier.

 

To find out who supplies your electricity will depend on who is your Distribution Network Operator (DNO). You can locate who your DNO is using this map -

 

And then find out your supplier using the online tool provided by your local DNO below:

 

Western Power

SP Energy Networks

Electricity North West

Northern Power Grid

UK Power Networks

 

 

Taking opening meter readings

 

Before contacting the current energy supplier of your new home, you’ll need to find out the meter reading on the day you moved in. We’d advise making a check of the meters one of the first things on your moving in checklist, that’s right even before getting started on unpacking.

 

Your landlord or the previous homeowner should let you know where to find the meters. As the meter locations can vary wildly from home to home; a cobwebby cupboard under the stairs to a meter box attached to an exterior wall, it’s best to ask if you’re not sure to avoid a game of find-the-meter.

 

Even if you find there’s a smart meter installed it’s always worth taking the reading manually, just in case. Having an accurate reading from the date you took on responsibility avoids the chance you’ll be charged for energy used before you moved in. Even better if you’re able to take a photo of the meter. Need any help taking a reading from your smart meter? Check out this guide to reading an OVO installed smart meter, or this guide to reading an L+G meter (got another smart meter installed? Comment below and we’ll help you figure it out).

 

 

Researching the best plan

 

As you’re not tied to the supplier that supplies the property when you first moved in, it might be worth checking the current plans on offer by all suppliers to help you decide which is the best option for you. 

 

You can check the current plans available with OVO here. As you’ve just moved in you might not have accurate annual consumption figures so it’s worth bearing in mind we’d use the average consumption figures for your type of property when calculating the recommended Direct Debit amount. You can find out the exact annual consumption figures your quote is based on by clicking on each fuel under the ‘Tariff Information Label’. When checking the plans offered by other suppliers, we’d recommend using the same consumption figures to enable you to make a fair comparison of what’s on offer.

 

 

Setting up an OVO account

 

Decided to fix in to an OVO plan or switch to another supplier? Either way we’ll need to set you up an OVO account. 

 

Even if you’re planning a next day switch, setting up an account with OVO can help the switch progress smoothly and be sure you’ll receive an accurate statement covering the time between your move-in and your switch away.

 

If your new home is supplied by OVO, you can call our Support Team on 0330 303 5063, we’re open Monday- Friday 9am to 5pm. Or, if you’d prefer to do it all online you can sign up here. 

 

Once you put in your new address details the website will recognise we already supply your new home and give you a quote based on the usage figures we have for the property. 

 

 

Managing your account online

 

Once you’ve received that ‘Welcome’ pack, head on over here to log in to your sparkling new OVO online account. The same great online features are also available on the OVO app (download for Android or iOS).

 

First things first, you’ll need to request a password reset email, you can do this by clicking ‘first time logging in’. You should then receive an email to your registered email address (don’t forget to check that pesky junk folder). Click on the link in the email to get a password setup - be quick though the link will expire in 30 minutes.

 

Password set? You’re in.

 

You might want to head on over to the ‘Meter Reading’ menu option first,

 

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This will allow you to check the last reading we received from your smart meter (if you’ve got one) or register the opening meter reading if required.

 

There’s plenty of great actions you can now take yourself online, from checking your payments and usage to reviewing the details of your plan. 

 

Need more help finding your way around? - Check out our great online account tutorial collection.

 

 

Need any extra help?

 

We’re hoping we’ve pretty much covered the basics in terms of getting set-up. Got any more questions on getting to grips with your new account? You’ve come to the best place.

 

Check out this guide on how to use this community to get the help and support you might need, we’re always happy to help, Just sorry we can’t help unpack! :relaxed:

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

 

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

Thank you. This worked. Appreciate the help!!

Hi @Gauri0904,

 

It seems our forum volunteer has given some great advice here. I’m happy to hear that this has been resolved.

 

This thread may also be helpful in future:

 

 

Hello Everyone!

 

I hope you can help

I signed up to a fixed contract in September 2024 but Ovo only partially set me up and have now asked me to confirm what rates i had signed up to so they can honour it. I don't have this information, can anyone help? I signed up on 24th September and selected the 1 year fixed with boiler cover as it had the best rates for me. Thank you in advance! 

It’s not easy to find old tariffs, but the rates should be clearly spelt out on any bill you received during the period. They should also be there in your billing history, so just have a look at any of the months from October 2023 to August 2024. It looks as if the boiler cover option just gives a ~25% rebate on the standing charge.

Don’t tell me you’ve not had any bills ...

Hi @Firedog , 

 

thank you, but the issue is i just moved into the property in September and signed up to OVO, namely as it was the provider of the previous owner…. so i don’t have any previous bills to check. 

 

If anyone has any record of what they have signed up to, it would be extremely helpful as i want to secure the rates when i signed up in September, (but which weren’t properly set up by Ovo) and not the higher rates on the current deal, changed in October. 

… i just moved into the property in September and signed up to OVO, namely as it was the provider of the previous owner….
 

That explains your interest!

Normally when moving into a property and setting up an account with the existing supplier, you’d be put on the Standard Variable Tariff (that’s Simpler Energy in OVO-speak). I’ll have to ask what happens to the existing boiler cover on change of ownership @Emmanuelle_OVO e @Tim_OVO !], but my guess is that it lapses as soon as the previous owner’s account is closed. In any case, you won’t necessarily be able to continue on the previous owner’s terms.

Have a look at the tariffs available and take your time to pick the best. I’m afraid you’ve missed the boat as regards grabbing a fixed-rate deal at pre-October prices.

You’ll find answers to most of the questions you may have on the various help pages. 

Hi @Firedog 

 

OVO have confirmed they will honour the September rate, however,I have to confirm what the rate was in September (before the October rise). They acknowledge they did not set up my account properly - so am half registered, something went wrong on their end. 

 

So if i have the rates for September for the “1 year fixed with boiler cover” they will honour those rates/tariffs. 

 

Hopefully that makes sense. 

When you signed up to the Fixed rate with boiler cover did you not get an email confirming that, including what the rates you had signed up to were?

If I recall when I did a new fix (no boiler cover) a few months ago I got 2 emails. One with my new electricity rates and one with the gas rates.

Hi @Nukecad 

 

I got a confirmation email but only for the boiler coverage. they have admitted they messed up - they will not confirm the tariffs BUT will hour them if i can prove what they were in September 2024.

 

Well the tariff would have been different depending on where you live.

While I also would have though someone at OVO should have the historical information they may not do because it would be different for each area.

 If was computer generated ‘live’ for each individual enquiry/application then it may be calculated by the computer from a set datum each time, and that datum has of course now changed.

That's a computer programming thing, records aren't always kept of temporary enquiries.

So unless you have a record of what was said by the computer at the time then the people you are talking to won't necessarily be able to reproduce it now.

Which let's face it is why they are asking if you have it for them to be able to honour it for you.

If neither of you have it then you will have to negotiate, or accept the current fixed rate.

Hey @carolineharte,

 

​

I understand you've encountered issues upon moving in and setting up your tariff. Our community members have offered valuable advice, which I hope will be helpful. As @Nukecad correctly mentioned, you should have received confirmation emails or letters when you signed up for the new tariff. However, if you don't have access to this information as evidence, you may need to contact our Support Team to discuss options.

 

I hope your tariff issue gets resolved soon 😊

I recently moved in to a new place. We have an OVO account, presumably because the previous tenants had one and it's just carried over. However I can't log in to an online account in order to add payment details etc, as my email address or my personal details aren't associated with the account number and I just get an "oops" error every time I try to set up an account. There's no way of changing or adding any details without logging in, which I can't do. I also can't call to speak to anyone, because I can't get past the security checks on the automated system, because I can't set up my account properly in the first place, so I end up in this loop of not being able to do ANYTHING. The chat bot is completely useless, it just ends the chat every time I enter my details. I tried Whatsapp. hoping that a human would see the message, but it ends up just going in to the chat bot again, I'm very much going around in circles and it's extremely frustrating.

I really need somebody to give me a call (assuming any humans actually work at OVO? So far I've only been able to deal with robots) so I can set everything up, as I've started getting threatening letters about debt collection etc now. We have no problem at all paying, but I can't give you the money online or over the phone currently, and I have tried absolutely everything, so I'm very stuck. This forum is my last ditch effort.

Thanks
 

You can't use the previous tenants account or account number, (they will have / should have told OVO to close it when they moved out)  and so you will need to set a new one up for yourself.

Have a read of this guide about moving house and setting up new accounts:

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/setting-up-your-gas-and-electricity-in-your-new-home

I just want to speak to someone.

I’ve tried the number in that guide - 0330 303 5063 - and pressed the button to speak to a member of the team, but I still have to enter my account number, date of birth, post code etc and then it says “sorry we couldn’t verify your account”. How do I skip all this and just talk to someone????

Just a note ​@Paul GGGG that the forum is not a direct route to OVO customer support. Being a public forum, there is no access to customer details for anyone. 
As Nukecad has mentioned, you need to set up your own account otherwise there might be a problem with previous charges

Hello,

 I'm trying to contact ovo via email as the house i've bought is supplied by them but as i don't have an account the emails get returned when emailing hello@ovoenergy.com any contact via moving home directs me to setting up an account with payment details etc but i might not want to continue with ovo until i know the tarrifs etc.

Hi,

You're doing it wrong. Please use https://switch.ovoenergy.com or call 0330 303 5063. You CANNOT setup via email.

You MUST setup with OVO if OVO is the existing supplier. You cannot leave until you do so.

Ok thanks i'll try that.

Cheers

I just want to speak to someone.

I’ve tried the number in that guide - 0330 303 5063 - and pressed the button to speak to a member of the team, but I still have to enter my account number, date of birth, post code etc and then it says “sorry we couldn’t verify your account”. How do I skip all this and just talk to someone????

​@Paul GGGG you can bypass those by pressing the # key when the bot asks about them - it’s a skip option.

There’s a guide here ​@Unclescotty 

 

Hey ​@Unclescotty 

 

Glad to see a couple of our volunteers have already stopped by with some really helpful advice.

 

If your new home is supplied by OVO, you can contact our Support team via web messaging and WhatsApp, the opening hours are:

  • 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday 

  • 9am - 2pm on Saturdays
     

You can see all open contact channels via our Help Centre. 

 

Once you put in your new address details the website will recognise we already supply your new home and give you a quote based on the usage figures we have for the property. 

 

Once you’ve set up your account, we’ll email you a welcome pack within 5 working days. If you do then wish to switch to a different supplier, you can then do so easily. You can view all of our plans here.

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