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No welcome email, can't log in to my account, can't make an account via phone

  • 13 August 2023
  • 8 replies
  • 263 views

I recently moved in to a new property as a tenant. Tried to set up a new account via phone service multiple times. Every time I call the costumer services would say they cannot do a new account for me as “I am not the owner of the property” ? And that when they enter my details it doesn’t match with the landlord ones (it does make sense because I am renting - not the owner).  They told me they had filed a complain and will look into it and get back to me, but I didn’t receive a call/email from anyone. 
After so many phone calls that were in vain, I set up a DD online. However, I didn’t receive a welcome email or any confirmation (despite entering my card details for DD and completing all the steps). 
I am desperate to find a solution as this issue has caused me a lot of stress.

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Best answer by Abby_OVO 15 August 2023, 10:33

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Userlevel 7
Badge +5

Hi @AyaEladl , if there is (or was) an existing account for the property, that needs to be closed first so that you only pay for what you use. You should ask your landlord if they have done that. That should make the property ‘available’ for a new account. 
Not sure what you mean by already set up a direct debit. If this isn’t linked to an account for you, it might cause future problems 

@BPLightlog thanks for your reply! That was really helpful. With regards to the DD, I found a link on OVO website stating that I can register with a direct debit rather than pay as you go (which requires a phone call to costumer services). I was so frustrated and opted for that one as I didn’t want to call costumer services again. I set up the DD but didn’t hear back from them since then. 

Userlevel 6

Hey @AyaEladl 

 

Sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve been having with getting your account set up.

 

The Support Team should be able to have your account set up from the day you became liable at the property, and the Direct Debit would be set up onto your own account. Like BPLightlog said, if the Direct Debit is not connected to an actual account, it can become problematic for yourself to get the payments allocated at a later date down the line. It sounds like you may have done this online? Have you had any Welcome letter yet?

 

It may be worth checking with the team that this has been done and that you have your own account set up now. 

I didn’t receive any welcome email. And I have had extensive discussions about this matter with the letting agency who confirmed that they have emailed OVO on my move-in date and informed them of my tenancy start period. I don’t get why the direct debit would be linked to another account but I have called my bank and they stated that they couldn’t cancel the DD request unless it has been approved by the merchant (OVO energy), and no one has approved it yet. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Letting agencies are not allowed to set up accounts on your behalf. You need to set it up yourself. Try https://switch.ovoenergy.com to get an account going.

That should close any existing ones.

That’s the same link I used when I set up my direct debit. And since then, I didn’t hear back from OVO or receive any confirmation/welcome email. 

when I tried to go through the link and choose the “pay as you go” option, it referred me to call costumer services and I wasn’t able to set up a PAYG account online. 

Just to clarify that the letting agency did not set up an account for me. I was merely contacting them to ensure that the previous tenant definitely close their account. Additionally, in one of my correspondences with costumer services, they advised contacting the letting agency? 

They said that whenever they enter the landlord name on OVO it displays a message saying that’s it’s wrong ? I am not sure what the issue is but I’m so desperate to resolve this issue as it has been ongoing for more than three weeks now! I even had to take time off to make the phone calls with costumer services and it was frustrating to realise that it’s so complicated. I don’t even know where the problem is or how I can resolve it! 
 

One of the costumer service agents ensured me that they will definitely issue me an account by the end of the day, took my mobile number and email address, but I never heard back from him. I would’ve appreciated the honesty as I kept waiting for him to get back to me the whole day. 
 

I do apologise for the lengthy comment but I am so frustrated ! 

Userlevel 6

Hey @AyaEladl 

 

We can indeed accept notice from the Landlord. This is a change that took place back in March this year, which can make it easier to make sure accounts are set up and closed to correct dates. 

 

If they know your details they can provide them to us to set up your account, and if they’re not passing on your details and only closing their own account,  you’ll really need to get your own account set up so that you can pay for your bills, and ensure it’s only from the date you became liable. 

 

I would like to check one thing, you mentioned that you’ve set up a Direct Debit but are looking to set up a Pay as you Go account via the link. Is the meter in Pay as you Go mode where it needs topped up? Or is it running up a balance used? If it’s on “top up” mode, then yes you’ll need a Pay as you Go account, but if you don’t need to top up to stay on supply, you’ll need to set up a Pay monthly account where you’ll receive a bill every month. As you’ve set up a Direct Debit, we’d expect it to be on the pay monthly mode, so you’d need to select either; ‘Pay Monthly’ (this means you’ll pay by monthly Direct Debit) or ‘Pay on Demand without Direct Debit’ (this would mean you’d make a manual payment when you get the bill each month). 

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