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Quote for new customer insists on Economy 7- I'm single rate


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Im trying to switch to Ovo Energy but the quotes keep insisting on signing up with a Day and Night rate although I only have a single rate SMETS2 meter.  The call centre seem to have the same issue - how can I get this fixed?

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Best answer by Tim_OVO 24 April 2023, 10:33

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Userlevel 7
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This might be an ECOES issue. You’ll probably need to get your current supplier to fix the records.

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Thanks - I did chat with British Gas who claim that they checked the National database (is that the same) and assure me it’s all correct…. Might be handy to get a 2nd opinion on that though!

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Yup, it is. OVO can try to query it but only the active supplier can make changes

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I just used British Gas chat to ask them specifically to check on ECOES and they’re sure it’s not set as economy 7.  Hopefully someone from Ovo might see this and be able to confirm?

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… they’re sure it’s not set as economy 7.  

 

The MPAN may indicate whether the meter has more than one register. The first box on the top line contains the clue: the Profile Class (PC). My Economy 7 meter’s PC is 02, meaning Domestic Economy meter of two or more rates

You can see the MPAN on an electricity bill. It looks like this:
 

 

Here’s a comprehensive MPAN page with lots of information: Meter Point Administration Number - Wikipedia  

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Thank you - my MPAN starts with 01 - so seems that it confirms it’s not Economy 7. I’m not sure what else might be causing the Ovo systems to think I have Economy 7?

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Thank you - my MPAN starts with 01 - so seems that it confirms it’s not Economy 7. I’m not sure what else might be causing the Ovo systems to think I have Economy 7?

I guess there is the chance the ECOES database is out of sync with what British Gas hold internally? 

I don't suppose you have a strange address that could cause a mix up in a search? 

You could try getting a quote from a different supplier, just to see what happens. 

Interestingly I  see the government class the MPAN as personal information. If you really want to find out you could try putting in a subject access request to ECOES for all that information in the picture @Firedog posted and see how they handle it. It seems a shame to have to try that though. 

enquiries@recmanager.co.uk

 

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Even if there is more than one register, that doesn’t mean it’s an economy 7 service. Mine has two registers but I can’t currently get economy 7 due to OVO’s current billing platform bizarrely 

Userlevel 7

Hey @Millwardt,

 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

 

I can see our Community Members have already given some great advice here! If it’s not the profile class suggesting you have an Economy 7 meter it may be that your address is wrong on the national database (ECOES) and we are picking up the incorrect meter? It may be that the address on ECOES doesn’t match with the address you have listed with the Royal Mail. 

 

Keep us posted with how you get on.

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Hi @Emmanuelle_OVO just been on the phone to my current supplier and they’ve said the code is showing as 01 for single rate domestic customer, and no apparent anomalies with my address.  I’m now stuck and don’t know who else to try to get this resolved.  The house was built in 1930 and no apparent address match issues. Any other ideas?

Userlevel 7

Hey @Millwardt,

 

If it’s not the profile class suggesting you have an Economy 7 meter it may be that your address is wrong on the national database (ECOES) and we are picking up the incorrect meter? It may be that the address on ECOES doesn’t match with the address you have listed with the Royal Mail. 

 

I’d advise asking how your address appears on the national database and checking your meter serial number with the one that appears on your meter.

 

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

Userlevel 7

Updated on 13/09/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO

Hi @Millwardt,

 

I was also chatting to you about this same question over on this topic

 

It’s tricky for us as it would seem either your supplier is wrong in suggesting you’re registered as single rate, or our quote page is wrong. Why not double check with your supplier as Emmanuelle adivses?

 

There’s one workaround for you to consider: Sign up to an economy 7 tariff, and request to our Support team that the prices applied to both day and night (peak and off peak) registers have the same, single rate prices applied. You can make this request after starting the switch to OVO via our Support team. Before that, start the switch via our quote page here

 

Thoughts on this?

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Hi @Millwardt 

As a test i made a subject access request to my DNO (Distribution Network Operator) this morning, as the government define this as personal information. 

They replied in minutes with the Profile Type recorded for my home on the central database which avoids any issues with different suppliers saying different things. 

This may be a better way of understanding what is going on. 

You can find out who your DNO is here.

https://www.energynetworks.org/customers/find-my-network-operator

In my case it was UK Power Networks, and i emailed their Data Protection Team. dpo@ukpowernetworks.co.uk

You could try something similar with your DNO.

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We’ll that’s definitely worth a try @Jeffus  did you give them any specific details in your request?

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We’ll that’s definitely worth a try @Jeffus  did you give them any specific details in your request?

@Millwardt

This is the exact process i tried

1. I filled in their standard form to get my basic MPAN number and supplier name. Obviously it will be a different link if your DNO (Distribution Network Operator) is not UK Power Networks. 

https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/help/who-is-my-electricity-supplier-and-what-is-my-mpan

2. The automatic response with the details was very quick. It was a no reply email

3. I forward the email to their DPO email address... I found their DPO email address in their Privacy Policy. https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/privacy-policy

Hi 

Please can you also provide the 2 digit Profile Type that you have recorded for my house?

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/mpas

4. They responded asking me for my address

5. I replied

6. They responded with the Profile Type. 

If you post what your DNO says i am sure it will help other customers. You may find you can get the data via your DNO standard email address, i never tried that.

I suspect this is easier than you trying to liaise with the organisation responsible for the ECOES database as the DNO will be much more use to domestic customers asking questions. 

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Thanks @Jeffus had a response back from them with the following.

 

Thank you for your enquiry, your Profile Type is 01.

 

@Tim_OVO I’m not sure if this helps with any further investigation at your end.

 

I discovered that if I used the address not found option when requesting a quote, and manually populate my address that I do get a standard single rate tarriff but with a switch date a few weeks into May.  I went ahead with this on Saturday but I’m not sure if it’ll fail during the switch process if a discrepancy is found.

 

I’m keen to join as soon as possible to take advantage of Charge Anytime but not sure whether it would now be riskier to try cancelling and going ahead with your suggestion of raising the switch with dual rate, and then contacting support.  What would you suggest @Tim_OVO ?

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Thanks @Jeffus had a response back from them with the following.

 

Thank you for your enquiry, your Profile Type is 01.

 

@Tim_OVO I’m not sure if this helps with any further investigation at your end.

 

I discovered that if I used the address not found option when requesting a quote, and manually populate my address that I do get a standard single rate tarriff but with a switch date a few weeks into May.  I went ahead with this on Saturday but I’m not sure if it’ll fail during the switch process if a discrepancy is found.

 

I’m keen to join as soon as possible to take advantage of Charge Anytime but not sure whether it would now be riskier to try cancelling and going ahead with your suggestion of raising the switch with dual rate, and then contacting support.  What would you suggest @Tim_OVO ?

Good to know the ECOES database looks like it is correct in terms of the type. 

Sometimes addresses can be an issue. 

I think check your exact address just in case. 

1. What does it say on Royal Mail

https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode

2. Ask the DNO to confirm exactly how it appears to them. 

Look for any minor discrepancies just in case. 

@Tim_OVO do you know if OVO make real time api requests to the ECOES database every time when constructing quotes for new customers?

@Tim_OVO I assume the switch date in this case is more than the 5 day industry standard for the Faster Switching service as the address has been manually entered? 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/ovo-faster-switching-policy

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