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Unable to switch because my electricity meter has been registered on the national data base as an industrial meter?

K
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I've manged to find a more competitive rate and daily charge so applied to change supplier, unfortunately my electricity meter has been registered on the national data base as an industrial meter rather than a house hold domestic meter, which means I can't transfer.

I've sent a mail to OVO tonight to request that they update the national data base with immediate effect, let's see how long it takes them shall we.

I work in the energy industry so know how long it should take, unfortunately I can't resolve it myself, I'm in the hands of OVO.

Will keep this thread updated with progress on a daily basis.
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Best answer by Nancy_OVO 25 June 2019, 13:32

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J
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According to a data base my domestic house is registered for business use , I’ve rang Ovo but it’s still showing as business use has anyone else come across this ?
Nancy_OVO
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Hi @JACKABEE

Sounds like you have a smart meter at your property which is sending us meter readings once every 30 minutes (half-hourly settlements). In case you were interested, this gives the occupier of the property better visibility of their usage, and allows for energy demand to be matched for accuracy and efficiently. It’s a win/win.

This is an industry wide change, so the supplier you’re trying to switch to should be aware of this update, and be able to take over your supply. Sadly, there’s a few suppliers who incorrectly interpret half hourly meter readings as being a business supply. It used to only be a business supply that did half hourly settlement (technical term). They’re wrong, and will be able to apply successfully.

That said, we can change the smart meters and the database so that it’s not half hourly, in order to avoid confusion from another supplier. It will take several weeks to do. A quicker way would be to reach out to your chosen supplier and highlight their error.

On top of that, some suppliers aren't installing first generation smart meters (S1 - the ones you'll have), and they don't have a means of communicating with existing ones, meaning they won't take over the meters you currently have. To my understanding, they're awaiting the full launch of the second generation (S2) meters before installing any.

This doesn't strictly mean they can't, as according to industry regulations, customers should be granted the freedom to choose their supplier. It would be possible for them take over and then exchange your meters back to traditional ones once you're on supply. Alternatively you can keep your smart meters and supply a reading manually to ensure your bills are accurate.

Thanks,
Nancy
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Nancy_OVO
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Updated on 16/05/22 by Jess_OVO

 

Welcome to the OVO online community. Great question to ask about why you’re having trouble switching away.

It's very unlikely that we'd have registered your supplies as industrial ones, as we don't supply businesses, only private homes. What’s more likely is  your property has smart meters, which send the readings to the energy industry every half hour. This makes sure we’re able to anticipate your energy demand more efficiently and is an important part of de-carbonising the grid on our journey to Plan Zero. 

This ‘half hourly settlement’ is listed on the national database as a profile class 0, which up until 2019 was only for business listings. This is an industry wide change so all suppliers should be aware of this update and able to onboard a customer. However, there are a lot of suppliers who still don’t have this functionality.

 

We can change the way your meters are listed on the national database so that it’s not half hourly, in order to avoid confusion from another supplier. Reach out to our Support Team to request this update. Once requested it takes around 2 - 4 weeks for the listing to be updated. Please be aware that as this relies on the actions of a third party, unfortunately we’re unable to speed this process up, however it might be worth contacting your prospective supplier to check whether they are able to request your switch without needing an update to your address listing.

 

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

 

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

 

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K
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Nancy, thank you for your response, I do have a smart meter fitted, but to be honest the internal unit and the software it runs is pretty useless, it's spent all of it's time in my draw since I've had it.

From memory my gas meter was set originally set up incorrectly so it was reading the incorrect volume of gas and I was being over charged massively. Sorted now though.

Fortunately I've had a great response from OVO, they have addressed the issue but it will take 2 to 3 weeks to resolve.

All I'm really interested in is the customer service and how quickly issues are resolved.

So far all good.
Transparent
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Glad to hear this issue is being addressed for you @keeling54

It might seem annoying that there's a 2-3 week delay before your SMETS electricity meter record gets corrected by ECOES. However, there are number of checks that get made during the meter registration process, each of which has time-frames agreed with Ofgem.

The independent meter database system is useful both to eradicate errors and also protect consumers from fraud. It's one of those processes which is best left to carry out its work according to the correct procedures, rather than rushing it!
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Nancy_OVO
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From memory my gas meter was set originally set up incorrectly so it was reading the incorrect volume of gas and I was being over charged massively. Sorted now though.

Ah - that's slightly different, and pretty rare! Glad to hear it's getting sorted, though 🙂
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K
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Hi

I am unable to switch to another supplier due to the smart meter i have installed.

They can't support it.

Is it possible to have the smart functionality disabled to allow me to do so?

Cheers
Nancy_OVO
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Userlevel 5

Hi @kjhoran,

It sounds like your smart meters send the readings every half hour (in case you were interested, this gives the occupier of the property better visibility of their usage, and allows for energy demand to be matched for accurately and efficiently. It’s a win/win).

This is an industry wide change, so the supplier you’re trying to switch to should be aware of this update, and be able to take over your supply. Sadly, there’s a few suppliers who incorrectly interpret half hourly meter readings as being a business supply. It used to only be a business supply that did half hourly settlements (technical term). They’re wrong, and will be able to apply successfully.

That said, we can change the smart meters and the database so that it’s not half hourly, in order to avoid confusion from another supplier. It will take several weeks to do. A quicker way would be to reach out to your chosen supplier and highlight their error.  Send us a message on Facebook (m.me/ovoenergy) with your account number, full name and DoB or through online chat on our Help Centre and we can look into this for you.

Hope this helps!

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S
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My fixed tariff with Ovo ends in a few days but I've been unable to arrange a switch because I'm registered as an industrial/commercial property! Ovo says it could take 10 working days before their update goes through so I will miss out on the September tariff I found with another supplier AND will pay a lot more on the Ovo variable tariff while I wait for the problem to be fixed. My new supplier suggested escalating the request but has anyone had any success with this?
Eva_OVO
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Hey @sxg4,

The update to the database is made by a third party which we have no control over, we wouldn't be able to speed up this process.

I've spoken with another team about this, and the supplier you want to switch too essentially can't refuse to take you over becasue of this.

Take a look at the best answer for more advice on this.
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt!
Transparent
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@sxg4 - Can I just clarify that all aspects of a switch are handled by the Receiving Supplier. I have discussed this previously with the Office of the Energy Ombudsman and it is important that this strategy is followed.

If the Receiving Supplier fails to implement this as required by Ofgem guidelines, then your case can be taken up by the Ombudsman.

But if you arrange any alteration to the procedures via the Relinquishing Supplier (OVO in this case) then it removes obligations from the Receiving Supplier that you've decided to switch to.

The timescales involved are there to protect the customer from attempts by 3rd parties to arrange a fraudulent switch or take over an account without the knowledge or consent of the real customer.

That's why you are allowed to arrange a switch without penalties 6 weeks before your old contract actually expires.
Save energy... recycle electrons!

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