Where's my final refund?

@captayenolu

The ofgem compensation payments under the regulations for all suppliers for switching are very clear

So if your final bill was over 6 weeks from your actual switch date you should automatically get £30.

If this isn't automatically paid in 10 days of the switch date, you can claim another £30

If the refund isn't paid within 10 wording days of your final bill you should automatically get £30 compensation. 

If this isn't automatically paid within 10 working days of the final bill you can claim another £30.

@Jeffus thanks for this update, how do I go about this  claims because actually, my final bill was sent to me about the end of the 7th week after my final reading submission and movement, my credit balance is yet to be reimbursed.

You have a few options. 

Personally i would put in a complaint, make it very clear what the dates were, include screenshots etc, include a link to the ofgem page, tell ovo what you want. You need to make sure you have proof as it doesn't sound much over 6 weeks. How many days notice did you give OVO before you moved out and submitted the reading on the moving out day? 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/switch-supplier-or-energy-tariff

I would personally Email the complaint, then if it isn't sorted go to the Ombudsman after 8 weeks or a deadlock letter if earlier. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

complaints@ovoenergy.com

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy

The reason i suggest a complaint is that the 8 weeks then starts ticking before asking the Ombudsman for help if needed. 

Why does it take so long to get your credit balance back when you leave OVO??? 

6-8 weeks is the average. If it’s been longer than that, please let Support know via https://ovoenergy.com/help .

Well, this case is already with the ombudsman now. So, I expect a feedback on it soon. Since May, just imagine now. Can OVO allow any customer to owe her that much, that long?

I moved house on 5 June, with approx. £2500 of credit on my account, but still haven’t received the refund and no one on the Ovo customer support team can explain why.

I have tried to raise a complaint 3 times.  The first was ignored, the second was closed 24 hours after opening as I didn’t immediately respond to an email sent by Ovo to the wrong email address despite checking this information was correct when I made the complaint.  The third seems to be open still, but I am regularly checking with Ovo that they haven’t closed it.

Apparently, I can complain to Ofgem 8 weeks after my complaint isn’t resolved, so that’s why I keep checking that Ovo hasn’t closed the complaint, otherwise the 8 week clock just gets reset.

Does anyone have any similar experiences with Ovo, including going to the Ombudsman, and if so how long did the process take, and any tips for getting a resolution, as I’m currently being told that there isn’t anything more I can do to smooth the process along?

Hi @edandsuet 

Sorry to hear that that. Sadly issues with the ovo complaint process come up regularly on the forum. That is a huge amount of my money. 

1. There are deadlines that apply for final bills and return of credit. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-if-you-are-owed-money-your-energy-bill

If you didn't receive a final bill within 6 weeks you are entitled to £30, if this wasn't paid within 10 working days of the event, then you are entitled to another £30.

If the credit wasn't returned within  10 working days of the final bill you are entitled to £30, if this wasn't paid with 10 working days you are entitled to another £30. 

So perhaps ask for the compensation now if appropriate. If they refuse try asking  for a deadlock letter, come back to the forum and let the ovo moderators know in case they want to raise internally given the recently annouced ofgem investigation into ovo (see point 4 below) 

2. In my experience if you can show some proof of the earlier dates for putting in a complaint then the ombudsman will usually accept these if it is the  fault of ovo rather than wait 8 weeks from the later date. 

https://www.energyombudsman.org/

You can provide a link to this thread if you want to. 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/switching-suppliers-and-moving-home-144/no-final-credit-yet-4-months-after-moving-16061

3. Some customers have had success asking their local MP to raise their issue with OVO. Many MPs are good at this sort of casework.

4. Serious concerns have recently been raised about the ovo complaint process. Ofgem are investigating

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-opens-compliance-engagement-respect-ovos-complaints-handling-process

Thanks Jeffus.  That is really useful information.

Ovo did provide a £30 credit after 6 weeks, so I can’t fault them on that.  They haven’t yet provided a final bill, which seems to be the problem, though no one can explain why this is the case.

I do have the emails that I sent to both the help and complaints Ovo email addresses when I tried to first open a complaint, and which were ignored.

If I use the date of these emails as the start of my 8 week clock then I have less than 2 weeks until I can approach Ofgem, instead of waiting another 4 weeks from the date of my third complaint.

I guess I should let Ovo know that this is my intention, although after spending another half hour on the phone with them today without any further progress, that’s the last thing I want to do.

Some really good advice above about time frames and compensation, @edandsuet.

OVO will be keen to sort this out internally and avoid you having to raise this to the Ombudsmen. There might be a reason for the final bill being delayed which would justify the final refund, so it’s worth making sure. 

Are you able to ask the Support team for an update on your complaint? If you don’t get progress after doing this, I can ask our Forum Support team to chase up the complaint handler.