Why did I get a 'Sorry you're leaving' email when I don't want to switch from OVO?

Did you get sorted @Chloe341 

I received a "final bill" in the post from OVO and it said "sorry you're leaving". But I'm not leaving!

It's addressed to "The occupier" not me personally and the account number is wrong but the address is correct. I'll call tomorrow of course when the phone lines open but it seems weird that if it's an erroneous transfer why would have a different account number at the top?

Hey @russd1999,

It definitely sounds like a call to our Support Team is the right move. They’ll check the account for you to make sure no erroneous transfers have been requested. We have more information on our guide on erroneous transfers here 

If you’ve received a letter addressed to “the occupier” and the account number differs, that’s an everyday process. It would ensure that in cases like this, where an error has been made, they can revert your account using your existing account number. 

Let us know how you get on after speaking with support. 

Thank you Christopher, I called support today and they said that they have checked the database and there are no transfers in progress. Bizarrely the letter they think is linked to a disregarded account that was closed in March 2020. That would tie up with when I my mum died and I changed the account into my dad's name. It was then changed again into my name after he died 18 months later.

They didn't know why the system would send a letter 4 years 2 months later.

Confusingly, the account number on the letter isn't actually the same as my mum's old account. Support reassured me several times that there was no transfer in progress so I guess that's all I can do for now.

Hey @russd1999,

Thanks for the update. I’m glad that there are no actual issues with your account. We have recently been working on migrating older accounts to a new billing platform, so it could be the case that it triggered an old letter to be sent even though the account was closed. 

I’m really sorry that it’s confused things for you though I can understand it’s came as a shock. Keep an eye on things, and if you have any more questions or need help, then reach out. 

I have received an email saying i was switching supplier. I didn't ask for this, spoke to an agent who said it was an error and but to worry, only to receive an email today telling my final balance and I had let them know I had moved out of my property which I didn't and haven't! Another call later and it is now saying I'm in debt and I'm leaving on Thursday, how do I stop this or even find out why it's happened, and can they leave me without gas? Thanks

Going through this too (and went through last year). Contact OVO again to let them know and get a case number. This will help with chasing updates. But it can take a while as the suppliers chat to each other (and ignore the customer!). If they take over a certain time laid down by Ofgem (sorry don't have link to hand) then you are owed some compensation. 

However like I said it can take a while to sort (months for me) and I ended up going to the Ombudsman. So document everything! However I wasn't left with electricity so you should not have your gas cut off. 

Hi @caggymcc,

I’m sorry to hear this.

Sometimes we receive a request for us to switch your supply away from us in error. Whilst it’s quite rare there’s a few reasons this may have happened:

• Human error - someone may have entered your address details when applying for a genuine switch
• Fraud - very occasionally fraudsters may use your details to apply for an energy switch (if the details held by the other supplier match your details it might be worth contacting your bank and checking your internet security procedures)
• Mistake in your address listing on the national database - If way your address is listed is unclear or incorrect this can cause issues switching - check out this topic for more advice in getting this corrected.

If you receive an unexpected leaving email, contact our Support Team to let us know you don’t want to go. They can put a stop to the impending switch and find out which supplier’s making the request. You’ll also need to make sure you let them know that you don’t want to switch to them as they may reattempt the switch.

This thread might also be useful:

Noticed I have a Welcome to Octopus Energy message on my smart meter display and TOP UP REJECTED.

I had an erroneous switch back in December 2024 and only realised this happened when I received an email from OVO saying sorry I was leaving them. They blamed the switch on human error.

Surely this hasn't happened again? 

Oh and my year old smart meters have stopped working now for a month. OVO won't send an engineer out until meters haven't been working for 32 days. 

This isn’t usually either supplier’s fault, but rather a third party who made a mistake. See the article What is an Erroneous Transfer (ET)? | The OVO Forum 

When you say your smart meters have stopped working, do you mean they’ve stopped measuring your consumption (blank screen or unchanging readings)? Or that they’re just not sending data to OVO? Or something else?

It’s unusual for a smart meter to stop measuring - that’s their primary task, after all - but for more than one to fail in this respect at the same time at the same site is pretty well unheard of.