£66 government energy bills support scheme deducted from my OVO account balance not added?

It looks like that user got banned for rule violations. They probably won’t respond again.

Ever since OVO took over from SSE the electric bills have been totally incorrect every month, even though I send meter readings and have always paid by direct debit.

Firstly they said in July '22 that I still had £112 to pay from my SSE account prior to the move(which I didn't want or ask for!!),my DD's have ALWAYS been paid on time each quarter since 2014,so when I was told the change of supplier was happening at the end of June '22,I got my final bill plus the extra days which totalled £154.67 also my bill showed the £112+change was my quarterly plus extra to June 30th making £154.67 which I paid in full as I always do.

Ever since then,this £112 has been put on my OVO bill as debit? I've tried and tried sending emails then with NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER I changed to going through the OVO online complaints form and I have sent the 3rd complaint form around a week ago after NEVER even getting a single response or not even an acknowledgment email.

Because I'm immobile disabled at home I am receiving the £66 monthly but they are sending the money to my bank account and then when looking at my bills every month now I'm not only still having the £112 showing as an unpaid debit but they are now deducting the £66 from my £75 monthly direct debit amount and then my usage costs are usually around £40-£50pm so with that they are making the debit larger every month!! It's unbelievable what's going on with my account and I've got enough medical issues and NHS nurses coming to my bungalow twice a day every day to tend my medical needs etc,so when a company that I didn't ask for has been ignoring every email and any of the 3 complaints form's over the month's since June it's unbelievably frustrating and stressful for me!

It's NOT MUCH TO ASK for some response to even acknowledge one of my emails over nearly 5 months now,maybe somebody who has more knowledge about having this looked at or should I use the form I've already got filled out on the Ombudsmen's website ready to go? I thought I'd try here first as a last resort, I don't like to use the phone as some of my skull and bruising to my brain which makes it difficult for concentration,short term memory loss and nervous due to it as it was a part of the numerous injuries after a car hit me 16yrs ago that left me immobile disabled at home, otherwise I would use the phone but it's not an option unfortunately.

Thanks for any help in advance and your time reading this issue.

Have a look at this which explains where the £66 comes into your account from the government:

Re Your other points about SSE will get a response too….soon !

Hey @Philip Cook,

Sorry for the Issues you’re having,

We don’t have access to your account here on the Forum.

I think the best thing to do would be to call Support on 0330 303 5063, they’ll be able to see your previous SSE billing, meter readings and the £112 charge.

If you’d like you can also attach a screenshot of your first bill from OVO and last bill from SSE to this thread and we can take a look? But please don’t include any personal information.

Hope this helps. 

I haven't received my £66 for November and its 1st December. I received it in October and I pay DD 16th of the month.

Hey @Sarareynolds,

Sorry to hear this,

You’ll need to contact Support who have a process in place for missing Energy Bills Support Scheme payments.

Hope this helps.

Hello

I have contacted support (chat) and after 1 hour 20 minutes I was told that I can't do anything as its an automatic system that generates the refunds into bank accounts and the customer advisor couldn't help.  If I don't get my money today  then OVO have failed to give me my entitled 66 pounds for November. I am due December soon. Its not.good enough.

I've checked my bill and I did receive my £66 last month but they have also added to what I owe them, so how does that work as I thought we didn't have to pay it back

@Stubbs44 does this explanation help ? 
 

Hi there,

I’ve seen some threads about this but still believe there’s an issue,

here is I think a good example,

• start balance -£1.53
• usage £122, new balance = -£123.53
• direct debit £195 = balance should be (-123+195) = £72

then there is the £66 one

• I got it on my bank but here, my balance isn’t £72 but £4.63 (they removed £66 from it)
• also, +£66 on bank - £66 here = 0

I didn’t use £188 of energy if some are wondering (122+66), so where is the £400 grant?

Same issue I think OVO is just playing dumb they know exactly what they’re doing, 

if you remove 66 from balance to give 66 by bank transfer then you just did 0, the grant is a discount not a self funded cash transfer from existing balance

If you look in ‘see details’ on your charges section and scroll down towards the bottom you should see that the £66 has been deducted from your charges, just below the vat section

@Nico can you look to see how the £122.84 charges are made up. Is there an entry for £66 there? If it is then that’s your £66 government grant coming into your account 

Explained on your other thread @Nico  your charges are REDUCED by the £66 

Thanks for your help but I've already done all the screenshots etc as I explained in my question even sending a 3rd complaint form since July but not even an acknowledgment of my emails etc.

If you post screenshots etc on this thread we can have a look.

Hey @Philip Cook,

Sorry you’ve had trouble getting a response to your complaint. 

You’ve mentioned you don’t like to use the phone, have you tried emailing complaints@ovoenergy.com?

I’d also advise you get added to our Priority Services Register, we can offer free services such as meter readers. I’m wondering if this might help your billing issues. Are your statements estimated? 

You could also book a free smart meter exchange here. You might also be eligible for the Warm Home Discount this year. 

We have a great guide that explains more about how OVO’s billing system works:

As @juliamc advised if you add screenshots to this thread, we should be able to take a look into this for you.

Hope this helps. 

I've emailed the complaint email and had no response. Not even an automated one, which is standard in this day and age. Nothing. Rubbish customer service.

I’ve am going through same,, our bill should be transparent!!! I’ve never ever seen such complicated billing in my life!! We should be able to clearly see £66 deposited  and then deducted from our energy account instead of it being hidden so frustrating

£66 is not seen as an entry!!! Apparently it is taken from the. Bill why! Why! Do it this way obsurd most would not Expect to see it done this way

@Dizzy diana Not clear from your comment. Are you saying the ‘charges detail’ section of your bill doesn’t include the EBSS -£66 line ??

I’m not saying OVO have made this easy but in most cases the entry for EBSS has been found in the detail of the charges. The charges are reduced by £66. Can you show that part of your bill here ?

Very interesting, I'm a unwillingly  swopped SSE 15+ years customer also. I've sent 4 emails now all ignored or not acknowledging my queries or complaints. I feel utterly trapped by this farce of a company who are trying to double our DD even though our usage is quite low. I don't like talking on the phone as bad reception & my hearings not great. But I feel I'm going to have to try to bite the bullet ..😒

If you use WhatsApp you can phone in then select to have a WhatsApp link sent to start a ‘conversation’ with customer services. It takes a while (one took more than a day for me) but it got my query dealt with.

No sign of any charge reduction on my statements (see my thread).

I am struggling to understand this £66 government subsidy to assist with payment.

DD remains the same.

Charges out similar each month.

£66 removed from winter pot only to be seen in the bank account  Left hand robbing the right hand with effectively NO advantage to me. In fact the £66 is now in the bank and not in the correct place to pay for fuel.

If we are receiving £66 subsidy it should read +£66 and the pot increasing if other inputs remain unchanged.

I didn't think my accountancy skills are that bad and this is a CON by the government, OVO or both.