Delay in setting up my Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) account - am I missing out on generation when the sun is out?

Hi @a8pmb1957,

Really sorry to hear of this delay. 

I will echo what Emmanuelle said by sharing the advice in that other topic she linked to:

I’ve recently been advised that a smart export guarantee (SEG) applicant is only eligible for SEG once an export supply number (MPAN) has been created. As soon as that's been done we ask the customer for an opening reading which is the point they will be paid from. Unfortunately we cannot make payment for anything exported before then.

At the moment there’s a longer time frame than usual for applications and emails to the SEG team. Any customers still waiting to be set up may wish to cancel their SEG application with OVO and re-apply elsewhere as a different supplier may be able to register them quicker. It's not ideal by any means but unfortunately we can't process any quicker than we currently are.

So as long as you’ve heard from us and have been given an export supply number, you will be paid for every penny you’re owed. You have options to escalate this complaint internally or even the Ombudsmen if you feel we can’t offer a resolution that is agreeable. I would recommend exhausting the internal complaints process before doing anything else though...

Since we have moved into our property in October 2021 we have had absolutely no payments for our solar panels. While SSE were still in charge our account was being “transferred” from previous owner to us. 
Despite both owning the house only one name was allowed on the solar panel account meaning for several months no-one would even talk to me, its only recently we were told to write an email giving authorisation for mw to be spoken to, about the solar panels on my own roof! 

Im tired of ringing and CONSTANTLY being fobbed off with nothing but crap! Yet if I decided to pay my bill late I receive emails, texts and letters with threats of late payment charges. 
Realistically I'm sure were owed enough money to pay the bill for a year, its a joke and appalling service.

A similar situation to those still waiting for their SEG tariff to be set up...

It is important to raise complaints with the Ombudsman after the internal procedure has been exhausted or become vexatious. The Ombudsman's decision is binding but the they are unable to legally enforce compliance. This can be frustrating because even an Ombudsman’s decision does not necessary resolve issues.

It is the job of the regulator Ofgem to enforce overall compliance, but they won’t get involved in individual cases. I’ve recently had a conversation with a representative at Ofgem. The summary, as far as I understand what was said, is as follows:

• OVO are required to perform their statutory duties with respect to SEG account setup within a reasonable time frame and with due care. It is completely unacceptable for OVO to recommend that customers who are encountering problems with account set up to move their SEG application to another suppliers, since that is a breach of statutory duty.
• Ofgem currently have an investigation open against OVO for (1) unacceptable levels of customer service (which includes SEG applications) and (2) failing to implement decisions of the Ombudsman, including wrongfully marking cases as “resolved” when they are in fact not.
• There have historically been similar investigations concerning OVO, including failure to prioritise vulnerable service users. OVO have failed to sustain improvements and implement agreed measures to improve service, so a major component of the current investigation is in reference to failure of duty and failure to act.

The Ofgem investigation is moving to the next stage, but at this time cannot disclose what this involves. However, they did strongly impress that complaints should absolutely be raised with the Ombudsman. The reason is that Ofgem use complaint information held by the Ombudsman as evidence for their investigation and that this evidence is critical in deciding what compliance action / fines, etc. will be enforced.

Hey @emmazam,

I’m really sorry to hear this, and for the delayed response. Your question was posted under the ‘ideas’ category, so I’ve moved it to another SEG topic. 

Have you had any success or are you still having issues with this? 

Still having issues @Emmanuelle_OVO 

Applied for SEG and had provided all required documentation by 2nd November 2022.

We sent 3 reminders by email (last reminder sent in July 2023), and got an automated email back from OVO requesting the documentation already provided. To this day---two and a half years later---, our application has never followed up by OVO.  Has anyone had similar issues and how did they resolve them? 

Hey ​@AliceB 

Sorry to hear about the delay you’re having.

It’s sadly not too uncommon due to the process taken by the team, we’ve got a couple of similar topics on the Forum:

I took this from another similar topics;

‘A smart export guarantee (SEG) applicant is only eligible for SEG once an export supply number (MPAN) has been created. As soon as that's been done we ask the customer for an opening reading which is the point they will be paid from. Unfortunately we cannot make payment for anything exported before then.

At the moment there’s a longer time frame than usual for applications and emails to the SEG team. Any customers still waiting to be set up may wish to cancel their SEG application with OVO and re-apply elsewhere as a different supplier may be able to register them quicker. It's not ideal by any means but unfortunately we can't process any quicker than we currently are.’

We don’t have access to the accounts platform here at the Forum, so we wouldn’t be able to check on the progress of this. We’d recommend getting in touch with the team again about this to ensure things are still there to be processed. To speak to our team you can call 0330 303 5063 and select ‘4’ when the IVR instructs you to do so. You can also email the team via  seg@ovoenergy.com.

Let us know how you get on.

while I understand that Ovo can be experiencing some delays, I feel that over 2 years’ delay is excessive. 

I do understand your frustration ​@AliceB. Are you with another supplier for SEG at the moment?

I wonder if it’s worth going through the complaints process to see if that can speed it up. Have you spoken to the SEG team directly?
 

If you need to speak to our Team you can call 0330 303 5063 and selecting ‘4’ when the IVR instructs you to do so. You can also email the team via fits@ovoenergy.com for the FIT team or  seg@ovoenergy.com if you’ve got SEG with us.

thank you for your support and advice Emmanuelle, I will proceed as you suggest, via the different emails, the telephone number and I am writing up a complaint, also to be sent to the ombudsman. Hopefully things will get moving.