Is the OVO website really going to be down for the rest of 2023?

Hey @Grandadshaw 

I’m really sorry to hear about the experience you’ve been having.

Our bank details are as follows:

Bank account number is 83683249 and sort code 20-00-00. 

Please remember to include your OVO account number and postcode in the reference field, so we can link payment to your account.

You’re post had been edited by a moderator due to the language used. Moving forward please avoid using demeaning or disrespectful terms. We want the Forum to be a positive and respectful place for users to share their opinions in line with the community spirit, and our community guidelines and house rules. You can find these here as a reminder for future use. 

Totally agree, incredibly poor customer relationship management. Some possibly helpful comments.

You can still access your gas & electric usage via data from the DCC assuming your Smart Meter has been migrated to the DCC, (see https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/our-smart-network/network-data-dashboard/). You can get the (free) Bright App from Apple (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bright/id1369989022) and Google (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.hildebrand.brightionic). This shows usage in KWHr but not your cost, as they are not billing you. My best understanding is that the DCC is a government organisation now responsible for collecting all smart meter data who then make it available to Utility companies. (The original SMETS1 Smart Meters only manage a single ownership certificate and hence became useless if the User wanted to switch utility company. Hence now all ownership is transferred to the DCC to eliminate the ownership problem). Personally I found Bright responded very quickly to the registration process which in my case was not seemless.

As Ovo people have said, you can still make Top Up payments via Bank Transfer (https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/how-to-pay) avoiding the need for their website. Hence if you’re ok at maths, you can calculate your own expected bills each month and make sure you keep up with payments.

Personally I’m expecting Ovo’s bills during this time to be (badly) estimated by them (based upon a long track record). Hence I would not be surprised if Ovo’s issued bills during this (long) downtime diverge significantly from the reality of my usage. I am wondering how big a problem that will be. So long as they don’t try and force any Direct Debit changes, I can probably live with that. I will try really hard to avoid waiting in their phone queue system.

I do find it a mystery that Ovo seems to be a well intentioned Utility company, with some good initiatives and on the whole provides a reasonable service, but seems to regularly make a hash of its data systems which should make accuracy spot on. You would have thought that with smart metering data errors should be history! Such a shame, because it creates much more work for itself and its customers by getting the data wrong.

Hi Abby

You are not listening, I CAN'T ACCESS MY ONLINE ACCOUNT. DUH

Abby is new to the forum and she’s still learning. Please bear in mind that most of us here are volunteers and we’re not perfect. Abby is one of only three staff here but learning the ropes takes time.

Long story short, the answer you seek is:

Bank account number is 83683249 and sort code 20-00-00. 

Please remember to include your OVO account number and postcode in the reference field, so OVO can link payment to your account.

If the new website means that access to OVO accounts is not possible until the end of 2023, we cannot submit monthly meter readings; so how will OVO calculate accurate direct debits over the next seven months?

I do not wish to be overcharged by inaccurate OVO estimates.

If you don’t have smart meters for automatic updating, you can send meter readings by web chat when it’s open
https://help.ovoenergy.com/#contact_us_container

How to submit monthly meter reading as website and app are down and won’t allow me 

Hi @Savi_DY ,

You should be able to phone them through for now. 0330 303 5063 or Live Chat via https://help.ovoenergy.com .

Hey @Savi_DY,

Sorry for the issues you’re having, 

Community Member @Blastoise186 has given some great advice here. It sounds like you’re on our old billing system, to make sure can you upload a screenshot of the error you’re seeing? OVO have closed this down and are in the process of moving these remaining customers onto our new billing system as soon as possible.

You won’t need to do anything to get your account migrated. We’ll contact you with any next steps once the new website is ready. Online account use won’t be available for the foreseeable future but you can contact our Support Team in the meantime to submit readings and you will receive email attachments with pdfs attached for your bills.

You can top up via bank transfer, cheque or by calling 0330 303 5063, you’ll continue to get monthly statements, OVO will contact you if your direct debit needs increasing. For anything else please contact our Support Team. 

Hope this helps. 

Goodness me I’m stressed!  I’ve always submitted my readings online.  Now I can’t.  The app doesn’t work, the message is the app is now obsolete and the website says it doesn’t work, that a new one will be available at the end of 2023.  Live chat is not available.  I tried calling and got nowhere.  I don’t know what to do.  I’ve sent my readings via email to hello@Ovo but received a standard response saying use app or website.  BUT I CAN’T.  What on Earth is going on here?