OVO Regulations- Is there a code of conduct?

Hey ​@dannyduster 

Would you be able to be more specific as to what it is you’re looking for? 

Our volunteers have tried their best to help you but you haven’t given them much else to go on I’m afraid. 

6.1 of our Forum Terms and Conditions; OVO reserves the right to review any text, images, audio-visual content and other data that you upload, post or make available on or via the Community (your “Content”) to determine whether the Content complies with these Terms of Use. Although the OVO Forum is moderated, we are under no obligation to you or any other person to oversee, monitor or moderate the forum and we may stop moderating the Forum at any time.

I’d recommend taking a read through our House Rules to refamiliarise yourself with them. The users on this Community who volunteer their time to help are not employees of OVO or affiliated with OVO, they give their own time to help others. OVO staff & representatives can be easily identified by having  ‘_OVO’ at the end of their name.

Thanks Abby for responding.

The context is the very question that i am trying to understand. 

OVO have a published Code of Conduct that applies to every representative of OVO.

The Forum belongs to OVO, and is the responsibility of OVO Energy, given that there are T&C set by OVO that have to be agreed with OVO.

I understand that the T&Cs say what you have quoted, but that in itself would seem to be a contradiction with OVO responsibilities of being responsible for the site. OVO direct Customers to the Forum and in doing so make it an official means of getting information, which OVO are responsible for.

Given that the T&Cs have to be agreed with OVO it should, I think must be possible to contact someone in OVO in respect of the contents of any Terms or Conditions, as they would be governed by Contract Law.

That wouldnt be the case in a general Forum but clearly is for OVO Forum.

I do appreciate the work that Volunteers put in, but I assume that one can only become a “volunteer” with OVOs approval, and therefore it would seem that volunteers would be classed as “representing” OVO, and therefore would have to be trained in some capacity by OVO, and therefore required to comply with the Code of Conduct.

I am a member of a couple of Forums where everyone is equal in the sense that everyones view is equal and the “Moderators” role is only to monitor language and behaviour but not content. The “house rules” are distinct from any content. But as OVO direct people to the Forum, for information, that information must be correct, or corrected by someone in OVO, given that it is OVOs official Forum.

Sorry if I havent explained that very well. It is not the content of the T&Cs, it is the fact that there are T&Cs that have to be agreed, with OVO that makes OVO responsible

OVOs Forum is distinctly different in that regard, setting it to belong to and be the responsibility of OVO, making OVO responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the content.

My question however is for members who have had perhaps experiences of how or if representatives of OVO comply with OVOs Code of Conduct.

I understand that a lot of OVO staff are employed overseas and in general, with no judgement on any individuals the standards are not always as high as they might be,

Doe anyone know what to do, who to raise anything with where the Code of Conduct has not been fully applied, as not everyone from overseas, those tha answer the phone in the first place seem to know or apply those requirements. 

As OVO require its Representatives to Stop if the cannot be treated a Representing, do we as Customers have any sort of Rights in those situations.

Anyone with any knowledge of this or experience would be most welcome to hear from.

Thanks

Does anyone have any experience or understanding of this?

Hi Ben. Think that it might be OVOs Code of Ethics that I was looking at. The one that talks about OVOs representatives having to comply with the Regulations and having to be Accountable to the Customer.

I have a copy of it somewhere. Perhaps, as both documents form part of everyones Contract they should be read together. Could you give me a link to the Code of Ethics so I can read it again.

Rather confused by the term “volunteer” as Blastoise186 indicates that they have direct access to the Moderators, whereas I do not, so they must have some sort of elevated position, which I assume is decided by OVO.

But as you are on the case, what do OVO mean, which I think must be in the Code of Ethics, sorry if I got that wrong, where it says that representatives of OVO must comply with the Regulations and must be Accountable to the Customer, with the implication that if they do not then they cannot be considered to represent OVO.

Appreciate the reference to the Complaints procedure but I thought, given that OVO have a Privacy Notice that every Customers first line of protection was via the rights of the GDPR, which obviously requires compliance with the Regulations via the Accountability Principle of the GDPR.

While the Code of Conduct does require agents to STOP (OVOs capitals not mine) the suggestion that the agent contacts the line manager would seem to be a contradiction of the Accountability Principle, given that no one can be Accountable for the information that someone else, such as a line manager might give them.

Thanks very much