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A
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ALH
Rank 4
January 12, 2023
Solved

Rate on my Pipit IHD incorrect

  • January 12, 2023
  • 41 replies
  • 521 views

A rant!

 

On 21 November I telephoned OVO to say that the gas energy rate showing on my PIPIT home display was incorrect and as a result it was difficult to keep a continuous check on my usage.  I was told that ‘the team’ would be notified and that they would get back to me by phone or email.  A month later, having heard nothing, I contacted OVO again on Live Chat I contacted OVO again through.  I was told that I had to wait 43 days from the date of my first contact to allow time for ‘the team’ to contact me!? Yesterday, 50 days after my first contact and still having heard nothing I contacted OVO again by Live Chat.  Having gone through another barrage of questions and explaining exactly what I told them on 21 November I was told that ‘the team’ would be notified.  They were supposed to have been notified on 21 November!!!   I left British Gas because of imilar issues with their customer service.  On another note, when using Live Chat you have to answer a series of automated questions.  Having done all that a message comes up to say you are in a queue.  Having waited up to 30 minutes for a real person to come online they start by asking the same question that you have already answered and then disappear for another 15-20 minutes!!!  Hope you haven’t got a headache reading this!

Best answer by Tim_OVO

Hi @ALH and thanks for flagging this experience. I’m sorry to hear about the delay.

 

Usually there’s a specific command to the smart meters that OVO can do, which will correct any wrong prices showing on the meters or the In Home Display. Hopefully the team pick up this request for you soon, although my understanding was that a frontline agent could do this for you... 

 

In the meantime please be aware of the great ways to view your usage and costs. The OVO online account’s daily usage section (your smart meters will need to send us half hourly readings) are here: https://account.ovoenergy.com/usage?datePeriod=daily&unit=kwh

 

There’s also free third party apps you can use:

 

 

41 replies

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Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

Pretty sure I mentioned that in my phone call to OVO on 21 November.  However, I decided to try again today by Live Chat.  Waited almost an hour to be informed that there was nothing that could be done until 45 working days had elapsed from my first contact!  

@Emmanuelle_OVO @Tim_OVO Must say am surprised that the Support Team couldn't at least arrange for the SMETS command to be issued, even given the ongoing case? 

What do you think? Seems the simple check may not have been done to see if this fixes the issue? 

 

A
Rank 4
ALHAuthor
Rank 4
January 17, 2023

I’m appalled by the seemingly lack of interest to be honest! 

Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
January 17, 2023

Heya!

I’m one of the volunteers here who specialises in this stuff. I can’t make the change myself, but I spotted a question I can answer.

Sure there is a way of manually changing the amount on the smart meter but haven’t been able to find out how to do it.

Not an option I’m afraid. Those same rates are used for calculating how much to charge when you’re on Prepayment Tariffs, so if you could arbitrarily change them yourself freely on the meters themselves, there’d be nothing stopping you from making it 0p/Day Standing Charge and/or 0p/kWh Unit Rate.

Only the supplier can make that change.

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Emmanuelle_OVO
Retired Moderator
Emmanuelle_OVO
Retired Moderator
January 17, 2023

Hey @Jeffus,

 

It depends if @ALH has an issue with his meters themselves, which I am assuming given the timeframe provided by Support. 

 

If the meter isn’t in communication with us the IHD won’t be working, the best way to see usage information would be through the Online Account where the manually inputted meter reads would bill to the accurate rates. 

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Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

Hey @Jeffus,

 

It depends if @ALH has an issue with his meters themselves, which I am assuming given the timeframe provided by Support. 

 

If the meter isn’t in communication with us the IHD won’t be working, the best way to see usage information would be through the Online Account where the manually inputted meter reads would bill to the accurate rates. 

Fair comments @Emmanuelle_OVO 

Personally i would have tried issuing the command to see if that helps. No harm in trying i would have thought and it might save a lot of time and effort. But obviously i don't have all the details. 

The meter is communicating with the  IHD and ovo. The readings are getting to ovo and the ihd. It looks like it is simply the gas tariff that isn't updating on the meter and hence the ihd. The electricity tariff is getting to the meter and ihd correctly. 

We often suggest that to customers, you  mentioned it in this thread as well i see. 

We have seen a variety of responses from the Support Team when customers mention the command. It is obviously difficult to know why as we don't have all the details. 

I assume it makes sense to still recommend it? 

 

 

A
Rank 4
ALHAuthor
Rank 4
January 17, 2023

The meter must be communicating with the home display as it shows what I’m using in both KWs and cost.  It’s just that the gas unit rate is incorrect - the KW figure is correct as I can confirm that by checking the previous days usage on the display against that in my online account.  The difference is that the online account uses the correct unit cost whilst the home display is about 2p per unit less.

juliamc
Rank 20
juliamc
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

Sorry to jump in here but is that vat ?

    A
    Rank 4
    ALHAuthor
    Rank 4
    January 17, 2023

    No.  The correct rate is 9.41p plus VAT.  The display is showing 7.434

    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    January 17, 2023

    The meter must be communicating with the home display as it shows what I’m using in both KWs and cost.  It’s just that the gas unit rate is incorrect - the KW figure is correct as I can confirm that by checking the previous days usage on the display against that in my online account.  The difference is that the online account uses the correct unit cost whilst the home display is about 2p per unit less.

    Yep. The IHD seems to be communicating fine with the smart meter, but until the tariff is updated on the smart meter, so the correct tariff won't appear on the IHD. 

    Is the electric rate ok? 

    I doubt there is anything more we can suggest other than waiting the 45 days now. 

    The costs on the IHD should include VAT and the standing charges.

    The costs on the plan page on the ovo account don't include vat. 

    The costs on the usage page on the ovo account don't include vat or standing charges.

    Am only posting this for others benefit who may read the thread. 

    A
    Rank 4
    ALHAuthor
    Rank 4
    January 17, 2023

    The electricity display is correct and includes daily charge and VAT.  daily charge and VAT not included in online usage - correct.

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      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement

      OVO Energy Ltd, Floor 5, Crescent, Temple Back, Redcliffe, BS1 6EZ, (Company no. 06890795) registered in England and Wales.

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