Skip to main content
Rank 2
June 6, 2022
Solved

Why are my monthly charges so high since I entered a meter reading incorrectly?

  • June 6, 2022
  • 59 replies
  • 2987 views

I switched to OVO , with a B gas smart meter , which wasn’t sending OVO a smart read , so I did it manually, meter reader came , she gave the read .. 

usage is between £58 -£80 a month !

during colder months last week I had an email to say my smart meter is now sending reads every half hour and it was a regional problem. 
 

now my app is saying throughout April & may my electric bill is £900 a month !!!!!!!!! 

two people in property, still in a fixed plan ! 
I think there is a massive error and all the reads from myself, meter reader & smart have confused the system as the usage in kw is not a lot of difference month on month ? OVO are not helpful or listening??
 


 

Best answer by Jess_OVO

Updated on 11/12/24 by Abby_OVO

In March I entered the gas reading in the electric read by mistake, I rang them with the correct reading, they sent a meter reader who also gave them it , but from the 31 st March they have charged me over £30 a day when in reality I’m using about £1.90 a day as the reads would suggest, I think this is probably a human error and all the kWh have been added wrong ? I use about 320 kWh a month now for those 2 months and a day they are saying I’ve used over five thousand by it’s obviously an error as it doesn’t add up . 
thank you 

 

Sorry to hear of the difficulty you’ve had reporting this billing issue to our Support Team, @Sam 85.

 

I agree, it does seem that mistaken reading might be causing the out-of line charges, so this might need to be raised to our billing team to correct. I’d recommend forwarding a link to this thread to the team via our webchat which you can access here.

 

Let us know if you need any more advice here.

59 replies

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
May 8, 2023

Hi,

You can get this fixed but it’s going to need the Support Team to raise a Read Dispute. I’m afraid this can take several weeks to fix but should wipe out that incorrect reading. You might want to consider smart meters to help avoid this in the future though.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
Newcomer
May 8, 2023

I would be interested in getting a smart meter but I don’t think I can because I’m 2 floors up from the meters. I need to get this sorted before they take money from me that I don’t have or my health suffers too much.

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
May 8, 2023

AltHAN should solve the range issues. It can do seriously long range. Dual-Band Comms Hubs might also work. 

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
Firedog
Super User
Super User
May 8, 2023

I would be interested in getting a smart meter but I don’t think I can because I’m 2 floors up from the meters. 

 

@Matt99 That doesn’t matter. The meter doesn’t care where you are; it just measures how much gas or electricity your flat is using. It might make it difficult for you to use an In-Home Display (IHD) to monitor what the meter’s doing, though. Many people have trouble distinguishing between ‘smart meter’ and ‘IHD’, so this might help:
video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1652297141681831939/pu/vid/720x720/r4ap8hDkZc9Pgt9T.mp4?tag=12 

 

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Community Manager
May 9, 2023

Hey @Matt99 

Sorry to hear about the trouble you’re having with the meter readings.

 

Have you been in contact with the Support Team like Blastoise186 mentioned? They’ll be the ones that need to look into this for you. It’s likely that they'll want to raise a read dispute.

By the sounds of things alone, it sounds like the meter reading on the meter is significantly lower than the one that has been entered incorrectly, the Support Team will use the photos you’ve sent already to confirm the reading.

 

 How could a reading be added to my account without my knowledge? Could an agent have read my meter but accidentally read a neighbour’s? (i live in flat)

 

 

There can be a few reasons that this may have happened, it can be that our appointed meter readers have been round (as you say the meters are 2 floors below, this sounds like it may be in a communal area) so it may be that they've read the wrong meter for your property, but we can get this fixed.

I’ve linked below to one of our helpful pages on read disputes to help you along the way.

 

While a read dispute is ongoing, the Support Team may also be able to place the account on hold for you, with the understanding that the reading, and therefore the bill, are very incorrect. 

 

 

Our Support team’s web messaging and WhatsApp opening hours will be:

  • 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday 
  • 9am - 2pm on Saturdays

 You can see all open contact channels via our Help Centre

 

Lastly, I’d agree with our other Plan Zero Heroes, Smart Meters may be very beneficial for yourself as you’d not need to submit any meter readings - they would do that for you instead, and while the In-Home Display may not reach, and it may still work, you can view a lot of similar data, including the usage, on the app.

 

Currently Playing: She's Electric
Newcomer
May 9, 2023

Yes, I have given them readings and photos of the meter, but they still haven’t changed it. What other proof can I send? I have zero confidence that ovo won’t empty my bank account for gas I haven’t used. Still can’t find a person willing to correct the fraudulent reading.

On facebook I was told the name of the company that read the meter. On the phone I was told it’s an estimate (that is 4 times what my meter currently reads, and my account says “manual” reading). They can’t even get that straight.

Please keep on topic. I have more important things to worry about, like my health which is suffering as a direct result of Ovo’s actions and lack of actions. They can’t read this meter correctly, how can I trust them with changing a meter?

 

 

Newcomer
May 9, 2023

Finally someone called me back and fixed the reading instantly. They can’t understand why it wasn’t fixed before. I think I might have lost a few people their jobs, but they were more than willing to defraud me of £10,000 so I can live with that.

The complaint is still open while they work out how this was allowed to happen and hopefully stop this happening again.

Abby_OVO
Community Manager
Community Manager
May 10, 2023

Hey @Matt99 I’m glad to hear they got back to you last night and the reading has been sorted now.

Currently Playing: She's Electric
Newcomer
May 24, 2023

Did this get fixed?