Hi @MistyWoodland ,

Unfortunately, this is an extremely complicated situation. You should have created an account in your name as soon as you moved in.

For now, all I can think of is that you need to get the landlord to fix this. Please move the account over into your name ASAP by having the landlord close theirs first and you opening a new one.

Thanks your your response, unfortunately my landlord hasn't wanted to change the account in the last 7 years, so doubtful he'll do it now. Will just have to empty the freezer and wait for the electric to run out.

In that case, I’d definitely suggest having a chat with Citizens Advice about this. They might be able to convince your landlord to either resolve this issue, or convince them to let you have control of the account.

Alternatively, they might be able to help you speak to OVO to explain the situation and assist with transferring control of the supply.

Your landlord MUST be responsive if a tenant gets in touch with them.

Hey @MistyWoodland 

That’s some great advice on this from Blastoise186 there.

As you’re the one that lives at the property, you’re the person who is currently liable for paying for the energy at the property, and the one to give access to engineers in the event of such a need for them to come out. If your landlord is unresponsive in times like this, it’s not really going to be a suitable option for them to continue being the account holder. 

Unless there are terms in your tenancy agreement that state you have to go through the landlord for energy accounts, or other terms to such effect that mean the landlord has to keep control of the account, as the liable party for the energy at the property, you can have your own account - you don’t even need the landlord to close theirs first. You can contact the Support Team to let them know that you’re the liable tenant, and they’ll create you a new account for yourself, and you’ll no longer need to go through the landlord for things like this. Like Blastoise186 said, the landlord MUST be responsive and helpful with situations like this if they are keeping the responsibility to themselves.

If and when you left the property, they would become liable again as soon as you closed your account (again, if or when you moved out). If you do speak with the landlord first, you’re free to discuss this with them, and hopefully they’d agree that it will be best for you to have the account while you are the liable tenant. If there are any issues feel free to pop back here, as well as speaking with Citizen’s Advice who are really great at mediating these types of situations.