Where's my final refund?

Well after switching accounts to Intelligent octopus because OVO did not have an EV plan for electricity users only - OVO communicated final bill was ready and that they owed me £460 (clearly Debit was to high) I had lots of emails from them saying refund would be made in 10 days others saying 4 days so I closed my direct debit and awaited for the refund - - well would you believe it they have refunded me twice - now they have communicated saying final bill is ready (I wonder if this is the ABF bill) saying that I am

in negative and will Collect via direct debit - err no you won’t as you had already informed me of a final bill where I was in credit so

i cancelled DD - now a text (first one) “we are writing to you again regarding the money you owe us”  not an email or test saying “We have made a mistake and credited your refund twice) think I’ll wait for that email before I repay - common courtesy

Paul

Hi @paulbrash and thanks for flagging this. 

I’ve not heard this happen like this. I’ve flagged internally to see if other examples have happened recently. 

As you can tell, the double refund has left a debt balance which is prompting automated debt collection letters. I totally understand your point about it not being your fault, and I’m sorry you were affected like this. The account balance is correct so I’d recommend making a online payment of the amount of the erroneous refund here:

https://account.ovoenergy.com/payments/make-card-payment

I moved home over a month ago and final meter reading was submitted on the day of the exit. I have a credit balance of almost £300 which I need to be refunded back to me, however, I have been going back and forth with several OVO customer service with no results. I was told the billing team had placed a hold on the account. 

How long does it take for this account audit and refund? It has been since April.I am very depressed right now over this situation as I am not working at the moment and I need the money to sort myself for the time being.

*post edited by moderator*

Hi @captayenolu ,

Please try to avoid using all caps here. It’s really hard for people like me to read and is the internet equivalent of shouting. I’ve asked a forum moderator to edit your post so that it’s easier to read.

The best option I can recommend in this case is https://ovoenergy.com/feedback .

Hey @captayenolu 

It can take up to 6 weeks for the final bill to be produced, so any credit remaining after this bill is produced will be automatically refunded to you then. 

If you’ve already had your final bill, it’ll be best to get in touch with the Support Team. I understand that a hold was placed on the account, so they’ll be able to check if this is still in place, so if you’ve yet to receive the final bill either, I’d contact the Support. 

If you’ve already followed Blastoise link to make a complaint, then hopefully they’ve already started resolving this for you.

Keep us updated on how you get on with this, as it can be helpful for others who may experience a similar situation.

Thanks @Abby_OVO, I did as suggested by @Blastoise186 yesterday. Unfortunately, however, It has been over 6 weeks now that I moved home and submitted the final reading, it is actually the 7th week running now, yet no final final bill has been sent to me neither has anything been done to refund me.

Hey @captayenolu 

I’m sorry to hear that. 

Keep us updated with how you get on with this issues, as it may be helpful for others in future in similar situations.

@Abby_OVO So I just my final bill this afternoon as well as a mail for confirmation of refund. Although, I have received similar mails stating my refund has been processed, it should be in my account within 10 days several time up to 4 times, however, nothing showed up, hence, I’ll remain a sceptic until fund physical in my account. Thank you for all suggestions and guide up this level.

I’ll keep you and @Blastoise186 up to date if and when received after the 10 working days.

Cheers.

Hey @captayenolu 

Thanks for the update!

I’m glad to hear the final bill is with you now, hopefully that refund will be with you soon. 

@captayenolu

The ofgem compensation payments under the regulations for all suppliers for switching are very clear

So if your final bill was over 6 weeks from your actual switch date you should automatically get £30.

If this isn't automatically paid in 10 days of the switch date, you can claim another £30

If the refund isn't paid within 10 wording days of your final bill you should automatically get £30 compensation. 

If this isn't automatically paid within 10 working days of the final bill you can claim another £30.

@Jeffus thanks for this update, how do I go about this  claims because actually, my final bill was sent to me about the end of the 7th week after my final reading submission and movement, my credit balance is yet to be reimbursed.

You have a few options. 

Personally i would put in a complaint, make it very clear what the dates were, include screenshots etc, include a link to the ofgem page, tell ovo what you want. You need to make sure you have proof as it doesn't sound much over 6 weeks. How many days notice did you give OVO before you moved out and submitted the reading on the moving out day? 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/switch-supplier-or-energy-tariff

I would personally Email the complaint, then if it isn't sorted go to the Ombudsman after 8 weeks or a deadlock letter if earlier. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

complaints@ovoenergy.com

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy

The reason i suggest a complaint is that the 8 weeks then starts ticking before asking the Ombudsman for help if needed. 

Why does it take so long to get your credit balance back when you leave OVO??? 

6-8 weeks is the average. If it’s been longer than that, please let Support know via https://ovoenergy.com/help .

Well, this case is already with the ombudsman now. So, I expect a feedback on it soon. Since May, just imagine now. Can OVO allow any customer to owe her that much, that long?

I moved house on 5 June, with approx. £2500 of credit on my account, but still haven’t received the refund and no one on the Ovo customer support team can explain why.

I have tried to raise a complaint 3 times.  The first was ignored, the second was closed 24 hours after opening as I didn’t immediately respond to an email sent by Ovo to the wrong email address despite checking this information was correct when I made the complaint.  The third seems to be open still, but I am regularly checking with Ovo that they haven’t closed it.

Apparently, I can complain to Ofgem 8 weeks after my complaint isn’t resolved, so that’s why I keep checking that Ovo hasn’t closed the complaint, otherwise the 8 week clock just gets reset.

Does anyone have any similar experiences with Ovo, including going to the Ombudsman, and if so how long did the process take, and any tips for getting a resolution, as I’m currently being told that there isn’t anything more I can do to smooth the process along?

Hi @edandsuet 

Sorry to hear that that. Sadly issues with the ovo complaint process come up regularly on the forum. That is a huge amount of my money. 

1. There are deadlines that apply for final bills and return of credit. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-if-you-are-owed-money-your-energy-bill

If you didn't receive a final bill within 6 weeks you are entitled to £30, if this wasn't paid within 10 working days of the event, then you are entitled to another £30.

If the credit wasn't returned within  10 working days of the final bill you are entitled to £30, if this wasn't paid with 10 working days you are entitled to another £30. 

So perhaps ask for the compensation now if appropriate. If they refuse try asking  for a deadlock letter, come back to the forum and let the ovo moderators know in case they want to raise internally given the recently annouced ofgem investigation into ovo (see point 4 below) 

2. In my experience if you can show some proof of the earlier dates for putting in a complaint then the ombudsman will usually accept these if it is the  fault of ovo rather than wait 8 weeks from the later date. 

https://www.energyombudsman.org/

You can provide a link to this thread if you want to. 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/switching-suppliers-and-moving-home-144/no-final-credit-yet-4-months-after-moving-16061

3. Some customers have had success asking their local MP to raise their issue with OVO. Many MPs are good at this sort of casework.

4. Serious concerns have recently been raised about the ovo complaint process. Ofgem are investigating

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-opens-compliance-engagement-respect-ovos-complaints-handling-process

Thanks Jeffus.  That is really useful information.

Ovo did provide a £30 credit after 6 weeks, so I can’t fault them on that.  They haven’t yet provided a final bill, which seems to be the problem, though no one can explain why this is the case.

I do have the emails that I sent to both the help and complaints Ovo email addresses when I tried to first open a complaint, and which were ignored.

If I use the date of these emails as the start of my 8 week clock then I have less than 2 weeks until I can approach Ofgem, instead of waiting another 4 weeks from the date of my third complaint.

I guess I should let Ovo know that this is my intention, although after spending another half hour on the phone with them today without any further progress, that’s the last thing I want to do.

Some really good advice above about time frames and compensation, @edandsuet.

OVO will be keen to sort this out internally and avoid you having to raise this to the Ombudsmen. There might be a reason for the final bill being delayed which would justify the final refund, so it’s worth making sure. 

Are you able to ask the Support team for an update on your complaint? If you don’t get progress after doing this, I can ask our Forum Support team to chase up the complaint handler. 

Hi Tim

I spoke to the support team this morning.  As always, they seem very friendly and understanding, and genuinely seem to want to help, but are hampered by Ovo systems and processes.  The support team tried to get an update but couldn’t speak to the person who is handling my complaint as they were on another call.  They told me they would send a message to the complaint handler asking that person to give me a call, but I haven’t heard anything this afternoon.

When I first raised the complaint, I was assured that I would be contacted in 3 working days, but 4 weeks later and still nothing, so I’m not sure whether Ovo will be keen to avoid me raising this with the Ombudsman?  There is certainly no evidence of this yet.

Any help you can give to get the Forum Support team to chase up the complaint handler would be gratefully received.

One more point.  I was told that this has gone to the ops team, whatever that means, so is the complaints handler now stuck at the mercy of the ops team, and as unable to do anything about this as either myself or the support team?

Hey @edandsuet,

I’m sorry to hear this, i’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out to you. Please keep an eye on your private messages. 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/inbox/overview

Thank you.  I have replied to the private message.