“The same thing as happened to many others here, I was switched from Swalec to Ovo and the next thing I know they automatically increase my direct debit from £90 to £335 per month because they ‘estimate’ I am £1,600 in debt.
They won’t accept my true meter readings as they are lower than their estimates! As others have noted their customer service is essentially people answering phones completely divorced from the rest of the organisation - they have no information and you can’t be put through to a manager or another department. I have included an email from their customer service department to illustrate.
I have been told they would have to raise an investigation into my meter readings but the lady told me she couldn’t tell me how long it would take to recalculate my bill ‘or she would get into trouble’ leaving them taking £335 out of my bank account for the foreseeable future.
This feels illegal - I am in touch with citizens advice as their billing would make me homeless”
“Terrible company, not my choice to change either we went from the very well run SWALEC to bunch of incompetent idiots!!
My bill was over estimated - so I gave them the correct reading- no new bill arrived, I phoned them 4 times for my bill - then when it turned up it was HIGHER than the original bill which was overestimated, I phone and got cut off 3 times- so in the end I decided to pay the higher bill - so phoned the automated pay line only to be told my balance was HIGHER again ,
I hope this isn’t going to continue, what a farce .
I’m sure my 3 year old granddaughter run the company better. !!!”
“Ovo took over my SSE account. I used to pay quarterly. Now I get two bills a month one from my reading and then they send me another bill for a few more pounds. Why? I have never been notified of a change to my terms and conditions and despite having a good education I cannot make head or tail of their requests for payment twice monthly. I need to move to another supplier that treats me with more respect. Ovo may as well be highwaymen as I have no idea how their billing system operates and I suspect this is a method of persuading people to agree to a direct debit through fear.”
“Be careful, OVO have increased direct debits without foundation which OVO have agreed that this was done in error. My monthly usage is less than my previous direct debit but still increased it to over £1,500 per month. OVO appear to be thiefs and happily admitting this.”
“Solar Feed in Tariff - Do not use OVO Energy
If I could give 0 stars I would. Do not use this company for Solar Feed in Tariff, there customer service is absolutely appalling. The only way to contact them is via email and although the autoresponder that you sometimes get say they will respond within 5 working day, this isn't case - it is more like 4 - 8weeks. I have been trying to switch since mid July and have had no response, even when I send in a formal complaint - do not use.”
“I was switched with being notified by see. It said nothing will change, yes it did. I went from a bill every two months to every month. Gave see my reading but ovo decided they were not correct and billed me on estimate. However the worst they keep sending demands and statement but I haven’t received an actual bill showing what I am paying for, despite many phone calls to both ovo and sae. Not paying till I get a bill with readings on it.”
“Bloody hell. Here's me thinking it was just my 86 year old mother being treated so badly by this incompetent company. We've had 5 months of corrospondances i.e e mails meter readings/ photos etc regarding errors in her account when she migrated from SSE to Ovo. On May 7th they acknowledged the fault was theirs and it would be corrected within 12 weeks. Low and behold 12 weeks later we get an e mail from a different person to say theres no error!!!!. We're banging our heads against the wall with this lot. As I said my mother is 86 ,never been in debt in her life and its causing her no end of anxiety. Im sure this company's policy is to grind people into submission in order to pay .!!”
“Moved from SSE where the service was impeccable and have had nothing but let downs since. I have been waiting months waiting for a response to a query regarding a mysterious £500 ‘adjustment charge’ that was added to my account in May 2021 following my move into a new property. Ovo informed me that they had passed the query to SSE to look into but never responded with an update. When I chased this week I was simply told that I had to speak with SSE and apologies for the confusion - there was no response regarding the charges whatsoever. Ovo increased my direct debit to cover the mystery charges and I am concerned that I will not be refunded the amount. Aside from this instance I have found their website impossible to use, in particular the Moving Out function which sends you in a circular loop with no details as to how to inform Ovo of a move. In the end I simply emailed them. I will never use Ovo again.”
“OVO- Terrible company and shocking customer service !
Account moved from SSE to OVO. Service has been shocking since the move. Bill comes in with an unexplained balance adjustment ( is this legal to do without full explanation to the customer) for £900+ - no accompanying rationale etc just tacked into monthly bill. In addition Meter reading estimated incorrectly at 10,000 units too high. Account thus now in deficit. Called many times ( always on hold for 25-40mins), hung up on twice and no resolution despite 3 people saying they would fix it. Emailed numerous times with pictures of the correct reading, meter pictures etc and asked them to correct it - nothing done. They then crank up my direct debit by an extra £250. To sum up error on their part, called and emailed over and over agin and no resolution in sight. Customer service is absolutely shocking and this aggressive balance adjustment and large debit debit increase isn't treating customers fairly. Shocking company avoid avoid avoid!”
“Ovo sets unrealistic quotes to con you into taking out a contract with them. My contract estimated that in a 3 bedroom house with 2, people that i would be using 2.3 khw of electricity a day.
Despite not watching TV, using lights, heating, avoiding showering and using family's washing machines, etc, it is still impossible to meet this ridiculously low estimate.
Therefore I have been conned into taking out a contract that is actually impossible to meet. So Ovo just continuously hikes up my direct debit.
Absolute con.”
“These guys at ovo are amazing. Their customer care is tip top. They even follow up on concerns and complaints and they really do try to help. Ok they are a little bit more expensive but to have a company that is really customer focused has really impressed me. Thats why I'm taking time to give these guys a big thumbs up. Well done ovo energy”
“Where do I start. We moved into our house in March. We paid our final bill to Ovo in May. Since then they have harassed us for payment and we have provided proof of payment over and over again. They are now sending a debt collector. I imagine their incompetence will mean I will now be blacklisted. They have promised on lots of occasions that this was resolved as well. Avoid. I would give them less stars but I don't think it let's you give minus scores.”
“This company has a messed up billing system and their customer service are not giving out correct information. My mum is 85 and was changed from sse to ovo. The first quarterly bill came through in april which was paid and then she was sent 3 demanding / red letters with different amounts on. No bills were sent but she is not even due a bill until the end of July. My mum has recently been ill and has been in hospital so this situation has been very very worrying to her as she has never been in debt. Customer services tell you that ovo do not do quarterly bills but on their website it clearly says they do and they sent us one in April!!”
“Tim is a 75 year old pensioner having suffered 2 heart attacks previously. Since being switched from SSE to OVO, he has received multiple computer generated unsigned letters demanding payment despite OVO agreeing to be paid quarterly. These threatened bailiff/debt collectors action, suggested meters had not been read, duplicate bills sent after payment...all false claims. Subsequently received debt collectors letters and visit for money he does not owe.
After several letters to OVO, he received a letter on 21 June, apologising for their error 'due in part to change from SSE to OVO' and promising to put a hold on monthly demands as quarterly bills will be sent. This has never happened and threatening letters continue to arrive, causing severe impact on his health. He has never been in debt in his life and does not owe OVO for energy. His most recent quarterly bill was paid on the day of receipt. The threatening nature of the letters deserve to be investigated immediately and OVO should be held accountable for their false demands and the absolute shambles of their customer service/complaints department.”
“Ovo energy has out of nowhere got my details and is sending me bills on a monthly basis for an electricity account I do not have. They have even sent round debt collector letters and threats to break into my house.
I am not with them and never have been.
Even the meter reader came round and said the meter serial numbers do not match what is on the OVO energy records.
Disgraceful company I will have to get compensation lawyers in now for the two years of abuse and mental anguish.”
“Possibly the worst energy company i have ever dealt with.
Paid my May bill in full over the phone. Then paid my June bill in full the following month.
The next month i began to receive letters telling me i hadn't paid my bills. followed by letters threatening me with enforcement action and bailiffs.
I contacted ovo who said they had no record of my payments.
I was then requested to send proof of payments via email, which i did......i received no contact from ovo after i did this.
Ten days later i received more threatening letters so i called ovo. Was put on hold for over an hour then disconnected, called back, took another hour, finally someone answered and told me they didn't have my details on my account.
I gave a chap called Christian my details, he promised the case would be escalated and someone would call me back in five working days, on the fifth working day i received an email from ovo telling me they didn't have my details and couldn't contact me.
I called back again today , 14/07/22 to be told my case hadn't been escalated or even looked at.
All the while i'm receiving new bills for the amounts i've already paid.
The chap i spoke to hadn't even looked at my account, nothing had been done to sort it or resolve the issue.
I've been told a line manager will contact me today to resolve the issue but i'm not holding my breath.
I've contacted a solicitor and the ombudsman and am preparing to prosecute.
I cant believe its come to this for what should have been something very simple to resolve.
Honestly the worst company and worst customer service i have ever encountered.
Avoid at all costs.”
“Absolutely shocking service now 7 months since I left my previous address which was in the process of being moved from SSE to OVO my account had over £200 in credit and OVO still have it as they say there is a technical fault with my switch over but I am paying in my new property to SSE not OVO or I would have stopped paying. Took them to the ombudsman which I could only take them for customer service they did issue apology letter and £75 credit which is a joke as they can not pay it in to my account as it is stuck in transit. Phoned must be now over 25 times just off the phone again but they can not pass me through to there complaints/ombudsman team but someone will phone back today right been told that on numerous occasions also so really nothing I can do. The annoying thing here is if I owed them they would up my Direct Debit but they have had over £200 of mine now for 7 months and there is nothing I can do about it.”
