OvoEnergy

Top company for stealing people's money, not allowing you to contact the company, adding charges on, incorrect bills, threatening letters, all in all, avoid this company, they are a bunch of thieves and are allowed to get away with it currently due to backhanders being paid,will celebrate when this company goes down the pan

Since OVO took over SSE I have not received any payments for the energy my panels have generated this year!, and customer service complaints just run for cover, there is something very wrong with this company, stay well clear, in the past 8yrs having been with Octopus, ESB, SSE etc I have had no problems and fit payments received within 4-6 weeks, todate I have not received any payment for the first three quarters of this year, diabolical

I was forcibly migrated to Ovo when they bought out SSE and had my Economy 10 account transferred to Ovo. Since September lat year they have had my meter set to Economy 7 off peak times but switching my devices based on Economy 10 times, meaning I am missing 3 hours a day of cheap electricity, being overcharged for my electricity and could not use my heating correctly all winter.

This has been through the Ombudsman service and still they refuse to resolve the issue. They have lied (I have proof) to me, the ombudsman service and to other customer sin the same position (I am currently aware of 100+ with this exact issue).

Customer service is non existent, emails go unanswered, phone calls are not returned and the buck is just passed to someone else with a different job title each time without anything actually being done.

It is so bad that I am now taking legal action against Ovo for breach of contract, as advised by my solicitor.

Ovo have been aware of this issue for HALF A YEAR and deliberately choose to do nothing about it despite over 50 emails, phone calls and letters from myself, an Ombudsman ruling that they are at fault and legal action commencing.

If you were considering becoming a customer of this company for any reason, DO NOT! Go and read the Ovo forums if you wish to corroborate what is written here and see for yourself what kind of 'company' this is.

I had the misfortune to switch to these energy 'middle men' clowns some two and a half years ago and based upon my recent experience of their, so called, customer care, I most certainly will not be staying with them.
Initially when I joined them, all appeared to be fine but within the past six months or so, things have gone from bad to simply dreadful with customer service, billing and attitude of staff at best described as appalling.
I pay for my energy usage by monthly direct debit and, by choice, I never allow my account to drift into debit with meter readings sent religiously on the 15th day of each month. Unfortunately, this is not enough to satisfy this company.
I am constantly bombarded with requests to book installation of a smart meter (although I have informed them on numerous occasions that I do not want or need one). I am seriously concerned with the unnecessary complexity of their billing together with constant increases in the cost of daily supply charges and now, without any explanation, they have taken payment from from my account for what they say, are discrepancies relating to estimated billing from two and a half years ago when I joined them. Even though all bills from day one are based on actual meter readings.
Attempting to speak to anyone at Ovo with common sense is virtually impossible, they are even in denial over the email sent to me charging my account for supposed estimated billing.
I have no idea why this company's practices have not been thoroughly investigated by the energy watchdog, they most certainly need to be, and with haste.

OVO=Operates Very (h)Onestly-I know its poetic licence!

It's makes a change to be able to write a good review, so often this is not the case. Anyway, I have been an OVO customer for a couple of years, despite my annual check for cheaper suppliers. Yes, OVO have always been cheaper but in this case cheaper isn't poorer, in fact they are the best electricity supplier I've found. They give me a discount for managing my account online, and they give me 3% interest if my account is in credit; well until the regulator OFGEM got involved. OFGEM reckons that OVO has breached regulations by offering three customer discounts, yes discounts that benefit the customer. All I can say is #^÷OFgem. Sorry but I needed that little moan! OVO keeps me informed of changes etc, and have an easy to use website. Well done OVO

Absolutely terrible customer support. I lived in one address from 15/01/2023 until 30/09/2023. During this time I was paying regularly for what I believed was my account with Ovo.

When I called to let them know I was leaving this address they informed me that I had a remaining balance of >£1000. It turned out they had made 2 different accounts under my name for this address and had been charging me for both. I notified them of this mistake on 30/09/2023 and sent proof of my payments throughout the year, with my sort code/account number etc. to prove that it was my account. They assured me that an investigation would be made and the case would be high priority.
Well it's now 4 months later and nothing has changed.

I have left the UK and I can only contact Ovo through WhatsApp. The customer service I have received has been at best incompetent and at worst downright rude, dismissive and disrespectful. Each time I speak with them I need to repeat the same information and send proof of payment and each time I am told that there will be an investigation. Each time NOTHING is done about this.

My account has now been passed to a debt collection agency which Ovo can't contact, apparently. This is destroying my credit score and also putting me at risk of legal ramifications.

If you are looking for an Energy Company who know what they are doing, choose absolutely anyone else. Ovo will try to scam you with their confusing customer service set up and lack of professional and trained employees.

I would give 0 stars if I could

Ovo sent me a huge estimated bill even though I am on a smart meter. I called MANY times to try to fix the problem. They could not/would not. Eventually they just took the government money from my account to pay their invented bill.

Ovo Energy operate on a deliberately dishonest business model that is intent on cheating customers. For example, every year they will offer you an energy forecast that will be far greater than what your home actually consumes. In my own experience, this will be anything from several hundred to even over £1000 of extra credit they will take forcibly from your bank account (often without any permission whatsoever). Indeed even if you put in writing to the CEO office not to increase your direct debit, they will do it anyway and start taking extra money from your account that is not due, fair or earned (which is basic theft and nothing else). When attempting to get a refund for this wrongfully attained money from your bank account, will then incur an even greater level of personal loss dealing with Ovo's deliberately evasive customer services team. Again, they are trained to ignore customers in a bid to sit on that stolen cash for as long as possible (gaining as much interest to their own bank account at the greater cost to your own). So not only will you lose money, but a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of wasted correspondence that is otherwise ignored and disrespected by these people along with finally being offered a deadlock letter (which is the worst form of cowardly escape and mark of incompetence to any company looking to this as a resolution for a customer). Because it should be noted that the ombudsman are actually paid by people like Ovo to investigate themselves, hence why it is not a very fair system and even if you are ruled in favour with a complaint, this will only result in a £50 goodwill gesture at most. The ombudsman is a very cheap and easy way for Ovo to avoid any accountability, litigation and any genuine exposure for conducting such an openly fraudulent business model. Indeed most troublingly, the ombudsman actually rely on people like OVO who dishonour contracts to keep in a job themselves. Hardly in the interest of the public is it? So after a huge amount of pain and even greater loss of energy than anything this company has actually supplied, you will finally get a refund -but no other compensation to the other very real losses you will suffer just to get money that was stolen from you returned. Then the following year, this self-licensed gang of thieves will do exactly the same thing with falsely inflating your energy forecast, hiking up your direct debit's and taking your money without any permission or right, ignoring you all the way before they get back into bed with the ombudsman and offer you a deadlock letter. This is just with energy forecast usage. Yet I am reading reviews of other people who are promised £50 cashback for joining, who had to complain relentlessly only to get £25 and nothing else. If you try calling this company, they will charge you at a premium rate too. And if there is any need for a meter reading, it will only be under the auspices that you could be going into debt (but never going into extra credit which should be refunded to you as another point of note). Do you see the consistent trend that is only out to cheat customers of money, instead of offering any real honourable and trustworthy service of value? I have never witnessed such a comprehensive and corporate level of scam to the public than what Ovo offer so shamelessly. As another interesting observation, I find it odd that trustpilot uniquely is claiming something that averages a four star review for Ovo, compared to other review networks that are more like one star for this terrible energy provider. Perhaps the ombudsman are not the only bedfellows going on here?

I used to be with SSE and now was sold to OVO. I have had problems and issues since day 1 with OVO. I set up a direct debit and also made a complaint as I believed I was overcharged. But since OVO is very unreliable and disgusting, they reported me which I realised I got negative credit for the first time in my life. After 5 months, have not heard back regarding my complaint. I made OFGEM involved to push OVO but still waiting.
AVOID OVO AT ALL COST
I can't wait to leave OVO.
You are liar and not responsive and unprofessional.

Terrible company, I left them this month and they're trying to charge me £100 for leaving them? Stay well clear.

OVO People:

Complaint- ******* and Account number *******

After 7 years of loyalty to your company and sympathies for being a Bristol based organisation, and due to some of your corporate responsibility policies, I want you to close my account with IMMEDIATE effect. I have now cleared my outstanding balance that you unlawfully charged me.
It all started with the change in your old system.

You were unlawfully chasing me for yet another account your system opened " by accident". This mistake form your incompetent system made me incur in financial losses. Although these losses were minor and for less /about £300.00, it was a virtual nightmare to deal with customer services representatives and your system so I had to contact the energy ombudsman which had resolved in my favour under the claim/case: EG*******-23.
This was not the first time you made a mess with my billing. This is actually the 4th time I experience issues with your company.

The property is actually only occupied for about 10 days every 5 to 7 weeks and it has been a nightmare to resolve issues with your more than incompetent and inefficient staff and system.

As I have spent significant amount of time and experienced significant amount of headaches dealing with your very poor standards I will not go through the entire nightmare that has been dealing with you.

This is the 4th, and last time I am asking you to completely close my account so I can switch to another provider which at the moment it is not possible as you have blocked my account.

I have been dealing with your incompetence for the last 6 months!

Needless to say I will be a fierce ambassador of your failure to deliver at the right standard and ethical expectation that customers deserve.

Should you not close and unblock my account with immediate effect, I will be presenting a formal complaint to the parliament and to the media/press and about your really cannibalistic practices that violate all codes of commercial conduct.

I have been generous in giving a one, this is only because I can not give a minus!

I have been trying to deal with and resolve an issue Ovo Energy for 6 months.

They initially sent me an estimated bill for over £1,000. I tried to resolve the issue and sent them photos of the readings. They did nothing and started to call and text me threatening me with debt collection agents and to damage my credit.

I lodged a complaint and had an auto-response saying they would respond in up to 5 days. 10 weeks later, I still have not had a response but they continue to harass me.

I've made 5 complaints but still had no response apart from threatening ones. They will not send me a copy of their complaints procedure or service standards, and without doubt, have failed to stick to them.

I'm at my wit's end, I was off work with mental health problems last year and have explained this but they continue to bully and harass me.

I'm at the point of wanting to report them to the police and have begged them to take me to court just so that I can resolve this rather than continuing to text and call me just to make threats.

I'm sure I can't be alone, their behavior towards customers is disgusting.

Avoid Ovo like the plague! I have had nothing but trouble from them, & plan to move to another supplier as soon as possible, but they are using delaying tactics on my billing to even make that difficult!
They failed to charge me for gas consumption for a year, until i queried it... then suddenly hit me with a bill for over £600, which as a 71 year old pensioner, I will really struggle to pay. The gas consumption side of my smart meter stopped working, but as I'd recently installed solar, & had a woodburner. I, in my naivity, & also as well recently processing the death of my mother, assumed that was because my consumption was negligible. After hours spent waiting on the phone to eventually get through to agents in S Africa, who, though helpful within the limitations imposed on them by this unscrupulous company, have indiginous African/S African accents & are very difficult to understand, so communication is very difficult, one wonders if this is intentional. Their email complaints system is equally opaque. It's virtually impossible to get any response at all. However, after my last negative Trustpilot review, I did eventually get a phone reply by a British customer agent who offered me a paultry £50 compensation for all my worry & inconvenience, plus waiving of their £75 per energy supply exit fee (£150 total) when I moved to another supplier. I had requested a postal final bill, but after a month, that hasn't arrived. I looked on their app, & they have added the 2 exit fees, so I was lied to. Why should I trust the reading & charging from an App & system that didn't even realise it wasn't charging me for my gas consumption! They are obviously delaying my postal bill with the full & comprehensive details to be charged, of their own mixup... to scupper my switching to a better supplier. I have even suggested they email me the breakdown of charges, but no sign of that either. This must essentially be business malpractice. I am investigating going to the Ombudsman... but I believe there is a huge queue. This Company should not be trading!

Absolute nightmare customer service. Moved into a property on 02/09. Applied for gas and electricity online, like every other time I've used OVO. No welcome package, no response. Called to set up electricity account, told me gas account can't be set up because of it being "in transition," they'd call me back in 2 days, no one did. Called back again, someome told me the account is in "clearance" and I should call back again in 6 working days. In the meantime gas runs out, no cooker, house freezing, called back, someome said the last tenant's account might take 6 months to clear! Line cut off whilst on hold, called back and was told I need to top up the pay as you go meter then apply for a smart meter to get a monthly account BUT for some reason I had to wait another 48 h (more as it was Friday) before ordering a smart reader. Sent me a code and said I had to wait for 3 h before going to a local shop they suggested. Went there, they were looking at me like an alien. Managed to find a post offfice, got the card, top up 30 quid, back to realise there is Debt on the meter from the previous tenant, called back after the weekend to order smart meter, was told I need to call AGAIN after it's installed to activate account, clueless as how to help with the last tenant's debts. I have used OVO before in multiple properties and it's always been an easy online process. I have spent countless hours on the phone this time and still nothing is sorted a whole month after I moved into this property. What a circus, what an absolute joke. Countless hours on hold, countless hours explaining this ordeal to a different person every time, EVERY TIME given different and contradictory advice (above is only a short summary of the endless conversations I've had with them). Horrific. Absolute jokers and scammers.

THEY ARE QICK ENOUGHTO TAKE MONEY FROM YOU BUT WHEN THEY OWE YOU S PAYMENT THEY HANG ONTO TO IT TO MORE INTEREST FROM IT. THIS IS A DISCUSTING PRACTICE AND SHOULD BE STOPPED ALL IT IS IS PROFITERING AND SHOULD BE REPORTED AND WHEN I FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THAT I WILL DEFINATLEY REPORT IT MARKS OUT OF ZERO. IF OVO READ THIS PLEASE RESPOND? IF YOU CAN

I have a duel fuel account with OVO and they take £100 a month(although since starting in January my highest bill per. Month is £60). The thing that gets me is that as the credit in the account mounts up I have to ask for a rebate but they will not refund it all I must leave a £100 in the account. This is my money and to pensioner it's a lot. Doing this to a lot of their customer is a large amount in their bank. When is something to be done to rein these $#*! Turpins in.