“Ovo assumes everyone has access to internet. Phone lines are confusing to pay bill and payments take up to 72 hours to clear . Forced on to Ovo from SSE , and even though my bill is always paid on time im told im in debit but given no reason. Asking on phone , if you can get through ,is a waste of time. Awful customer service and confusing billing.”
“What an appalling company. I was switched from SSE, without my consent or knowledge. My issue is that the meter in my house is 50 years old and seems to be reading higher and higher every time, even though I have no new appliances. I have 4Kw of solar panels on the roof but the readings continue to escalate, even with just a small LED light on the meter spins well. Unfortunately, trying to explain this to the OVO operator was like trying to turn cheese into gold, " you need to send monthly readings Sir" was his answer! But I would like a new up-to-date meter, please, "sorry Sir a smart meter will not work in your area". So how come the house below and above us have them? And have more occupants and pay less electricity than me? "I can't comment on that Sir". Ok I'll settle for a standard meter, but a new one, one that is not worn out. "Sorry Sir, no available slots, if you sent monthly readings Sir.... But it is your duty to meter supply accurately otherwise you are making false claims! "I will have to speak to someone", 15 minutes of mind numbing music later he returned, "we will need pictures of the meter readings and then more pictures of readings after the meter has been turned off for half an hour, then a review team will look at the pictures and decide weather or not to fit a smart meter, but I cant tell you how long this will all take Sir". But you said five minutes ago that a smart meter won't work in my area!! "Wwwww well we would be able to fit one but you would still have to supply the readings each month Sir". Oh ffs, terminate call, change supplier. If I could leave minus stars I would have left 10.”
“I waited all day on Aug 15 for smart meter installation. No show. When I rang I was told engineer had installed it at different property but under my account number. Numerous calls constantly being told it will be sorted. I then was told congratulations we have taken your meter reading from your smart meter and this I your bill!! Just rang again as another very high bill has been sent to me and after listening to mind numbing music for 25 mins on hold was informed Alex from complaints will call me as he hasn't looked into all of my calls and complaints yet.”
“Why do they down talk to u they don't listen to what u are telling them there system is appalling for a company just taking over calling you a lair is not nice never Had this experience with swalec always there to help”
“Nearly all day on phone trying to get through and when I did what a waste of time like many people not happy ee was ok but ovo said got to pay every month instead of 3months will not change they just don't care”
“ovo closed my account and refunded my direct debit payment for no apparent reason. I rang their support centre three times only to be told a load of lies each time.
I got a letter from ovo today addressed to the occupier, but with a different account number to mine.
They were asking me to send them pictures of my meters so they could tell if they had the right meter readings.
It had to be for me as the last tenant was with Scottish Power. The trouble is the email address they give me to send them the pictures does not work and has not worked for a while.
How are these people in business. Stay well clear of ovo.”
“You are treating your customers with contempt. After moving out in June 2022, a full refund of the credit has not been paid back. I am still owed over £50
If you are reading this DO NOT SIGN UP with OVO”
“Spent 3 phone calls with 3 different phone operators to explain a mistake they had made with Bill.....one of which (Demi) agreed with myself it was obvious a mistake by themselves had been made and was putting the fault forward to billing.......since then had a meter reading sent back to me which I doubt I would ever get to in my life.......however I felt it appropriate now to pass on my complaint to the ombudsman. I have all relevant bills and bank statements to correspond, I look forward to my day in court with expenses paid of course..........a close family member experiences similar issue.....how many people are they trying it on with?!?!”
“I was with SSE for many years paying quarterly when bill sent for Gas and Electricity used, now being given joined up amount and no paper bill instead sent an or else email asking for immediate payment so when I phoned asking why when I pay every 3 months only to be informed I now have to pay every month, this situation were not informed seem to make rules you as you go along. I am old and going blind and wife cannot use the computer. So it looks as if will need to change suppliers especially as my Bank stopped a payment last time as they did not know who OVO were. Very wary as when being addressed the person answering for OVO calls me Mr.Kevin not my surname which rings alarm bells.”
“Its like trying to get water out of a stone, to simply get my energy accounts closed & over £500 I am owed refunded. SSE and OVO need to get themselves sorted out & work out which is responsible for what. Even the SSE customer service person was on hold over an hour to OVO, to talk to them about my account! (and still isn't through to them). Have tried phoning, emailing & online but got nowhere”
“Customer service is disgusting, they do not know what they are doing. Iv called in 12 times in one week, kept being passed around and 6 times call was cut. Quite worrying to be honest. Wrong information given each time. If possible avoid ovo.”
“OVO is a dishonest corrupt company with very dubious marketing practices.
So l accidentally pressed the fix now button regarding a 2 year fixed deal. I assumed it would give me more information about the deal. No it tied me straight into a 2 year deal which was very expensive.
I rang up the next day she after numerous calls managed to cancel the fixed deal.
I then discovered that OVO had charged me £120 for cancelling the fixed deal !.!
Their web site clearly states that you can cancel any fixed deal in the first 14 days without any cancellation fees !!
I was charged £120 after cancelling the deal within 14 hours !!
OVO as you would expect have promised to refund the money. Obviously l am still waiting for the money that they unlawfully took from me in total contravention of their own policy.
I hate this company and am going to another provider as soon as I get my refund”
“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.”
