Ovo Energy

Whereas Barclays seem on course to destroy me by sins of omission, Ovo Energy are taking a much more pro-active approach!

My problems started as soon as I collected the keys to my new home. I was given an envelope and foolishly assumed it just contained house keys. It didn't. When I got to the house and opened the envelope I found it contained front and back door keys plus a small unrecognisable plastic device and a chip and pin card branded with the Scottish Power logo. I was surprised, the house was in Cambridgeshire.

This was my first introduction to a UK I had never before experienced, a UK with privatised energy.

The house had been unoccupied for two years. I was a new widow who had flown into the freezing Fenlands from a Western Australia summer. Every wall was damp and I could feel the cold seeping into me, could watch my breath form visible traces ahead of me. There was a boiler on the wall but I had no instructions and no intention of using it until I could be sure it was safe. I checked into a hotel and called a gas engineer.

When we met up a few days later the gas man tested the system and declared it was all safe for me to use. He set it up, explained the controls and how the plastic device, which was a key for the electricity meter on the wall outside, and the chip and pin gas pre-payment card worked. He also advised me to buy a carbon monoxide alarm and a smoke alarm. His visit was eighty pounds well spent, and the another thirty at B&Q bought me the two alarms.

He had shown me how the meter worked. You pay money to the post office or other authorised outlet and they put a credit on your card or device. When you put the card into the meter it registers how much you have paid and shows you the credit balance. So far so good, both cards appeared to have a small credit balance, under five pounds. I walked to the post office and put twenty pounds on each card. It was cold and I had no way of knowing how much might be needed. A few days later John Lewis delivered my bed and I decided that it was time to move into the horrible house.

First thing I did was put the chip and pin card into the meter, it showed twenty pounds on the card and then the display changed to show that I had seven pounds worth of gas paid for. I did the same for the electricity meter and had a similar experience, twenty pounds added but only a credit of a few pounds available for energy. 

Time to phone Scottish Power. 

Scottish Power explained that I was paying the standing charge for every day since the last recharge of the pre-paid card. Not their problem that I only took the house on a week or two earlier, that's just how it works. I'd learnt another lesson, and heard a well rehearsed speech on how the householder must pay to have the meter on their premises. How else could the gas and electricity supply be measured?

After the conversation with Scottish Power I decided it was probably time to check out the different suppliers and whether I could get a meter with billing monthly or quarterly for what I'd used. 

I chose Ovo. 

When I signed up for Ovo their system asked a few questions about my property and determined that I should pay 86 pounds per month, in advance rather than just a bill for what I'd used. Not ideal, but better than having to fret and worry about trekking out for a recharge in the middle of an episode of Broadchurch on a cold winter's evening. 

Ovo gave me a date when the change over would occur. 

Ovo were happy to take my direct debit payment. 

What Ovo were not prepared to do was change the meter, something they did not reveal until after I had signed up. 
This did surprise me as the 86 per month appeared to be for nothing at all. I still had to scuttle out for recharges. I phoned them and said it seemed a tad unfair, to which a very polite person said that if I didn't want the direct debit to be paid she could cancel it. That conversation seemed worthwhile, if a little bizarre. Does Ovo have many pre-paid card holding customers who are happy to also pay 86 per month by direct debit?

Shortly after this satisfying telephone conversation I received an email stating that, although I was still pre-paying I must set up a direct debit as I was "falling into debt". 

I emailed Ovo asking how this was possible.

The reply was not helpful at all, but it did introduce a new figure of 56.72, and offered no explanation for this.

I asked for an explanation as to how this happened and what the 56.72 was for. I didn't bother to ask Ovo how a customer is supposed to know which emails were being sent in error.

Telling me I was on the Simpler Energy contract did give me a smile. What customer service do the folks with the Ovo Complex Energy contract receive?

I got a reply that worries me a little, and new widows have a lot to cope with, they don't need any extra demands on their fragile emotional state.

The Ovo response;

Two complaints about this response, firstly when a customer wants a written reply they should get a written reply. (but of course they haven't got confidence in the emails they send) When Ovo telephone me they have a recording of the conversation, I don't. For the Ovo operative it is their work time, but it isn't my work time. Ovo may feel it is acceptable to interrupt my day whenever they wish, at a time of their choosing.  I don't. Am I expected to sit with all Ovo paperwork on my table just in case?

Secondly, Ovo have stated "the number will display as withheld".  I subscribe to BT's Call Guardian.

So now this widow's worries have been increased. I have the burden of Barclays and Ovo. But on a bright note I've been really impressed by how swiftly and efficiently my new driving licence has been issued, using the photo from my passport. And on another bright note Calor Gas are now offering free underground storage tanks for anyone wanting to go off grid and stop paying a standing charge.