OVO Energy

[Mervyn and Trish]

Has anybody got any experience of OVO Energy?

Our fixed price deal with Scottish Power is running out and I've just been on their website to look at possible replacement tariffs and they're all dreadful. The cheapest is their standard tariff, with no discounts for on-line, paper-free operation or paying by direct debit. And that is £30 per month more than I'm paying now. All the rest are more expensive. So for the moment I've ignored it. On Saturday if I don't tell them otherwise they'll automatically switch me to the standard deal, which is the best option anyway.

I'll check again next week in case it was just a glitch.

But in the meantime I've been on the Money Supermarket comparison site and almost everything on there is cheaper, both big and small companies. But the best is OVO, £40 cheaper per month than the new Scottish deals, £10 cheaper than I'm paying now.

The only downside is it looks as though my current Smart Meter won't talk to them, but I think I can read a meter from time to time if it saves me £480 a year! It could well be time to change.

[Whynd1]

They have just been fined by Ofgen for overcharging and not giving customers accurate information.
It was just on the BBC news website.

[Manoverboard]

Indeed so ...OVO to pay £8.9 million for overcharging ...

[Ray Scully]

Now in second two year fixed plan with OVO, no problems, good website, very competitive. they replaced the existing non compatible meters

[Mervyn and Trish]

They have just been fined by Ofgen for overcharging and not giving customers accurate information.
It was just on the BBC news website.

Yes I saw that. But they also have a very high rating with "Which"!

[david63]

I think I can read a meter from time to time

Not sure about that.

I moved to Scottish Power in November as they were £30 a month cheaper than my then supplier, and at the time were giving the best deal that I could find. Last week I had an email to submit meter readings, so off I go to read the meters which I had forgotten how to do as they are [non compatible] smart meters only to find that the readings did not make any sense at all with the previous readings from when I transferred.

Having spent time trying to get some sense out of someone (and been promised call backs that never materialised) I am now awaiting somebody to come and read the meters and try and make some sense of them.

[oldbluefox]

I've been with OVO for a few years now with no problems.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I moved to Scottish Power in November as they were £30 a month cheaper than my then supplier, and at the time were giving the best deal that I could find.

Interesting. It was the same when I moved to them. But their offer now is among the worst. I wonder if it's the old story of saving the best offers for new customers.

Last week I had an email to submit meter readings, so off I go to read the meters which I had forgotten how to do as they are [non compatible] smart meters only to find that the readings did not make any sense at all with the previous readings from when I transferred.

Gulp! My understanding from a few searches is that my current meter won't be Smart in the sense of doing the sums and sending the numbers to the new supplier, it should still be dumb in the sense of measuring the units. The remote monitor won't work but both the actual meters on gas and electric have digital displays of units so I'm hopeful.

Of course it's possible a better deal will have emerged when I check SP again after the weekend.

[david63]

Of course it's possible a better deal will have emerged when I check SP again after the weekend.

Don't use just one comparison site as they tend to favour certain suppliers - use three or four and you should then get a better idea of prices.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Yes I've done that and I've also got a direct quote from OVO. And of course i have the direct info from Scottish. The answers are consistent within £1 a month. I might try ringing SP next week to tell them I'm leaving to see if any magic happens.

[towny44]

I think I can read a meter from time to time

Not sure about that.

I moved to Scottish Power in November as they were £30 a month cheaper than my then supplier, and at the time were giving the best deal that I could find. Last week I had an email to submit meter readings, so off I go to read the meters which I had forgotten how to do as they are [non compatible] smart meters only to find that the readings did not make any sense at all with the previous readings from when I transferred.

Having spent time trying to get some sense out of someone (and been promised call backs that never materialised) I am now awaiting somebody to come and read the meters and try and make some sense of them.

Your smart meter indoor display gadget should still provide you with meter readings, the incompatibility is that it won't have your correct tariff, so it cant calculate any values.

[towny44]

Try the cheap energy club on moneysavingexpert.com, I find them the best site, and they offer the option to compare a full 12 months of your current tariff against the best new ones, rather than assuming the standard tariff if you have less than a year to run.

[david63]

Your smart meter indoor display gadget should still provide you with meter readings,

No, mine does not show, and never has shown, meter readings.

[Stephen]

My supplier phoned me yesterday saying they had arranged a date for them to come and fit a smart meter. Again, I told them several times I don't want one which seemed to put her out. Which bit of NO do these people not understand.

[barney]

Ditto Stephen
I'm still part of the resistance.

We had similar with the shop.
The guy tried to convince me that it was law.
Idiot.

Logically, how is using a smart meter going to reduce my consumption.
It's a blooming shop.
Do they think that we'll operate with the lights off ?
Then there's the downtime while fitting.
The till is electric and the meter is immediately inside the front door, thereby blocking access for customers.

As I said, Idiots

[david63]

The guy tried to convince me that it was law.

I believe that it is the law that they have to "offer" you one - but you do not have to accept the offer.

Logically, how is using a smart meter going to reduce my consumption.

It might be a little different with a shop but a few years ago we were able to borrow an electric usage monitor from the local library. So as it was free I did. It was quite surprising that by just making small changes here and there how much we saved. Little things like showing Mrs63 that you do not need to boil a full kettle of water just to make one cup of coffee! Overall we ended up saving about £400 a year

[Manoverboard]

Little things like showing Mrs63 that you do not need to boil a full kettle of water just to make one cup of coffee!

And Mrs63 said " I don't need you to tell me how to boil a kettle / I've been doing it this way for the last thirty years "

[barney]

The guy tried to convince me that it was law.

I believe that it is the law that they have to "offer" you one - but you do not have to accept the offer.

Logically, how is using a smart meter going to reduce my consumption.

It might be a little different with a shop but a few years ago we were able to borrow an electric usage monitor from the local library. So as it was free I did. It was quite surprising that by just making small changes here and there how much we saved. Little things like showing Mrs63 that you do not need to boil a full kettle of water just to make one cup of coffee! Overall we ended up saving about £400 a year

You spent £33 a month boiling kettles.

How many cuppas a day do you drink, for Christs sake ?

[Ray Scully]

Smart meters will be a requirement when time of use tariffs appear and should you wish to take advantage of them.

[Stephen]

The guy tried to convince me that it was law.

I believe that it is the law that they have to "offer" you one - but you do not have to accept the offer.

Logically, how is using a smart meter going to reduce my consumption.

It might be a little different with a shop but a few years ago we were able to borrow an electric usage monitor from the local library. So as it was free I did. It was quite surprising that by just making small changes here and there how much we saved. Little things like showing Mrs63 that you do not need to boil a full kettle of water just to make one cup of coffee! Overall we ended up saving about £400 a year

This is the thing with so called Smart Meters David, they become your slave with you forever looking at it and questioning how much power you have used. Not for me thanks.

[Manoverboard]

Nor me …. if Mobietta I want the heating on a bit longer then on for longer it will be on regardless of the cost.

[towny44]

This is the thing with so called Smart Meters David, they become your slave with you forever looking at it and questioning how much power you have used. Not for me thanks.

The novelty wears off pretty quickly Stephen, but the ability to know how much each appliance consumes, might lead some people to make savings that they otherwise would never consider.
But as far as heating is concerned the major factor we consider, is how cold we are, how much CO2 we are producing is of no concern, unless and until alternative heat sources are economically available.

[david63]

You spent £33 a month boiling kettles.

No - the biggest saving was turning off an old inefficient freezer in the garage!

they become your slave with you forever looking at it and questioning how much power you have used.

Initially that is probably true but once you realise where/how savings can be made then it becomes a way of life and I am prepared to do that if it saves me money, with the added bonus of a minute contribution to the climate.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Your smart meter indoor display gadget should still provide you with meter readings,

No, mine does not show, and never has shown, meter readings.

Our does show meter readings. It also shows daily, weekly, monthly and yearly consumption in kilowatt hours, which I assume it'll still do even if the tariff info and therefore the calculated cost is wrong. But if not I'm prepared to walk to the meters myself for £40 a month!

I'll be double checking the numbers on Monday and if they still look the same clicking "switch".

[Stephen]

I'm quite happy to live normally without watching the pennies too much and am happy to read our meters every quarter.