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Incomplete switch?

  • 8 September 2020
  • 25 replies
  • 285 views
P
Userlevel 1

I switched in August from OVO, OVO are still taking money from my direct debit.
I spoke to OVO and they said the switch has only partially gone through, the gas is still with OVO.
Pure planet have both my reading and say I am on the both gas and electric.
There is no one to speak to - the autobot is not very helpful. I am beginning to think I made the wrong decision to switch. I was £97 in credit with OVO and they have just taken £168 out of my account and they are not moving.
What do I do? I have tried sending messages, do I have to wait for a response?

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Best answer by woz 9 September 2020, 00:17

hi @paulhipwood 

it can take up to 6 weeks for the final bill (from ovo) to be processed at which point you will get a refund from ovo. The computer says that your gas hasn’t switched yet because the readings have to be validated by a 3rd party and it prob. hasn’t happened yet, but it will.(hopefully! it usually does)

The taking of two lots of dd’s when switching is extremely common, it happens more times than it doesn’t unless you’re lucky with the timing. It’s just a matter of being patient and knowing what to expect.

You need to do 2 things (is my opinion)

  1. go to help and support in app or online>ask a question, type message the team and ask pp to confirm that both of your energies are with PP.
    Persist through any bot replies until it says your message has been passed onto the team. (replies not instant, a day or 2)
  2. Contact OVO and ask them to suspend or reduce the dd to a nominal amount until your final bill is processed, and while you’re on to them ask them politely to make sure it’s done as quickly as possible (it can’t hurt)
  3. post back 
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25 replies

LUCKY JO
Badge +1

Hi paulhipwood

Welcome to Pure Planet. 😀👍

It can take a little time to sort out a swap over and if you have over paid OVO then you will be due a refund. 

I'm sure you have a record of your meter readings but if not its worth taking photos of your meters. 

 

Pure Planet don't have 100's of agents /staff  that's how they can be so competitive which means you may need to be a little patient for a reply but its most definitely worth it.

 

I'm not an employee just a member of the friendly Pure Planet social community which is a great place to share and help other members. 

 

If all else fails with regards to your OVO refund then I'd contact these guys...

consumeraffairs@ofgem.gov.uk

 

Hope that helps 🙂

Love LUCKY JO
woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

hi @paulhipwood 

it can take up to 6 weeks for the final bill (from ovo) to be processed at which point you will get a refund from ovo. The computer says that your gas hasn’t switched yet because the readings have to be validated by a 3rd party and it prob. hasn’t happened yet, but it will.(hopefully! it usually does)

The taking of two lots of dd’s when switching is extremely common, it happens more times than it doesn’t unless you’re lucky with the timing. It’s just a matter of being patient and knowing what to expect.

You need to do 2 things (is my opinion)

  1. go to help and support in app or online>ask a question, type message the team and ask pp to confirm that both of your energies are with PP.
    Persist through any bot replies until it says your message has been passed onto the team. (replies not instant, a day or 2)
  2. Contact OVO and ask them to suspend or reduce the dd to a nominal amount until your final bill is processed, and while you’re on to them ask them politely to make sure it’s done as quickly as possible (it can’t hurt)
  3. post back 
P
Userlevel 1

I have reduced my DD with OVO, but my last DD has not been entered on my OVO account. I will wait a day and apply for a refund, at the moment they are refusing even though I am in credit. Nothing from pure planet yet. 

woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

hi @paulhipwood 

you won’t get a refund from ovo until their final bill is produced, that’s normal.

P
Userlevel 1

Just checked my latest payment is in the system so applied for a refund

got an e mail back saying

You'll receive your refund within 10 working days

Hello Paul,

Just to let you know we’re processing your refund of £200.00.

The good news is you should see your refund in the bank account your Direct Debit comes out of within 10 working days – if not sooner.

 

We shall see

S
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Hi all

Does anyone else think that £200 is a suspiciously round figure? Or is it pending the final bill?

Only asking

Stephen

P
Userlevel 1

When claiming a refund, I had to put an amount in. Rather than calculate the maximum I just rounded it up. I had to leave £47 in to cover the reduced DD   

We shall see

P
Userlevel 1

Recieved e mail today

 

You’ll receive your money in the next 4 working days

Hello Paul,

You’ll see your £200.00 refund in the bank account you pay your Direct Debit from in the next 4 working days.

Thanks,
The OVO Team

P
Userlevel 1

£200 received today from OVO. 

P
Userlevel 1

Next problem, when I gave this months meter reading the Gas meter reading from the previous month had the wrong meter number. When I put my original meter reading I sent a photo of the meters. But I have not got a copy of this photo as I did it through the app. So I disputed the original recorded reading.

I now have to wait up to 12 weeks for this to be sorted.

Never had these problems with all our other switches

woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

@paulhipwood

did you work out what the true difference in cost would be because of the difference in readings? You can’t be charged twice for the sane energy so the difference is usually very small as it’s only the difference between providers 1 and 2’s unit prices x the no of units difference.

Putting the matter of principal to one side for the moment (although one shouldn’t) , pragmatically It may not have been worth the effort, in some circumstance you could be worse off if you were moving from a cheaper fixed term contract and the readings were over estimated.

just saying...

woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

@paulhipwood 

ooops, I completely misread your post, apologies! Please ignore my reply above.

My understanding now (having read it properly!) is that PP had the wrong meter numbers for you, so it’s not so much a case of dispute but PP sorting out the correct meters for you and tying in the readings sent with the new meter. This can take quite some time so you’ll need to be patient. The readings you sent were correct but for the wrong meter so as long as PP have those readings all should eventually be well.

Was the meter changed in the near past?

In the meanwhile to cover yourself it won’t hurt to send the info you have, any readings and dates to the team, and then hibernate until it’s sorted. In the short to medium term the direct debit should not change and there is little you can do until it’s sorted.

Keeping photo records of the meter readings and dates is prudent.

 

P
Userlevel 1

The meters have not been changed for years. When I sent my first reading, I had to take a photo of them, this was done through the app. I cannot find those photos so have not got a record. When I put in the second reading, it was obvious they had got a different reading and a different meter for the gas. Has I did not have a record of the reading , I logged a dispute. I suppose it will get sorted sometime. 

woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

The meters have not been changed for years. When I sent my first reading, I had to take a photo of them, this was done through the app. I cannot find those photos so have not got a record. When I put in the second reading, it was obvious they had got a different reading and a different meter for the gas. Has I did not have a record of the reading , I logged a dispute. I suppose it will get sorted sometime. 

@paulhipwood

Well that’s a strange one, can you go back to any previous suppliers bills and see if the meter serials tally on those?

P
Userlevel 1

Latest from Pure Planet

“Thank you for sending over the photo of your meter. It looks as though we have indeed taken on-board the incorrect meter. This is known as an "Erroneous Transfer" (or ET for short). I have passed this on to our team that handles ETs who will bring on-board the correct supply and transfer the incorrect meter back to its previous supplier.”

So I think we are nearly there - have switched many times, it has never taken this long.

Nataly
Rank

Hey @paulhipwood 

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear it’s being sorted for you. 

We have more info about erroneous transfers in our FAQs which may be useful :thumbsup:

P
Userlevel 1

Still not sorted, OVO sent a meter reader to the house last week. Pure planet sent an email saying 6 or 8 weeks are up and I can go to the ombudsman. Agggh all I want is OVO to stop taking money off me and pure planet sort out my bills. 

I have asked pure planet where my photos are when I submitted my first readings. Does anyone know if they are hidden in the app?

woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

@paulhipwood 

hi Paul

I don’t think you’ll be able to retrieve the photos,  did you send them in wattbot? -maybe PP have a record of them, however in essence it’s the serial no. of the meter rather than the readings that mattered in order to get the correct meter registered.

The precise reading at changeover may not matter as much as you seem to think it does as long as the same reading is used for both providers, the difference in ££ is usually very small as it’s only based on the difference in unit price. I’m very unclear from your post if PP now have the correct meter registered to  your account, if so I see little benefit in going to the ombudsman before exhausting dialogue with PP. It’s clear from your posts that we don’t have all the facts yet as far as I can tell.

Is the correct meter now registered?

Have you had an official final bill from OVO yet? If not why not?

Is the changeover based on the same meter readings for both providers?

Have you looked at your meter reading history around the changeover time to see if the numbers used make sense?

What do you think your loss is and why?

 

 

P
Userlevel 1

Still not sorted, I am not worried about losing money. When OVO and pure planet sort it out I will get the correct bills. I have found the photo of the first submitted meter reading. But cannot be bothered to find out who to send it to. Pure planet did confirm a few months ago that they had received the readings and photos. 

 

woz
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

@paulhipwood 

Are you fully switched to PP now?

If so all that's left is to sort out the final bill from OVO?

If not what is the situation now?

re the photo: Attach the photo in wattbot and refer PP to this thread adding any other pertinent info, and ask them to call you.

is all I can suggest..

P
Userlevel 1

We are not fully switched, we have had no statements for either gas or electric.

Had an e mail form pure planet yesterday saying that OVO were causing the delay.

Pure planet also confirmed that they have both photos of my first reading.

I have reduced my direct debit to OVO a few weeks ago, I suspect that I am paying less than I sould be so will end up being in debit. Not to bothered I would rather it be in my account than theirs.

 

Will report back when it is sorted

paul

P
Userlevel 1

Still not sorted. I did manage to find photos in the app and sent these to pure planet. OVO have now sorted my account and have returned my credit. Pure planet have stopped taking money from me. I think that is because I am over £300 in credit. So I think I will owe them money due to our usage. 

I am due to send meter readings in 23 rd Dec. So I am hoping that will be finalised soon. 

G
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Still not sorted. I did manage to find photos in the app and sent these to pure planet. OVO have now sorted my account and have returned my credit. Pure planet have stopped taking money from me. I think that is because I am over £300 in credit. So I think I will owe them money due to our usage. 

I am due to send meter readings in 23 rd Dec. So I am hoping that will be finalised soon. 

Double check that the OVO DD is cancelled. Sometimes such actions are overlooked. You can cancel the DD yourself if it is coming from your bank account.

Richard
P
Userlevel 1

Sent another set of readings to pure planet. They have still not taken money from me. Suspect I will get a massive bill when it is sorted. Still no statement. Wished I had chosen some other supplier. 

Marc
Rank

Hi @paulhipwood 

This must be very frustrating for you! I’ve flagged this up with our Member services team. Alas they are still waiting for OVO to do their bit to fix this. 

But, the guys will arrange for payments to PP to be made.

You’ll be getting this info as WattBot messages :thumbsup:

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