OVO changing meter readings

[Davey]

I try to keep a spreadsheet to log my utility use, but I often leave gaps in the filling in of the sheet. Today, I decided to catch up, and downloaded the last three monthly OVO electricity statements. When I was entering the data, I noticed that the Previous Balance on the first of these was not the same as the previous month's Final Balance as logged on the spreadsheet, and I then saw that I had already earlier downloaded the statement for that period. But when I compared the two versions, the more recent one showed a different meter reading from the earlier one. I then checked, and I had also downloaded the next two statements earlier, and again, the meter readings did not match. Also, the readings are to three decimal places, whereas the meter only has one decimal place. It is not a 'Smartmeter'. Puzzling. I have not bothered to see if the readings match what I submitted. On doing the calculations, the result of the change of readings is in my favour, so I don't think I will complain to OVO.

[alan_m]

By how much were they different? A very small amount may just be a difference between the actual reading on the date supplied and the further estimated amount for the few days to generate the bill plus a few days worth of standing charges.

[alan_m]

Also. when I used to get an estimated bill (from another supplier) within 3 days they re-issued my bill with the reading I subsequently gave them. This was prior to getting a smart meter.

[Davey]

The Standing Charges are separate, and are not changed. There is no problem with them. And I submit a reading each time I am asked to, and a bill is produced based on those readings on that date, so why generate a bill supposedly based on that information, and then change it at some later date? The numbers are not huge, but they are puzzling. Especially when I am trying to follow the calculations, and then OVO changes the goal posts.

[Davey]

As I say, I have not compared the readings on the statement with what I submitted, (I don't know if I have a record OF MY OWN of what I submitted and when, as opposed to what OVO say I submitted, which may be different), but there has not been a need for an estimated reading for many months, I live here.

[Andy Burns]

Meanwhile I received a letter from EDF saying they've updated their systems and I now have a different account number, so I logged on to see what the changes are ...

"We'd love you to come back. We don't have an account set up for you at the moment"

[Roger]

My EDF account number has been changed to an alphanumeric plus hyphen "number". Giving meter readings was easy; the automated system required entering the 12 digit account number and 5 digit reading. If required it could calculate the bill and read it out.

Trying to find an easy, for me, method of giving them meter readings I read that they have an app which, according to their website, requires entering the account number, surname, and postcode. Of course, as of the 16th November update, it accepts only digits in the account number field so that's no good. For the time being I have to call and speak to a human. How quaint.

[Davey]

Did this get resolved? You probably have an account in France now.

And on a different tack, I today ordered a refund from my OVO account. It says 'within 10 days', I will watch my bank account closely.

[Jeff Layman]

Why not just continue logging on at

? Once the meter readings are entered, within a day they'll email me back with the bill (or "your energy statement" as they seem to call it) attached as a pdf.

[Mark Carver]

My experience with OVO is you can send (via the website or the phone app) as many meter readings as you like.

However, they have their own monthly billing date they stick to (for instance the 15th of each month)

If you send a meter reading on the 22nd, within a few hours, or overnight, they produce a sort of bill, that is based upon the meter readings from the 15th to the 22nd. If you've not sent any readings on the 15th, they estimate them, and (as you've noticed) to three decimal places.

If you then send another reading on the 29th, they produce another bill, but this is based on the 15th to 29th period, not what you'd intuitively expect, the 22nd to 29th.

It doesn't really matter. My Water company, South East Water, do exactly the same thing, I couldn't get my head around it it first, because they produce a silly bar graph of water use, but always referenced back to their billing date (which for them is Feb 15th and Aug 15th)

The bottom line is just bombard OVO with readings at every opportunity, and eventually their algorithm will make the estimates on the billing dates accurate enough (You'd hope)

Or; get a smart meter, or move to Octopus (or do what I did, which was both)

[Andy Burns]

It got worse ... now it won't let me login at all, if I try to create a new account using the new account number (which includes letters and a hyphen) it insists that it has to be numeric only.

Given the prices seem to be going up from January, I held back from asking for more to be refunded.

[Andrew]

My neighbour, the ex mot tester had his own garage business from 1992 onwards. EDF cocked up the details of the new owner and never sent him a bill for 10 years, then tried to bill for the missing 10 years. He told them where to go, because they had not sent him an invoice or bill. They backed down. :-)

[Andrew]

If the person dealing with it is a job sharer and working from home 1 day a week, then could mean 10 weeks.

[Andy Burns]

It seems as though they're handling their own systems upgrade as though I'm leaving EDF and re-joining EDF

"Coming up

Your final bill (for 05 September 2023 - 20 November 2023)

We'll send your final bill as soon as we get your closing meter reading(s) from your new supplier."

[Davey]

I thought AI was going to make all this easy. Didn't Elon say that soon all manual work would be eliminated? That only means that you will ever be able to talk to a real live human when all else fails.

[Davey]

OVO insist on making my billing date the 15/16th of the month, but they always change the rates on the 1st. So almost every bill has two different rates of usage and standing charge. It is at least followable, unlike the BT bills that finally drove me away from them, which seemed like a version of the three-card trick. They were impossible to unravel.

I fit was costing me money, I would delve deeper, but as far as I can see, it is if anything to my advantage.

I resist a 'smartmeter' on the basis that I don't want to be forced to do something that is going to do nothing for me that I can't do already, by logging my readings daily. The reports of operational failures alone are horrifying, thank goodness we don't rely on the technology for national security.

[alan_m]

99.99+% of people don't read their meter daily and the stories about erroneous billing were around long before the first smart meter was installed. Friends of mine had a (traditional) meter replaced with another (traditional) meter and the utility company didn't register the meter change. They assumed that the old meter had reached the maximum value and rolled over to zero again. The result was a huge bill which took many months and intervention from the ombudsman to sort out.

[Spike]

Something similar happened to me, when the meter reader interchanged the day and night readings from the E7 meter, and I got a bill for the huge amount (in those days) of £5000+. It took two years to resolve and it was only because of the dedicated work of a young lady called Michelle, who had to spend a full afternoon in ‘the basement’ working up the real bills by hand, because in the interim the computer systems had changed.

Up to that point no amount of pointing out that we used 4000 units a year for decades, and there was nothing we could have done to use the amount of electricity they were billing for, would persuade them otherwise.

I’ve no idea why Michelle took on the job, but I was extremely grateful she did so.

[Roger]

Because it doesn't suit me.

No, thank you, that is not what I want.

[Davey]

Amazingly, my refund appeared in my bank account a few days after I applied for it, certainly in less than 10 days.