Ofgem tells energy company Ovo it must take action based on customer complaints
Ofgem tells energy company Ovo it must take action based on customer complaints
- Watchdog says Ovo needs to address existing complaints and reduce new ones
- Concerns raised by the Citizens Advice team and the Energy Ombudsman
- It follows a This is Money investigation into customer billing issues with Ovo
The energy regulator has told Ovo Energy it must improve its handling of complaints after ‘serious concerns’ were raised by a Citizens Advice team working with vulnerable customers.
Pressure on Ofgem to take action against the Bristol-based energy company has increased after This is Money sent it a file of 200 customer complaints in recent months, with many believing they were not billed correctly.
Our investigation is ongoing.
Ofgem has opened a “compliance engagement” with Ovo, saying it would work closely with the company to “assess any harm that may arise to customers” and set clear expectations and improvement targets.
Concerns: Ofgem says Ovo should address outstanding customer complaints and reduce cases referred to the Energy Ombudsman
Ovo will be required to handle all outstanding customer complaints, reduce the time it takes to resolve issues and reduce the number of referrals to the Energy Ombudsman and Citizen Advice.
If Ofgem does not see improvements in Ovo’s performance, it says it will consider further steps, including enforcement action.
In addition to our case file, concerns have also been raised by the Citizens Advice Extra Help Unit, which works with vulnerable energy customers in Scotland, and by the Energy Ombudsman himself.
Ofgem said: ‘The Energy Ombudsman is concerned that Ovo is having difficulties implementing the Energy Ombudsman’s remedies in relation to complaints referred to him.
“We understand that, despite the involvement of the Energy Ombudsman, this situation has gotten worse over time.
“The Extra Help Unit, which assists vulnerable clients, reported that Ovo was responsible for a significant portion of the open cases and is an outlier for old cases.”
In the cases we sent to Ofgem and Ovo, some have said their monthly direct debit payments have been increased by hundreds of pounds a month, while others have had ‘balance adjustments’ of hundreds or even thousands of pounds, without any explanation. what these were for.
One of them told us that her usual monthly bill of $150 for one month alone had risen to $3,600.
Improvements needed: Ovo has also been told by the regulator to reduce the time it takes customers to resolve their complaints
The opening of the compliance case does not imply that Ofgem has made any findings about non-compliance by Ovo – the company that acquired SSE in January 2020.
Ofgem said: ‘When customers have a problem, it is important that suppliers take steps to put things right.
“We expect all customer complaints to be received, handled and processed in a timely and efficient manner in accordance with relevant regulations and Ovo’s licensing obligations.
“Ofgem takes customer service and complaint handling very seriously and is disappointed with the lack of progress Ovo is making in resolving these issues.
An Ovo spokesperson added: “Ofgem has not identified any form of non-compliance by Ovo in this matter.
“We continue to put a serious emphasis on the support we provide to our customers and have assured Ofgem of this.”