Smart meter not so clever as customer left in limbo
Susan Renton is breathing a sigh of relief after Raw Deal helped resolve a 16-month billing dispute with her energy company.
Due to a faulty smart meter the NHS worker, from Ormiston, East Lothian, couldn’t get an idea of what she owed her supplier OVO for electricity and worried the charges would go through the roof when the new price cap arrived.
Susan, 69, hadn’t paid electricity costs since November 2020 because of the problem with her meter.
“I was on a fixed rate of £90 per month for gas and electricity until April 2023,” she said. “OVO had been taking the money monthly but only the gas was showing as paid. I appeared to have £1,000 of credit which showed on my online bill and OVO kept telling me this credit would be used to pay my electric when they got it sorted out.
“But they couldn’t tell me when that would be. I contacted them several times in 2021 but it was never resolved. They claimed it was a blip in their system.
“Given the huge energy prices rises I needed to know where I was with my usage and pay my bill. I didn’t want any nasty surprises.”
At the end of her tether, Susan turned to Raw Deal. The good news is that after we contacted OVO, they quickly to sort out her issues. Susan has had confirmation that her electricity charges have now been paid and she is going forward with her account £700 in credit. She was also given £125 in compensation for her troubles.
OVO said the problems had been down to a technical issue: “Due to a shortfall in service, this wasn’t adequately addressed and communicated with Mrs Renton. We have apologised for the inconvenience caused.”
Susan said she was grateful to the Raw Deal team for stepping in. She added: “Raw Deal came up trumps.”