OVO Customer Settlement
OVO Energy Reaches £10.4 Million Settlement with Ofgem for Failing Vulnerable Customers
Energy regulator Ofgem has closed its investigation into OVO Energy after finding that the supplier’s monitoring failures for vulnerable prepayment meter customers—including those on the Priority Services Register—could have exposed them to a clear risk of harm. Under a settlement agreed with the regulator, OVO will pay £7 million into Ofgem’s Voluntary Redress Fund and provide £3.4 million of credit and debt relief for some of its most vulnerable customers instead of direct compensation. Ofgem also said OVO is paying an additional £1.1 million to customers in the Scottish Highlands and Islands after rural households were not consistently given appropriate access to engineer support between January 2022 and April 2024. Ofgem concluded that inadequate monitoring and related process issues meant the company could miss signs of vulnerability, though it noted that prepayment meters can work well for many customers when robust oversight is in place. OVO said it undertook remedial steps during the investigation, including welfare visits for certain customers who had been disconnected for extended periods without responses.
Key Points
Ofgem’s Cathryn Scott said prepayment meters can be a “positive choice” for many customers because they help people “stay in control” and have “high levels of satisfaction,” but she added they are “not suitable for everyone” and require “strong monitoring” to protect vulnerable households.
Ofgem said customers who are due payments as part of the settlement “will be contacted by OVO Energy and do not need to take any action.”
In addition to inadequate monitoring, Ofgem found OVO failed to “consistently monitor and accurately record customers’ interactions,” with “evidence and key checks not always carried out.”
Ofgem also identified issues with OVO staff training materials, which at times were described as “uncle…”, as part of the wider process failures connected to oversight of vulnerable prepayment meter customers.
The settlement was announced while OVO is in the process of being acquired by German energy company E.ON under a deal described as set to create one of Britain’s largest energy suppliers.
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