Hundreds of Brits have slammed Ovo Energy after TV star Victoria Coren Mitchell claimed the company ‘wrongly’ took thousands of pounds from her bank account.
Victoria, the wife of comedian David Mitchell, this week threatened the energy provider with legal action after claiming it took money ‘that they were not owed’.
The British writer and presenter claimed she has been driven ‘personally to despair’ by the firm, sharing her outrage with her 700,000 followers on X.
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Reacting to her post, hundreds of social media users shared their own horror stories with the ‘useless’ energy company, with many claiming large sums of money have been incorrectly taken from them.
Pensioner Jeanette Lentle told she has had ‘constant’ emails from Ovo demanding hundreds of pounds that are not owed – all while dealing with the loss of her husband from lung cancer.
TV star Victoria Coren Mitchell threatened Ovo Energy with legal action after claiming it took ‘thousands of pounds that they were not owed’
Hundreds of social media users have shared their horror stories with Ovo Energy
‘Losing my husband was awful and now having this problem with OVO is not helping my mental health and makes me feel very vulnerable. I am 77-years-old and I really didn’t need this problem,’ she said.
‘Since January I have constantly had emails and letters asking for hundreds of pounds saying this is what I owe to them. The latest letter which I received last Friday had gone up to £550.00.
‘Each time since January when, I actually had lost my husband to lung cancer on the 3rd January, I have emailed or telephoned them asking for an explanation. Each time a different excuse was given and I was reassured it would not happen again.’
She added: ‘At the moment they owe me £120.00 which I have been assured I will receive within 10 days.’
Another Ovo customer told he received a bill of £305 for less than two weeks supply for his small two bedroom flat.
‘I moved into a small 2 bed flat lasted September with this electric company supplying my home, the weather was not too cold and we have electric wall heaters, our first bill was £185. September to October,’ he said.
‘£385 October to November, I contacted them stating this can’t be correct and needed my meter investigated, which was never done, I contacted British Gas to change supplier, I then received another bill for £305 for less than two weeks supply.’
Hundreds of customers took to X to share their issues with Ovo, with one writing: ‘I am currently in the same position, they have steadily built themselves a debt (nest egg) over the last eight months by charging me more than they have taken, this month they suddenly decided to charge me £444 for one month, I live in a two bed terraced house.’
Another said: ‘Ovo are absolutely useless. I am now having to reopen a formal complaint for the third time because they have emailed in error again after assuring me everything was sorted.’
Ofgem, the energy regulator, in August ordered Ovo to better its customer service amid concerns over the firm’s handling of complaints.
Which? currently gives Ovo a three-star rating on overall customer service, while energy firm Octopus is given five stars.
Writing on X this week, TV star Victoria posted: ‘I’ve reached the end of the road with Ovo Energy, the most terrible service provider I’ve ever encountered (and I’ve been served in a casino by a croupier who killed someone).
‘Nothing but legal action will do for them now. Sadly, we still need electricity. So I need advice.
‘No company could possibly be worse than Ovo Energy who, quite apart from the money they’ve wrongly taken, have driven me personally to despair.’
Victoria’s problems with the company come months after Sir Grayson Perry had a similar problem with energy firm EDF – claiming it emptied his bank account after his energy bill suddenly skyrocketed from £300 a month to £39,000 a month.
Hundreds of Ovo customers have slammed the company for their poor customer service
People have shared their problems with Ovo online, with some claiming the firm took more money from them than they were owed
The artist said he received 15 different bills ranging between £200 and £6,000 and was told that the money would be taken by direct debit for all of them at once.
Sir Grayson, 63, was then unable access his bank account because EDF was trying repeatedly to take that money out – and they emptied the £2,500 which was in it.
An OVO spokesperson said: ‘We’re always striving to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. Our teams work extremely hard to provide help and support and will continue to review lessons learned.’
Victoria conducted a poll of more than 33,000 users to see whether rival energy provider Octopus offered a better service, to which 87 per cent of people agreed.
One user wrote: ‘I have recently moved to Octopus Energy from another supplier. So happy with the customer service. Swap to them went very smoothly.’
Another said: ‘Highly recommend Octopus. As a vulnerable person they’ve been outstanding. Also had an email this morning to say rates are going down which is only a good thing’.
has contacted Ovo for further comment.
Have YOU had a similar experience? Email [email protected]