Thousands of energy customers are furious after they found out that they were locked out of their accounts until the end of the year.
Some Ovo Energy customers have taken to social media to complain that they can't log in to their online accounts to view their usage or access their gas and electricity bills.
Ovo said they migrating a small number of customers to a new website and the issue affected a very small percentage of customers.
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However, several have taken to Twitter to air their frustrations at the company, which supplies 4.5m households and is the UK's fifth biggest energy firm. It is set to gain an additional 200,000 customers by the end of this year when it winds down its pay-as-you-go arm, Boost Power.
A message on the supplier's website read: "We're working on a new website for you. We're in the process of migrating groups of customers to our new website so access to your online account won't be available until the end of 2023. If you've got any other questions please contact us via one of the methods available on our contact us page and we'll be happy to help."
But Ovo customers have taken to social media to complain about the migration, which means they can't log in to see how much energy they have used or view their bills. Ovo will continue to send bills by email and post.
@nickjpaul1 said: "Has anyone else experienced this? #ovoenergy turned off website, no replacement til end of year!", while @orangutanwriter said: "I'm with #OVO energy they have shut down their website till the end of the year. I can't see my proper usage, correct my DD or just about anything else. is this accessible behaviour as it appears it's a way to avoid consumer scrutiny of their accounts?"
Ovo Energy told The Sun that customers affected by the issue won't be able to access their online accounts during the migration, and instead will be expected to contact the Ovo Energy support team to submit meter readings. Customers can do this via the online chat on the energy supplier's website or by calling 0330 175 9676.
An Ovo Energy spokesperson said: "We're migrating a small number of customers to a new website. We're aiming to move all customers as soon as possible and will keep them updated."
Ovo Energy was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick in September 2009 and by 2017 provided energy to over 700,000 households. In September 2017, the company launched Boost as a dedicated brand for its prepayment meter customers. It aquired Spark Energy in November 2018 and and bought the domestic arm of SSE in January 2020.
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Earlier this month, Ovo said it would wipe out debt for hundreds of Boost Power customers after a smart meter glitch left them with shock bills of up to £700. Households were horrified to receive emails and letters asking them for large sums of money after the were undercharged through no fault of their own when a 'technical issue' meant that their smart meters did not record the new prices when energy costs rose in October last year.
The supplier, which is closing later this year, apologised for the error and confirmed that it will remove all of the debts aftert originally telling customers they would have to be paid.
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