Edinburgh single mum says she is still due nearly £1,500 from energy supplier OVO despite ombudsman ruling

An Edinburgh single mum of two is fighting to get the near £1,500 she is due from her energy provider for overpayment, to allow her to pay her energy bills.

Gemma Brown, 40, from Southside, is due overpayments back from OVO Energy of £700 and £600, as well as a £150 goodwill payment. Despite an ombudsman getting involved and OVO accepting responsibility, Gemma is still to receive the money.

She said: "I have overpaid for my energy bills as they have not been asking for meter readings at my home. It's a pre-payment meter so this shouldn't happen.

"I put a post on Facebook about it and other people have said they had the same issue with OVO, so it's not just me.

"This was supposed to be resolved on November 5 last year, and I have still not had the money back. They did however apologise and admitted liability.

"I messaged them again on Monday, as well as the ombudsman, as this should have been sorted by now. I was supposed to have been paid the money back in 10 working days.

"The ombudsman has told OVO they need to resolve this matter.

"It's quite a lot of money they took from me, especially during a cost of living crisis. They are due me all that money and I find it pretty ironic that I desperately need that money to pay my bills, as losing that money is making it difficult to pay them."

Gemma, who doesn't work as she suffers from hypomobility and PTSD, but still volunteers in the local community, was keen to highlight this issue, as she is worried that others worse off than herself might have the same problem.

She said: "It's nearly a year ago I think this has been going on, at least six months plus, that I have been fighting to get this money back.

"Christmas could have been better for my kids with that money.

"I just wanted to highlight this issue, as there could be more vulnerable people out there that this issue is also affecting.

"A lot of people probably wouldn't fight this as they don't have the time or energy, so I want to raise awareness of what OVO are doing to their customers, and I really hope that nobody more vulnerable is affected."

An OVO spokesperson said: “We’ve reached out to Ms Brown to request meter readings so we can confirm the balance and issue a refund, if there’s credit on the account. We’re very sorry for any confusion.”