A LOCAL woman has criticised energy supplier, OVO, for failing to honour their boiler cover service when her boiler broke down, leaving her without central heating for almost two weeks.
The resident, who lives in Frome, says that following her ageing boiler breaking down, she was informed that her SSE Home Services (part of OVO) boiler cover was no longer valid. The company said they were unable to provide “suitable cover” as they couldn’t source the parts to fix the issue.
OVO gave a partial refund on the cost of the cover (£184.86), but added that there are no engineers in the entire BA area available to fit a new boiler until March.
The resident, who is in her 70s, says she was then forced to rely on blankets and a small Dimplex heater to keep her warm for almost two weeks. Finally, she was able to find a local engineer who got her heating working again, but she will need to replace the boiler soon.
She said, “I pay good money each year to this company with the intention that they are there to help fix my boiler when I need it and that certainly isn’t the case. They’ve been making me pay for something that it turns out they were never going to honour.
“I’ve gone through all the terms and conditions of my boiler cover of what it does and does not cover – there is no reason why they couldn’t help. I will not be renewing my cover and I urge others to do the same. They’ve been taking my money for years, only to say they can’t help the one time I need it.
“I visited my doctor recently and because I have dangerously high blood pressure and the cold has been affecting this, he was trying to get me into a hospital so I could be monitored, but thankfully I convinced him not to.”
On their website, OVO claim to offer an annual home boiler service, as well as access to a nationwide network of Gas Safe engineers. The resident says this isn’t the case.
She added, “I am also paying for my boiler to be serviced annually, but when I rang up to find out why they hadn’t visited me for over two years, I was told that they had forgotten about me as a result of a backlog due to Covid.
“I feel bad for making such a fuss, but I hope this draws attention to this issue as I know I’m not the only one who is having issues. I took my complaints online and found that there are so many people waiting to be seen by an engineer or those that are still waiting for OVO to service their boiler.”
The resident took to social media to see if others had similar issues with OVO and she received over 50 comments from people who have had similar issues, as well as many saying they haven’t had a boiler service for years.
Frome Times contacted OVO for a comment.
