A HUGE energy brand that supplies 200,000 households with gas and electricity is to close later this year.
Boost Power, Ovo Energy’s prepayment meter subsidiary will wind down its business within months.
All Boost customers will be automatically moved over to Ovo Energy later this year
Customers will move over to Ovo Energy to ensure that they receive the same benefits offered to its existing customer base.
The energy giant which is part of the “Big Six”, has started communicating with affected customers this month.
Boost’s 200,000 customer base does not need to do anything as their accounts will be migrated over to Ovo Energy automatically.
It comes after some customers confirmed that they had received a letter stating that their account will be moved over to the parent brand from May 20.
An OVO spokesperson said: “We’re ready to welcome our Boost customers to OVO Energy where they will receive new, green benefits – all free or at a discounted price.
“As part of our new Path to Zero offering, customers can receive energy insights, advice on how to reduce unnecessary energy usage, upgrade or improve their boiler, and use energy-efficient technology.”
Ovo Energy was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick in September 2009 and by 2017 provided energy tariffs to over 700,000 households.
In September 2017, the company launched Boost as a dedicated brand for its prepayment meter customers.
Customers on prepayment meters top up using a key, card or app for energy they use, rather than being billed later on.
They are often installed in low-income households to help manage their bills better.
The company established itself as the first truly smart prepayment platform in the UK, removing the need for inconvenient card or key top-up systems, and instead letting customers add credit through a smartphone app linked to a smart meter.
In November 2018, Ovo Energy acquired Spark Energy and in January 2020 it bought the domestic arm of SSE which catapulted the brand to become part of the “Big Six”.
Ovo Energy supplies 4.5million households with gas and electricity across the UK.
The closure of Boost Power comes in the same week that customers were left furious after being hit with surprise bills saying that they owe money.
A meter glitch at the firm has landed some households on prepayment meters with debts of as much as £700.
Affected customers have received emails and letters from Boost telling them they must pay back the cash after being incorrectly charged.
The message said: “Unfortunately, when our prices went up in October, your meter wasn’t updated due to a technical problem.
“This means that we were charging you less than we should have for a short period of time. We’re sorry about this.”
“You’ll need to pay the difference in price for energy you’ve used. But we’re reducing this amount by 10% to say sorry for the mistake.”
Mother-of-two Suzanne Ekpenyong, 41 has been left furious after the energy company placed a £307 debt on her meter.
Suzanne who’s self-employed and lives in Woodford in East London told HOAR: “I was absolutely fuming to receive a letter in the post explaining that Boost has added a £300 debt to my meter because of their own mistake.”
The move means that every time Suzanne tops up, £5 is taken to pay off the debt.
She usually tops up £20 on her electricity meter each week but from now on only £15 will be used to go towards her electricity usage.
The remaining cash will automatically go towards paying the money back.
It’s another unexpected cost for the family during the cost of living crisis.
Suzanne is one of the hundreds affected by the glitch according to posts on social media – but not everyone has been asked to pay the money back.
Vulnerable customers and those who already had an existing debt of more than £500 with Boost have had the debt waived.
Back-billing rules set out by the energy regulator Ofgem state that suppliers can charge households for gas or electricity used less than 12 months ago if they have not been correctly billed for it.
But suppliers must work with you to agree on a payment plan you can afford under Ofgem rules.
If you’re affected by the Boost glitch and are unhappy with the prepayment plan you are entitled to ask for a review of your payments and debt repayments.
