OVO seems to have a truly strange method for billing. We are told that we are £94.17 in debit on 11 July 2019 and they urge us therefore to increase our monthly payments to £125 from £109, and yet the day after, on the 12th. July, our payment of £109 goes in, resulting in a balance of £14.83 credit. There doesn't seem any facility to alter our DD date to, say, 10th. of the month, which would then change a large debit to a credit. We are hardly using any energy for goodness sake and now OVO are suggesting increasing our payments when five minutes ago their projection was that we were over paying.
My brother emailed me to say they had found a great new green aware supplier in something called Octopus Energy. I told him we were happy with OVO. I need to think again, sadly.
We are deeply disappointed in OVO
Userlevel 1
A
Hello
It is possible to change your direct debit date but you have to call or email OVO to do this, you cannot do it on the website.
Direct debits take a day or two to appear on your account so you would need to set it to go out a few days before your monthly statement is due to ensure that the direct debit credit for this month appears on this months statement.
The other point I would make is that when you only have a very small credit balance after your direct debit is taken, the direct debit that OVO suggest will fluctuate more wildly as your balance changes. The reason for this is that OVO are trying to make sure the direct debits cover your bills for the whole year. At the moment in summer you are most likely using much less gas/electricity than you do in winter. If your direct debits are big enough to create a surplus at this time of year, it will ensure you do not need a much bigger direct debit increase during the winter to cover the increased use at that time.
The other benefit of a credit balance with Ovo is that they pay you a better rate of interest on your credit than you can get from the bank.
It is possible to change your direct debit date but you have to call or email OVO to do this, you cannot do it on the website.
Direct debits take a day or two to appear on your account so you would need to set it to go out a few days before your monthly statement is due to ensure that the direct debit credit for this month appears on this months statement.
The other point I would make is that when you only have a very small credit balance after your direct debit is taken, the direct debit that OVO suggest will fluctuate more wildly as your balance changes. The reason for this is that OVO are trying to make sure the direct debits cover your bills for the whole year. At the moment in summer you are most likely using much less gas/electricity than you do in winter. If your direct debits are big enough to create a surplus at this time of year, it will ensure you do not need a much bigger direct debit increase during the winter to cover the increased use at that time.
The other benefit of a credit balance with Ovo is that they pay you a better rate of interest on your credit than you can get from the bank.
Userlevel 1
Thanks for this Phil.
The point is we expected to have a healthy credit balance by now as we are using even less energy than we might expect in the summer, but it seems the balance is going in the opposite direction.
I will try contacting OVO and ask if the DD can be taken several days before the bill date.
We shall see what happens.
Thanks again.
Buzz
The point is we expected to have a healthy credit balance by now as we are using even less energy than we might expect in the summer, but it seems the balance is going in the opposite direction.
I will try contacting OVO and ask if the DD can be taken several days before the bill date.
We shall see what happens.
Thanks again.
Buzz
Userlevel 6
+4
Really sorry to hear you feel this way, @buzzhunter . @Phil_H is right, you can change your DD date, but only by getting in touch with us.
It does sound like the higher DD suggestion has been triggered by the debit balance on your account just before your next monthly payment clears. If you move your payments to a few days before you bill, then this issue should be resolved :)
Cheers
It does sound like the higher DD suggestion has been triggered by the debit balance on your account just before your next monthly payment clears. If you move your payments to a few days before you bill, then this issue should be resolved :)
Cheers
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