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EbSax
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February 4, 2023
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Monthly direct debit unaffordable for me

  • February 4, 2023
  • 11 replies
  • 1260 views

In July 2022, I was moved to the simpler energy variable plan (electricity only), as my previous fixed 2 year plan had ended.  I didn't have any choice in this as I couldn't afford any other fixed rate plan on offer.  I’m on a Smart Meter.  Direct debit payments were steadily increased until in Jan this year I reached the limit of what I could afford.  I cancelled my direct debit, paid the Feb bill by credit card a day early and have now set up a Standing Order for the maximum I can afford to start 1st of next month.  My latest usage tells me I’m in credit to the tune of nearly £50.  I was paying 0.32p per kwh but since my DD was cancelled Ovo have increased this to 0.36p which of course has only made my life harder.  You can’t get hold of anyone to speak to and the only time I managed that they were utterly useless.  I’ve sent emails but have never had a response or even an acknowledgement, the (edited by moderator) Chat Bot is useless.  I have to go with an SO because I need to manage my finances, not OVO.  Bills are being paid but I’m being penalised and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about this except wait for 8 weeks and then speak to OfGem.  Is anyone else having this kind of a problem?

Best answer by Jeffus

Updated on 16/06/25 by Ben_OVO 

 

 

Customer support package and where to apply. 

 

Hi @EbSax 

I am afraid by cancelling your Direct Debit, you were then put on a higher rate automatically.

I suggest you call the OVO Collections team and see if they can work out a payment plan that you can afford on direct debit. By getting back on a Direct Debit plan they should put you back on the lower direct debit rate. 

0800 0699 831

The Collections team should work with you to come up with a payment plan you can hopefully afford. 

Don't use the normal phone number or chat, use the OVO Collections number in this situation. 

Unfortunately the OFGEM rule say suppliers can charge more if you don't pay by Direct Debit. You are simply being charged the higher rate that Ofgem themselves set. So you can't complain about the higher unit rate if you cancelled the DD. 

See if the Collections team can come up with a reasonable DD for you to pay off any debt over a reasonable time. 

If you have put in a complaint, you don't take it to Ofgem after 8 weeks if you are not happy. Ofgem don't look at individual complaints, you take your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.

The cost of energy is very likely to go up again on 1st April before falling hopefully on 1st July. Fingers crossed things will get easy for us all then.

Please do ask any questions and we will  see if we can help. 

I don't work for OVO, i am just a customer like you

11 replies

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Ben_OVO
Community Manager
Ben_OVO
Community Manager
March 19, 2025

Hi ​@cooper,

 

I’m sorry to hear of what’s happened here and what you’re going through with your husband. We don’t have access to customer accounts here on the Forum so we can only give our advice on what to do. Ultimately it’s our Support Team that you’ll need to speak to get this resolved. If the account is in debt you’re potentially being re-routed to our Collections team if you’re calling. My advice would be to use Webchat, or to email hello@ovoenergy.com, as you’ll then get through to Customer Services who’ll be able to fully diagnose the situation. If you’re not getting the help you need you can ask to log a complaint.

 

When you contact Support ask them to check over your readings, and to make sure that we have a photo of the closing reading from your old meter. It may be that something is wrong here, but it could also be that we didn’t receive readings for a long time, and underestimated the usage. If the latter is the case then the debt on the account will stand and, in this scenario, you’d need to contact our Collections team to request a payment plan. They’ll ensure that you’re only paying an amount which you can afford, irrespective of the amount of debt on the account. From what you’ve said it sounds like these conversations haven’t been had. 

 

To sum up:

 

  1. Contact Support via email or webchat and ask if the billing is correct, and if they have billed you to removal reads from your old meter(s)
  2. If the billing is incorrect you can then request to make a complaint, which should expedite things
  3. If the billing and debt is correct you’ll need to speak to Collections to get a payment plan set up. They’ll also advise what other support can be given 

 

I’d also highly recommend signing up to our Priority Services Register if you haven’t already. Best of luck with this, I hope you get some answers quickly. Please be reassured that, if the debt is correct, our Collections team will be able to set up a payment amount based upon your circumstances and what you can afford. If there are any billing issues that need to be fixed, our Support team will put all billing on hold whilst everything gets resolved.

 

Best wishes to you and your husband, and please do reach out if you have any further questions.

 

 

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