Why am I being forced to change my Direct Debit?

OVO have “suggested” I increase my direct debit amount, despite being over £900 in credit- can I just leave my amount at its current level? At least until I am at £0?

Hi @isatkinson ,

You do have this option but you’ll need to call OVO to request a three month Direct Debit freeze. The Collections Team can arrange this for you, if you call 0800 069 9831 they can discuss whether this is the right move.

Hi @isatkinson,

Welcome to the OVO online community.

I can see you’ve already met @Blastoise186 one of our volunteers. Great to see our community members giving you some tip-top advice. 

Just wanted to step in here and add; if OVO are suggesting you increase your direct debit it sounds like you may have recently fixed into a new plan on the higher rates or are on the Simpler Variable Plan with prices set to go up in October. 

Here are some resources you may find helpful:

The direct debit review takes into account any credit balances you have on your account. If you are on a fixed rate contract it is worked out to ensure when your plan comes to an end there is a £0 balance on your account. 

If you are on the Simpler Variable Plan it is worked out over an annual period to ensure there are no large spikes in your bill over the winter period. 

We know that direct debits aren’t for everyone and if you would prefer to pay on receipt of your bill you can opt to go onto the Simpler Variable Plan on demand plan. It is more expensive than the Simpler Plan paid by direct debit. 

It is worth mentioning you can request a refund up to £500 at any time through your online account as long as the following are met:

• Have been billed within the last 28 days to an actual reading

• Have an active Direct Debit with at least one payment received from that bank account

• Request a refund of over £5

• Request a refund up to £500

• Leave a remaining balance of at least one month's Direct Debit

Refunds can be requested through your online account by following these steps:

• Go to the Payments tab and click 'Apply for a refund'

• Choose the amount you wish to have refunded

Keep us posted with how you get on! 

I'm beyond frustrated with this forced adjustment to my direct debit, the reasoning apparently being that they project I'm going to more than double my useage (both gas and electric) over winter. Except I've been with OVO literally a few months and every single month I've been using half the average household's energy. 

They literally predict I'm going to use more energy in June than I am this month (because there's no way to bs about my actual useage so far this month!), it makes no sense. Plus I'm forced to try and argue my point over a badly designed chat system during work hours…

How the hell do I remove this forced increase?

If you can stand it for a bit longer try submitting meter readings weekly so the system sets your usage lower than it appears to be doing now. If you have a smart meter then that’ll happen gradually anyway and eventually it’ll settle into a correct dd pattern.

Also, if you have a Smart Meter, try asking OVO to set it to Half-Hourly Readings to help it get the most accurate data in. This will accelerate the process of repairing your DD way faster than Monthly readings can!

If you still think the increase is wrong, call OVO’s Collection Team on 0800 069 9831 and request a Direct Debit Review Suspension, which lasts three months.

If you absolutely cannot stand paying by DD and don’t have the patience to wait a few months for things to fix themselves properly, your only option is to pay on-demand, but this will cost you at least another £200 a year.

It's already doing daily readings from what I can see, how do I increase the frequency? Can't see an option to increase it at all.

I'll give the collections team a call

OVO can change the settings for you. OVO is happy to explore making it self service though.

If you’d like to see that happen, upvote this idea. :)

I’ve been with OVO a few years now and am £450 in credit, despite this they have increased my Direct Debit. I’ve tried to get it reduced but they’re only willing to reduce it by 15% unless I speak to the collections department (I’m not struggling to pay the bill).

Very frustrating. I’m not sure why I’m being treated like a pre-payment customer and I can’t just pay for what I use?

Ooh, @Sunelectric if you’ve been with OVO some years you’ll get interest on your credit balance (of up to £1000), not massive but more than you’ll get in a bank.

Hey @Ringo Cheung,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community.

If you’re on the variable tariff, your rates would have increased significantly in April and again in October. So your direct debit would be adjusted based on the increased rates.

At this point in the year, if you pay by direct debit we’d expect your account balance to be in credit. This is because the direct debit is an average for throughout the year. So your additional credit you build up over the summer months will pay for your extra consumption over winter. 

If you log into your Online Account, you’ll be able to see the exact formula which works out your direct debit. We have a great tutorial on this topic:

We have a live billing system so whenever you submit a read or we get a reading from your smart meter your account balance will update accordingly. If you haven’t submitted a read for a while, I'd advise doing so or your account balance will be based on estimates. 

If you’d rather pay higher bills in winter and have a refund of your credit you can do so if you’re on the Simpler Variable Tariff. But if you are on a fixed plan you pay monthly in advance so you’d need to keep one months direct debit in the account as credit. Here is a helpful guide on how to do so:

Hope this helps.

Hey @Sunelectric,

Sorry for the issues you’re having. 

If you’re on the Simpler Variable tariff, the direct debit is worked out over the year so it may be due to the significant price increase in April and again in October. We are also about to enter the winter period. The direct debit review tool on the Online Account will tell you exactly how your direct debit is calculated:

You can contact the Collections Team and ask for your direct debit to be put on hold for the next 3 months, meaning they won’t review or increase it for that period. You can opt to go onto the Simpler Variable on demand, with this plan you can pay on receipt of the bill but it’s more expensive. You also have the option of getting a refund. We have a great guide about this topic here:

Hope this helps. 

Iv only been with Ovo since being moved from SSE and there a nightmare! You cant speak to a human unless your willing to wait 191 in a queue!  I live alone I'm disabled and on UC and today they raised my Direct Debit to£175  that could put me in arrears! So had no alternative had to cancel direct debit they say they want to help how is that helping me!

@Lesley57 

I’d advise not to cancel your direct debit - it will increase your prices approximately 8.6%.

Better to use the Direct Debit guarantee to reclaim any incorrect debits - contact you bank to instantly reverse any unjustified debits.

However, prices this winter will be double those of last winter and that has to be reflected in billing and Direct Debits.  The issue then comes down to whether your Direct Debit has been correctly computed.  Your disability and Universal credit status might be factored in by OVO, although I doubt it.  Is the forecast of your consumption correct, and are the prices used correct?

I would rather hold on to my money and save up enough for payments than let them hold on to it

You may want to talk to the job centre and OVO about Fuel Direct as well. It’ll likely help you out.

Hey @Lesley57,

Sorry about the issues you’ve had.

It’s a really stressful time and I’m sorry to hear of your concerns. I’d advise contacting our Collections Team if the direct debit is too high.

Have you heard of OVO’s Customer Support Package? 

I’d also advise getting added to the Priority Services Register if you aren’t already.

@meldrewreborn has made some good points here, it is more expensive to pay on receipt of the bill. Unfortunately prices have increased significantly since last winter. 

Hope this helps. 

Hi,

I'm feeling very stressed as, having only increased my direct debit yesterday, there is what looks like a generic note on my online account info to say that this increase does not look like it will cover their projections (which have already HALVED on a couple of months ago!) and a further minimum of £40 is required on an account which was and is in credit! They seem to be implying that unless I do this, it will be done automatically. This is all truly very intimidating.

As a pensioner, living with the chronic condition of M.E. which requires a constant, not high, temperature, so that my precious energy is not lost by adjusting to fluctuating temperatures, I'm afraid I find this approach unacceptable. Stress exacerbates my condition also and this is proving extremely stressful. Frankly, I feel bullied. Surely this is not how OVO want their loyal customers, indeed any customers, to feel? 

Any suggestions?

Thanks! 🙏

Hi @Technophobe As a start to answer your question How accurate are ‘projections’?, it’s important that your meter readings are accurate. Do you have a smart meter ? If not, are you sending regular meter readings ? They, along with your Future Annual Consumption figure, are used to calculate your Direct Debit. 

Yes I have a smart meter and having just checked my readings have been successfully received and I have nothing to do. My account is in credit and will run over next Spring and Sunmer when it is likely to be even more in credit. I object to what reads as threatening communication a day after I have increased my direct debit. Is it worth writing to Customer Services?

Have you been an OVO customer for long @Technophobe ? Is the system still getting used to your pattern of usage ? I would be tempted to ignore that message if you’ve just raised your direct debit amount. You could enquire with customer services but leave it till maybe Tuesday afternoon when it’s quieter on the phone lines, it seems Mondays are incredibly busy, more stress you don’t need! 

I was switched from SSE to OVO last year. Thanks for the heads-up re Customer Services. I think I'll write. My receptive language is not so great with the reactivity of the phone. I hope they respond to letters. The snail mail address is provided as a method of contact. Thanks again.

I find the section where I get to choose a new monthly direct debit of between £155 and £2000 (!) disturbing. It cannot be less than £155 and I presume isn't set up to accept less. Does OVO really have to hit me with this TWO DAYS after I've only just increased again? I really am not worried about any excess come the end of my current plan as a) I don't think there will be one after the Spring and Summer and b) I'm happy to clear any excess should it arise. I truly don't believe it will be what it is projected as being at the moment. I need my finances tight right now, as everyone does and not have to be paying out extra on vague projections which have already HALVED in recent weeks. I have written to Customer Services by snail mail sending it "Sign For", an additional outlay I could have done without, but I hope they see from this that I am taking the situation seriously, that it is important to me.