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Why am I being forced to change my Direct Debit?

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
August 8, 2017
107 replies
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Anyone else being forced to change their direct debit due to 'impending debt'?
Apparently OVO don't think my current direct debit level will cover the final amount owing for the year, so they've already sent me two letters from their Collections Department, talking about 'how much debt' they think I will have if I don't rectify my payment. Bear in mind I haven't missed a payment and have been pretty good at giving monthly readings, so I'm not in 'debt', as they so succinctly put it, they just think I will be, despite the 'shortfall' being quite manageable.
OK, so I acquiesce to this veiled threat from Collections and attempt to increase my direct debit payment. But it turns out I can't choose what that level is, they decide based on what they think I'm going to owe.
This would be great, however their projections for what they think my overall useage will be have been found to be wildly inaccurate.

OVO, I'm a grown-ass man, I think I should be allowed to decide whether I think I need to change my direct debit payment and to which level - or, conversely, receive a bill at the end of the year to cover any shortfall - it should be my choice.

Undoubtedly you will come back and regale us with the usual corporate flannel - 'well we do this to protect the customer form big bills', 'we've only got your best interests at heart', 'some people don't like being surprised by a big bill at the end of the year'.

I've got to say, I switched from British Gas for a similar reason (and received a massive payment at the end for their continued incompetence regarding estimated bills), but my experience thus far has not been much better, which is a damning endictment given the corporate ineptitude that British Gas display daily.

As an aside, the app is still rubbish. You've been trying to fix the thing for months now, to no avail. Maybe funnel some resources in to interface management as opposed to haranguing customers for mythical debt.

Best answer by Lucy_OVO

Updated on 10/06/25 by Abby_OVO

How do Direct Debits work?

A Direct Debit is an automatic monthly payment set up with your bank or building society. You can choose which day you want the payment to go out each month, and your bank will sort the rest.

Once your Direct Debit is set up, you don’t need to do anything else to make your payments.

Why paying by Direct Debit is the best way to pay

Direct Debit is usually the simplest and cheapest way to pay for your energy. This is because:

You don’t have to remember to make payments each month – it’s all done automatically
You’ll get a cheaper rate if you’re on our variable Simpler Energy tariff
You’ll pay the same every month for your energy, which can help with budgeting
A Direct Debit spreads your energy costs evenly over the year, which means you’re less likely to have to pay more in winter

How does OVO work out my monthly Direct Debit?

The aim is to make sure you have credit for 1 month’s payment in your OVO account by the end of March. This is to help cover any change in your home energy use over the course of the year.

For new customers, this only comes into effect once you’ve reached March. When you first join, the aim is to make sure you have no balance left to pay after 1 year.

How do we check you’re paying the right amount?

Your Direct Debit payment amount will be regularly reviewed to make sure it still covers your home’s energy use.

We’ll let you know if your Direct Debit amount needs to change to keep your energy account balance up to date.

Why is my Direct Debit increasing when my balance is in credit?

It’s normal for a credit balance to build up in your energy account over summer, when energy use is usually lower. This credit can help pay for your energy in winter, when most homes use more. It helps you spread your energy costs over time.

Even if your energy account is in credit, sometimes your Direct Debit payments still need to increase.

This could be the case if we’ve worked out that your OVO account is likely to have a debt balance long term – based on how much energy your home is predicted to use.

You can always choose to get a credit refund if you prefer. Request one at any time in your online account, in our app, or over the phone. You just need to leave credit in there for 1 month’s payment. This is in line with our refund policy.

It’s important you have all the info, then you can decide what’s best for you.

If you request a refund online, sometimes we’ll need to confirm this over the phone. This is to make sure you have the details of how it’ll affect your energy account.
Getting a refund might mean your Direct Debit payments will need to increase, once your account has less credit in it.

Check out our Direct Debit “check in” process here.

We’ve got lots of handy topics all about Direct Debits so check those out too:

Is there any support available if I’m struggling to pay for my energy?

If you’re worried about your payments changing or you can’t afford them, please speak to our team. We can make sure you get financial support that’s tailored to you and your situation. There are many options available for anyone who needs help. To get in touch with our team:

Sign up to our online tool at ovoenergy.com/payment-support and we can find the best plan for you.
Call us on 0800 408 6615. We’re here Monday to Friday, 9am and 5pm, and 9am to 2pm on Saturday.
Talk to us online at ovoenergy.com/help Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and 9am to 2pm on Saturday.

Show previous replies

R

Rivieralad

Newcomer

The Support Team is active today. Try https://help.ovoenergy.com .

Too late, I’m already on the phone!

H

Hafnia

Newcomer

Very disappointed this time as not only have they breached the agreement to leave as is, the customer service agent clearly did not do what they were supposed to, they were also totally closed on 23rd so no way of stopping the increase!

Well, they have to give you ten WORKING days notice of the change - and the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th along with 31st, 1st and 2nd aren’t ‘working days’ for the purposes of direct debits - so you effectively have all options open to you (including stopping the payment) until the 9th January … some of those actions may however come with consequences (unless OVO are trying to take the changed payment prior to 10th January (in which case OVO are the party in breach of the agreement, which has serious consequences for OVO and allows you to recall any payment made by your bank).

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

Emmanuelle_OVO

Retired Moderator

Hey @Taff1937 and @Rivieralad,

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

A customer will receive two separate communications before their direct debit is increased. This (shown in the image above) is the first direct debit review communication you should receive by email, it states ‘On X date- that’s 10 days before your next Direct Debit date- we’ll automictically change your monthly payment to £X’.

It then goes on to advise what to do if you don’t want your direct debit to increase which is call our Collections Team. It sounds like you both did so, in which case your direct debit should have been put on a 3 month direct debit review suspension. If it’s been increased in error, I’d advise filing an indemnity claim with your bank to get the increase payment back. Also I’d advise contacting the Collections Team to ensure a suspension is put on the account correctly.

Hope this helps.

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.

R

Rivieralad

Newcomer

@Emmanuelle_OVO

Yes, I received the “10 day warning” via email and responded the same day to get my account added to the exceptions/suspension list.

Not the first time I have done this as OVO estimates of energy usage are somewhat conservative and certainly don’t take into account changes in a customer’s usage trends!.

I then received the, ‘Oh, we’ve increased your DD” notification by email, 10 days later.

To be fair, this is the first time I have suffered from this issue but I have now added it to many others experienced over the past 12 months.

Thanks, I have already been onto the collections team and, eventually, managed to get things straightened out but not without a couple of challenges!

@Hafnia

I actually meant no way of stopping the increase before Christmas due to closures. This left a very real risk of either not being able to get hold of them in time (having had many problems trying to contact them by phone this year), or them failing to correct the situation in time. This is based on previous poor experiences with them over the last 12 months or so, unlike the many years previously as a happy customer.

Trust me, I know exactly what my options are, the obligations on both sides of the DD process and guarantee (theirs and mine), having been involved in many DD implementation and update projects for a variety of clients in my career as a Business Analyst.

I managed to contact the collections team this morning, probably because I was on the phone at exactly 9:00 this morning! However, this was a slightly more challenging experience than previous calls due to them having already increased the DD and being very, shall we say, “reluctant” to change it back.

However, it does not excuse the original failure to udpate the system correctly by adding my account on the exceptions/suspension list. Yes, I would almost certainly be less critical if this had been the first problem I had suffered at the hands of OVO this year but it is just another in a growing list!

O

Omits

Newcomer

...me paying any balance owed every month. I give two readings a month to keep a check on things. I see no text where OVO answers these questions which says the DD will go down if (as in the summer) the DD will be too high. I totally hate DDs anyway. We are not cash cows to fill their coffers regardless if they are in debt and to pay for ‘lost credit’ for other crashed companies why should existing customers foot the bill? Other than that I like OVO as they have a good website and easy to use.

juliamc

Rank 20

The direct debit calculator suggests I reduce my payment from £200 per month to £5 per month. I think most people on here are more likely to mention increases in dd and not bother mentioning decreases, but they do happen, honest.

O

Omits

Newcomer

Thanks. Interesting I will watch for that!

Emmanuelle_OVO

Retired Moderator

Hey @Omits,

If you’re on the Simpler Variable Tariff your prices may have increased in January and will increase again in April in line with the Energy Price Guarantee.

*Taken from another thread*

Energy Price Guarantee

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) refers to the Government initiative which started October 1st. This limits the energy bill for a typical household to £2500 until the 31st of March 2023. This will be increasing to £3000 in April 2023, and will remain in place until March 2024.

The EPG is in addition to the Energy Bills Support Scheme, where every household will receive a £400 discount to help with the cost of energy. You’ll receive £66 in October and November, and then £67 every month until March.

Price Cap

The Price Cap which is set by OFGEM means the maximum cost that a supplier can charge a customer on average, per year. The Price Cap is influenced by wholesale costs. This includes distribution costs in each region. OFGEM takes a look at the underlying costs to supply energy and sets the cap accordingly.

Don’t worry, although the Price Cap has been set much higher than the EPG (about £4200). The EPG protection will remain in place until March 2024 and the government is still absorbing a lot of the cost.

Why are some customers seeing a price increase despite the EPG?

OFGEM has decided to amend the Price Cap to make changes to regional charges, but the EPG discount remains consistent, as an average, across different regions. This will result in some customers' charges increasing on the 1st January.

The EPG is an average discount across the board, however regions that are more costly to provide energy to, will see an increase in costs.

All of this will be communicated to affected customers. If you're affected by the regional pricing updates and your prices are set to increase in January, we’ll contact you over the next few weeks with an update of your change of price and forecasted costs for the year.

What about Fixed Tariff customer’s moved to the EPG?

We made a promise to these customers that we would continue to monitor their accounts and if a customer becomes disadvantaged, we’ll reach out to them and inform them of the next steps.

Support available for customers who may be struggling with their bills:

Customer support package and where to apply.

Warm Home Discount

What to do if I can’t afford my energy bills?

Energy Bills Support Scheme

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.

C

Chandra

Newcomer

We got a note saying our direct debit would go up but then as we were in credit and because of the rebate, we called and asked for it to be kept as it is. What I don’t understand is on the phone we were told that they were able to do that for three months - so this is a few weeks ago. And then today, a note has come saying our direct debit is going up automatically now. So what’s the point in being told when we called a few weeks ago that they would keep it as it is? And then when I tried to call today as this is when I got the note, apparently OVO doesn’t answer calls on Sunday. Is anyone else having this - where they are told it won’t go up and then it does.

Emmanuelle_OVO

Retired Moderator

Hey @Chandra,

Really sorry to hear this,

It sounds like your account was put on a 3 month direct debit review suspension but something has gone wrong and it was incorrectly applied. It may be that the suspension was added but the bank had already been contacted with the instruction to increase the direct debit.

If you contact Support they’ll be able to re-add this to your account.

Hope this helps.

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.

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