Why am I being forced to change my Direct Debit?

Sorry Chris,

I know from my own experience of much ioo high recommended DD payments (due to a gas AQ that would periodically spike up to a 4x inflated figure, OVO, Kaluza, and Xoserve could all see the spiking but couldn’t explain the cause nor prevent or fix them).

Talking to support is not significantly differnet from lowering 10% yourself other that they can lower it by a bit more.

However it will still get banged back up again after 3 months (by the DD caulculator) and so you have to have exactly the same conversation again with support.

Of course it starts from scratch again each time - after you have had to do it several times it gets excessively wearisome arguing the same point over and over, getting the same hidebound corporate platitudes each time, and knowing that whatever promises you are given that you will have to do it again in 3 months time.

this could lead to your Direct Debit increasing at the end of the 3 months to a much higher value than it might be right now. 

That is the same same situation whether you reduced it 10% yourself or get support to reduce it by a bit more.
The DD calculator will still increase it again after 3 months or whenever it is next unleashed.

There is only one real solution and that is to spend the time (and money) to update the DD calculator so that it can cope with real life billing and not just a too simple ‘general situation’ calculation.
(With the advent of EVs etc, that ‘general situation’ has changed from waht it used to be).

EVs are a part of peoples lives now.
Schemes such as CA are now part of many customers monthly billing.
However the outdated OVO DD calculator has not kept up and been revised to be able to cope with such changes.

The DD calculator as it currently stands is no longer fit-for-purpose. It needs to be updated/changed so that it can cope wit modern patterns of energy use, and modern billing practices.

We have been trying to tell OVO this for a while now, but it appears that either no one is listening, or that no one is prepared or responsible to make the necessary updates.

Thanks for replying. I have been an OVO customer for at least 5 years. So it in not an issue . I do have an EV and had this for less than a year though. I get credit back via OVO Charge

Below are the readings you mentioned. I don't have the start date so have put in one year ago.  

• ■   Future annual consumption; 
• Electric 5492 KWH
• Gas 6926 KWH
  ■   Standing charge; 
• Electric 48.99
• Gas 26.45
  ■   Unit rate(s) - (All, with their names, if there’s more than one).
• Electric 22.68
• Gas 5.66
• On the Home page, the current balance;
• £300.11
• On the Payments page, the date the DD is taken each month.
• 5th of every month
• On the Meter readings page, the latest readings, and under Reading history, readings on the day you moved in.
• Electric 26695  November 2024 31338
• Gas 03827 November 2024 3276

Morning ​@RonB,

Based on the forecasted consumption and rates, the average monthly cost would be £142 without standing charges included.

If you could provide some up to date readings I can see how your actual usage tallies up to the forecasted usage.

Hi Ben 

Below are my last bills these include the discounts i am getting for Charge anytime. I do understand that OVO are doubling the discounted rate for charging my EV but the extra seems very excessive. I only charge the EV twice a month. 

​@RonB just to confirm, the Direct Debit review system doesn’t take into account any credit you receive from Charge Anytime.

I appreciate this isn’t ideal, however the reason is because Charge Anytime credits aren’t guaranteed, so they’re not built into the algorithms. If you could let me know your most recent readings, and also your standing charges, I can do the calculations for you to see what the Direct Debit should be.

Brilliant, thanks so much. I’m sorry I missed this yesterday, but I’ll get down to it just as soon as we’ve resolved this electric conundrum. Both of those figures can’t be right unless the meter is clocking backwards ... 

Sorry it should be 21338

coming soon ...

​@RonB apologies I misread your previous message.

The reads you’ve provided show that the forecasted annual consumption is pretty much bang on accurate. 

With your average usage, rates and standing charges, your average monthly cost is approximately £162 per month.

That’s better, thanks!

So:

Electricity annual consumption 26695 - 21338 = 5357 kWh, FAC 5492 kWh. Not far off - nine average days’ worth, so probably within any error introduced by the difference in reading dates.

Gas annual consumption 3827 - 3276 = 551 m³  ≈ 6116 kWh, FAC 6926 kWh. The FAC is a bit high, but gas consumption is usually much higher in the winter if it’s used for heating, so the difference may not be so significant.

With the figures you’ve provided, we can work out the basic required DD:
  

  
This is the situation as it would have been on 1 April, with a whole year’s usage ahead of the 31 March 2026 end-date. Because there are now only four DDs left of that year, the ‘credit for one month’s costs’ weighs more heavily. I’m afraid I can’t simulate your current situation, because I don’t know how OVO apportion usage to months for gas.  

The DD takes no account of earlier bills, but the recommendation shown by the DD Calculator does factor in the current balance, so Charge Anytime credits will eventually make themselves felt with a month or two’s lag.