Add ability for OVO Support Team to reset the Future Annual Consumption figures

I’ve got an update on this idea, and I’ll be changing the status as a result:

We’re unable to action this as the future annual usage figure comes from historical read data - resetting this would only leave national average consumption as a fallback so wouldn’t rectify the problem.  Getting a smart meter is the best way to avoid incorrect annual usage estimates or by providing regular meter readings via your online account. 

Thank you for this feature idea. Any thoughts, comment below!

Interesting i think the answer has misunderstood the issue. 

These are in many cases people with Smart Meters.

For whatever reason the initial value of the Future Annual Consumption for some customers has been set too high and the system is too slow to respond to learn and correct it.

As an alternative we can suggest the customer asks for a 3 month pause or lower direct debit payments and a return of some excess credit as we have done in the past?

Alternatively perhaps some improvements in how the Future Annual Consumption figure is calculated?

Yep understood, @Jeffus. 

The issues outlined above with resetting these projection figures is that if the reset is done badly, it will impact those without a smart meter in that estimated meter readings will be potentially inaccurate. A smart meter avoids that. 

I appreciate that if the current projection of usage is way off, any estimated readings and Direct Debit suggestions are going to be off. Hence your suggestion for a reset. In those cases though, a smart meter sending readings will impact this projection over time.

In the meantime if anyone is affected by this issue that prevents a sensible Direct Debit amount, they’re able to agree on a Direct Debit amount with our Collections team on: 0800 0699 831.

Tim_OVO you have not addressed the issue which seriously effects SSE Customers transferred to OVO.

My annual usage went from 1,000 electricity to 4,000 on transfer and you tried to scam £50 per month extra DD out of me.

I have lived here since May 2019 and a Smart Meter was installed, now 4 months after transfer from SSE my annual expected electricity usage is 3,000, so it will take until next Summer to get the automatic DD correct.

It is not an isolated incident and OVO are the culprits, us customers we are just trying to pay a fair price, we should not have to write bad reviews on Trust Pilot to get rectification.

Thanks for the feedback on your experience, @SpyderDor. I’ll make sure I flag this to the team that looks after migrations to OVO. 

In the meantime if you’re affected by this issue that prevents a sensible Direct Debit amount, they’re able to agree on a Direct Debit amount with our Collections team on: 0800 0699 831.

Another example 

Another example. This one a long standing OVO customer but a relatively recent smart meter

Another example where historical data is not being used. A common issue. 

Is that a common problem? Does it perhaps arise where there is a dearth of meter readings? Or are complainers upset about the personal projection, the estimated cost of last year’s consumption at today’s rates? 

Could we perhaps be having difficulty separating the apples from the goats? The FAC is as I understand it a piece of data stored by ‘industry’ to make it possible to compare different tariffs, including those from other suppliers. It’s tied to a particular supply, not a particular user, so the figure is available even though the meter has changed hands or the user has changed supplier. 

It is however purely OVO’s choice to use this figure as the basis for calculating an appropriate level of Direct Debit. They could choose whatever measure they wanted; after all, if it’s wildly wrong, it’s revised quarterly anyway.

I would suggest that in the current climate, where usage patterns are changing radically in response to startling price changes, it is wrong and unhelpful to use the preceding year’s actual consumption to predict the next year’s expenditure. Instead, I would suggest that for the next half, say, that the personal projection should be calculated on the basis of the previous half’s consumption. The DD could of course still be set at 1/12 of the projected annual cost. In my own case, this would bring my calculated DD down from £71 to £56.