I give meter readings each month, why is my bill still based on estimates?

Sorry I don't understand the reply. This just tells me the readings which I already know! The question is despite the manual readings being on this list it will still put another estimated reading on my bill for the same day - why?

This - why an estimate too when I've given a reading as requested! Every month 🤔

Sorry… you’re quite right. My mistake.

I imagine the estimated figure makes the reading up to midnight of the day, ie 24th feb in your example. Did you submit the reading earlier in the day? 
A smart meter could submit the reading for you of course, they can be set to give readings every half hour so the bill is accurate.

I've tried all different times of day to try mitigate this possibility but it still insists on an estimate. I even tried multiple readings the night before, the morning and the evening! If they want a particular time of day then they should write that as well as the day because surely at some point they shouldn't be putting an estimate?

I had a smart meter installed at a previous property and wasn't impressed. They've probably improved but I still see people complaining about estimated bills because it didn't take the reading. Have a laugh because last time despite being in the same cupboard they couldn't connect to my gas for some reason so I still had to put up with meter readers coming into the house which was the reason I agreed to install 🙄

I know they want to pressure all of us to take them and perhaps that's why they refuse to just take my readings. 

That does look odd but it doesn't affect the amount you pay so unless the estimate is significantly different to the actual reading I wouldn't worry about it.

Well I know it seems like pressure but I think it’s really that smart meters are all that’s going to be available one day. However it’s not compulsory so if you’re happy to submit regular readings no prob. 
Was your latest bill created on 24th feb ? and was the estimated figure given as that shown on your earlier comment? If so then I think that’s as accurate as you’re going to get unless you submit at 23:55 on the evening of the day your bill is created. 
When you say ‘perhaps that's why they refuse to just take my readings’ I don’t think the system is refusing to take your readings, I’m sure it’s not that intelligent! It looks like it’s taken you last manual reading given on the 24th then estimated the additional use you’d have chocked up from the time of your submitting that reading to the end of the day of creating the bill.

Guessing here, I’m afraid.

If you submit a reading on 24 February, it’s recorded as being for 24 February. But the latest reading you see - e.g. now, on 27 February, is the one last midnight. So the reading used to calculate this bill will be the one for midnight 23/24 February, i.e. before your manual reading was submitted. Since the latest manual reading at that stage was four days earlier, the consumption up to midnight 23/24 February will have been estimated - don’t ask me how, but it will have been based on historic usage. That’s why the instructions (which I can’t find, of course) advise submitting a reading a day (or two?) before the bill is due.

Appreciate any guessing 🤣

The app currently says this on meter readings -

They’re up to date. Thanks!

Best day for next reading:

24 Mar 2023

Last reading: 24 Feb 2023

So I'm trying to do what it says!  Basically I'm wondering if anyone who submits a reading actually gets a bill based on the reading.

Hi @Crazygirl 

Sorry to hear about your issue. 

I don't have much to add to the good responses you have already had. 

Here is one example as you ask in the screenshot below. Perhaps it made a difference as i entered a few readings that month? It is a guess to be honest. You could try entering readings through the month and see if that has any effect for example. This is one when i had a traditional meter with OVO. I have a smart meter now which i personally find so much better

We do see users raising the same thing as you. Due to what OVO call "live billing" I don't personally think there is any way to guarantee it doesn't happen. I don't think we have ever worked out a fool proof way yet of stopping estimated readings sometimes being applied for some users. 

If it annoys you a lot i suspect your only options are to get a smart meter or switch suppliers. Obviously check with other suppliers how they handle their bills. Octopus get good reviews on Trustpilot so perhaps check with them. 

https://octopus.energy/

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/octopus.energy

The above screenshot is for gas, but electricity also didn't show an estimated reading on the bill that month. The next month i had a smart meter installed so didn't need to submit any readings since June 2021.

Let us know if you figure out a way of always stopping the estimated readings as i am sure it will be useful for other customers and we could ask OVO to update some of their help pages. 

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

Hey @Crazygirl,

That does sound frustrating, I’m sorry to hear. 

Do the meter readings you’ve submitted prior to the statement date appear on the statement? My advice would be to submit a meter reading on the 23rd if the one from the 24th isn’t appearing on your statement. We have a live billing system so whenever you submit a meter reading your account balance will update accordingly within 24- 48 hours. So you no longer need to wait for your bill to know how much energy you’ve used. We have a great FAQ on this topic here:

• OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly summaries - What do I need to know? F.A.Q.

Why ,when it states in the email received each month that to avoid an estimated bill end meter reading in the next 5 days, do I still receive an estimated bill. This estimate is always above my actual usage. I even send a reading in every day of the 5 days given just to try to avoid an estimated bill, this does not work. I telephoned customer service on 2 occations and both times I was promised it would be sorted ou and refund given, NOTHING still a estimated bill. I am on a very limited budget each month as an unpaid carer and this extra is really putting me under stress. If this is a strong armed way of forcing me to have a smart meter you can forget it, I DO NOT WANT ONE RIGHT NOW , GET THE MESSAGE. STOP SENDING ME ESTIMATED BILLS, I WILL PAY FOR WHAT I USE AND NO MORE. 

It must be very difficult for you dealing with all the stress of having to make ends meet plus on top of that being a unpaid carer.

Myself being in my late seventies and caring for my wife one of the things that helped me was to have a smart meter installed it was one less thing to stress over, and having a little gadget that tells me what I am using. I expect this is not the answer to your question, but just think about it.

Great advice from @David Jefferies 

If you are providing readings, the only estimated amount should be from the date of the reading to the date of the bill. If this estimate is wrong it will be adjusted on your next bill. So unless you're seeing readings that are extremely incorrect they should even out across your bills.

If you pay by monthly direct debit these discrepancies will make no difference to your payments.

If the estimates on your bill are extremely incorrect this suggests that your readings aren't being recorded. Or there's something else going wrong. In this case you should contact customer service and ask them to investigate.

Hey @JJ78,

Really sorry to hear this,

I can see @M.isterW has already given some helpful advice here:

• Are there any disadvantages to getting a smart meter? F.A.Q.

@David Jefferies makes a good point about Smart Meters, this topic may have some advice that you find helpful:

The best day to submit meter readings is the day before the statement is produced. However, as we have a live billing system whenever you submit a meter reading on the Online Account your balance will adjust accordingly within 24-48 hours. This means even if you have an inaccurate estimated bill when you submit a meter reading this will resolve itself. We have a great guide on this topic here:

• OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly summaries - What do I need to know? F.A.Q.

Hope this helps.

I am always in positive credit in my account. I send a meter reading each month so that my bills are accurate. From the point I send my reading until the date my direct debit comes out (around 10 days) my balance on my credit keeps going down. The breakdown shown for this is standing charges and estimated fuel consumption. If I'm sending monthly readings to gain an accurate bill, do these estimates get recalculated when I send my next reading in or are Ovo just taking more money than they should? 

Yes the estimates are recalculated each time you send a meter reading. You can make this more accurate by sending more frequent meter readings and OVO’s live billing system will keep up a more precise running total of your use. 
I give readings every half hour, not in person but because I have a smart meter !

Hey @RCummings,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

I can see @juliamc has already given a helpful answer here, just wanted to add we have a great FAQ which may be helpful to you:

• OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly summaries - What do I need to know? F.A.Q.

Yep me again. :)

Well smart meter decided to work today and gave OVO a reading of 759.282. When checked my actual gas meter reads 759.747.

Only gas I’ve used today was for my shower this morning.. smart meter reads 49 p used today.. 

On other days when I’ve used only the shower it’s been less.. 

Can be very confusing… 

How does OVO calculate usage? How much would heating water for a shower use on average? 

It will depend on your plan rate and boiler of course but also don’t forget that the in home display will normally include the standing charge

In addition to Standing Charges, the IHD costs also includes VAT. 

Hey @Amerififer,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

@BPLightlog and @Jeffus have already given some helpful advice here. Just wanted to add, we calculate your billing from the meter reads received from the smart meter itself, not the IHD. If you feel the readings shown online are too high or there is a dramatic increase in usage but no changes in behaviors, it may be that there is a faulty meter in the property or that the meter is clocking too fast. 

• I think my meter is clocking too fast - How can I test if my high usage is due to a faulty meter?

I received an email from OVO titled: “Important: we’ve underestimated your energy use” and it explains that

“Unfortunately, when we used your most recent meter reading to update your energy account, it’s shown that we’ve been underestimating how much energy you use.
This means your bills have been incorrect since 30/10/2020, and we’ve been billing you for less energy than you’ve actually used.

… we won't ask you to make any more payments for energy you used over 12 months ago … We’ve also recalculated your energy use for the last 12 months.

This means you now have a negative balance of £xxx.”

I am not sure what this means, as I often give actual meter readings, including one a few days ago. So most of my bills have been accurate, and if they had been estimated, then the recent reading would have resulted in a very large bill to catch up.

I have photographs of the meter every single time I gave a meter reading, so I can prove that my readings are accurate.

I realise that there is nothing further to pay right now, as OVO have written off what they thought was an underestimated cost.

I pay via direct debit and have a normal meter (not a smart one).

But can someone from OVO please explain why I should have paid more despite giving accurate meter readings?

I’d recommend double checking with Support, they can see the account whereas we can’t from here. https://help.ovoenergy.com .

You can double check what meter readings are on your account @Electro and see if they match up to what you have details for. 
It’s worth keeping check to see that they don’t use estimates too often. 
https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings

This question was asked 6 years ago, but I’ve had exactly this same problem as of March/April 2023. Also change of System, in April 21st 2023 £2000 debit from £350 credit. How does that work?