Building up large credit amount due to charge anytime credit not being included into direct debit

As I mentioned, there is no overcharge - the credits are automatically issued directly onto the bill itself.

You’re confusing the bill with the direct debit.

Sorry - I am being overcharged. Yes, I can claim it back - but it is still money out of my account which I then have to claim back if the projection doesn't continue to believe that I need to pay more in the future and therefore block the request for refund. I don't understand why the direct debit calculation cannot take account of theae add ons, thus coming up with a realistic view of electricity costs.

While the current implementation isn’t ideal, it is what it is. Due to how Type of Use stuff works, it cannot be calculated as easily as you might think.

It may change in the future to a more idealistic version, but for now we just have to work with the current methods.

The core issue is that with "type of use" tariffs like Charge Anytime and Heat Pump Plus, the system needs to know what the energy was used for before it can apply the specific discounted rate.

Think of it like this:

• Standard electricity is billed at one flat rate.
• Charge Anytime/Heat Pump Plus means certain energy usage (for EV charging or heat pump operation) gets a different, cheaper rate.

The meters and billing systems aren't sophisticated enough yet to differentiate the usage in real-time and apply the discount instantly. They record the total energy used, and then processes that data after the fact to identify the "discountable" usage and apply the credit.

It's essentially a post-billing adjustment, not a real-time price change. 

Maybe one for the development list then. It significantly distorts the projected costs. For example, i think my Direct Debit is overstated by about 50% at the moment. Many thanks for the responses though - much appreciated.

Unfortunately, I don’t see it as one for the suggestions box that can be worked on anytime soon (if ever).

Because the discounts for Charge Anytime and Heat Pump Plus are applied as credits after the fact, the system calculates the Direct Debit based on the full, standard unit rates and your estimated consumption.

It's impossible for the direct debit calculation to know in advance how much of your usage will qualify for the discount. So, it has to assume standard rates for everything when it sets up those regular payments.

What ends up happening is:

1. Your direct debit is set based on your total estimated usage at the normal price.
2. You pay that higher direct debit amount.
3. Later, when your bill is generated, the discounts are applied, creating a credit on your account.
4. This credit then reduces your overall balance owed for that bill.

So, while the direct debit might initially feel inflated, it's because it's paying for the consumption upfront, before the retrospective discounts kick in. Over time, if the credits consistently exceed the direct debit, the account will build up a credit balance, and the direct debit might then be reviewed and reduced by OVO, but it won't happen instantly or automatically reflect the discount on the very first payment.

The other killer factor is that the “perfect system” that I think you’re after would also require real-time access to your Smart Meter data. That’s probably never going to happen because infrastructure and privacy related matters means suppliers aren’t going to get that access anytime soon I’m afraid.

It’s unfortunate, but it’s a limitation of how Type Of Use tariffs must be administered - there just isn’t any other way right now.

The current (a few days ago) Official explanation of why these add-on scheme savings can't be included in the Direct Debit calculation can be found here:

I had the same queries relating to another add on - Battery Boost.

If you think about it from OVO's perspective (rather than ours) what other method is there other than the rebate system currently in use? 

Battery Boost charges up overnight to a fixed %. The amount of cheap rate electricity will depend on the starting %. The starting % will depend on the previous days usage, amount of sun (if you have PV) plus other factors unknowable to OVO.

The only method I can see is to charge full rate and then rebate depending on actual use.

No doubt it will become smarter as the system evolves but can anyone think of another way? 

My only gripe is that it's not easy to reduce your direct debit to a more realistic level when it's clear that you're subsantially overpaying.  (I could only reduce mine by £7).

You can get more reduction when justified by contacting support and explaining why your DD should be lower.

The problem with that is that you will have to do it again every 3-months as it gets automatically recalculated and automatically increased again at 3-month intervals.

I have had to do that in the past when for complicated reasons my FAC was over 3x what it should have been. It’s easy enough to do, but having to do it every 3-months does get to be a drag.

Automatically increased? I thought you had to implement the increase - that’s what the core terms say, at least: We can ask you to increase your Direct Debit amount anytime if prices change (in line with this contract) or you’re using more energy than we estimated.

Interestingly, ‘revising our estimate’ isn’t a legitimate reason for OVO to increase the DD according to those terms. 

We have been through that before,

• The recalculation runs, and says it needs to increase.
• An automatic email/tex/account notification is generated and (should be) sent to you asking you to increase your DD.
• Then if you don’t increase your DD the computer increases it automatically anyway.(So you then have to phone to get it reduced again).

That’s not quite what the T&C’s say will/should happen - but it is what happens in practice.

Sometimes people don’t get (or don’t see in time) the communication asking then to increase their DD themselves.
That’s when you see them here on the forum shouting that OVO have put their DD up without informing them.