Updated on 06/10/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO
How Direct Debits work
A Direct Debit is an automatic monthly payment set up with your bank or building society. It means you can choose which day you want the payment to go out each month, and your bank will sort the rest.
Once a Direct Debit is set up, you don’t need to do anything else.
It’s often the best way to make regular payments, such as your energy bill.
Why paying by Direct Debit is the best way to pay
Direct Debit is usually the best way to pay bills because:
- you get a cheaper rate if you’re on our variable Simpler Energy plan
- you don’t have to think about it – it’s all done automatically each month
- you don’t need to worry about forgetting or missing a payment
- it can help you budget as you know how much is going out of your account each month and when
- it spreads your year’s energy costs evenly over 12 months
How we work out your payment amount
To work out your monthly Direct Debit amount, we:
- look at your energy use to date and how much you’re likely to use until 31 March, or the end of your contract if you’re on a fixed plan
- take into account your current balance and any other costs such as the standing charge and any add-ons you have
- divide the amount by the number of payments left until 31 March, or the end of your contract, and that gives us your monthly amount
Our aim is to make sure you don’t build up unexpected debt by the end of winter, or the end of your contract if you're on a fixed plan.
Why your Direct Debit amount might be different to your bill amount
How much energy you use can change from month to month, so your actual bill might be a different amount to your Direct Debit amount.
But we make sure you’re paying the right amount each month to cover your whole year’s energy use, spread out over 12 monthly payments.
Why meter readings are important
You can make sure your Direct Debit amount stays at the right level by giving us regular meter readings – once a month is best.
How we work out your Direct Debit amount when you join us
If you’re new to OVO, we work out your Direct Debit amount to cover your expected energy use over the next 12 months. We base it on your past year’s energy use if you know it.
If we don’t know it, we’ll ask you about your property and how many people live there, then we’ll base it on the average data for your type of household.
After 2 months we check in to make sure the amount you’re paying is right for your actual energy use. Your Direct Debit amount might then need to go up or down.
How often we check you’re paying the right amount
We review your Direct Debit every 3 months to make sure you are not paying too much or too little for the energy you’re using.
We let you know if your Direct Debit amount needs to change to keep you on track.
When your payment amount might change
Your payments might need to go up or down if something changes, such as:
- your energy use goes up or down
- the price of energy goes up or down – if you’re on a standard variable tariff
- you change which energy plan you’re on
- you missed a payment or recently requested a refund
- you’ve chosen an add-on, such as Greener Energy or OVO Foundation
If your Direct Debit is too high or too low, then we’ll let you know we’re going to have to change the amount.
If your balance is in credit
It’s good for your balance to be in a bit of credit as it acts like a pot of money to cover when your energy use is higher.
For example, you’re likely to build up credit in the summer months when energy use is lower, but you might need to tap into your credit in the colder and darker winter months when energy use can be much higher.
We check you’re paying the right monthly amount so your balance stays on track for the whole year.
Even if your balance is in credit, it might be that we still need to increase your monthly payments. This would be if we’ve worked out what your energy use is likely to be and that your balance is likely to go below zero by the 31 March or end of your plan.
If your balance goes below zero
If your balance goes below zero, we’ll let you know if your monthly Direct Debit amount needs to go up.
If you’re struggling to pay your bills, we can work it out together – sign up to our payment support tool.
Setting up or changing a Direct Debit
You can set up, change the amount or date of your Direct Debit by logging into your online account and following these steps:
- Go to Home
- Select Set up your Direct Debit
- Choose which day you’d like us to collect your payment each month. This can be any date from the 1st to the 28th
- Enter your Direct Debit amount. You can use our Direct Debit calculator to get an accurate prediction of what you should pay each month
- Put in your details, including your full name, sort code and bank account number
- Select Next
- Check the details you’ve entered are correct
- Select Confirm payments
We’ll send you an email within 3 working days to let you know it’s all set up.
Find out how to set up or change a Direct Debit in the app.
Check out our Direct Debit “check in” process here or watch the video below for more info on direct debit reviews for fixed plans -
You can change the date your Direct Debit comes out on by contacting the Support Team. It may take up to 6 days for your payment info to be updated, which means the change might take effect from the following month. You’ll see the next payment date on the app or online account and also receive confirmation of this via email so you know for certain the date of your next Direct Debit payment.
You can check your current Direct Debit amount and adjust this if needed on the ‘Payments’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS). I
There’s also some really helpful advice here in understanding the calculation we carry out when checking your Direct Debit amount -
Is there any support available if I’m struggling to pay for my energy?
There is help available if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills – both from us here at OVO Energy and from government schemes and charities as well. There are many ways we can help – such as setting up a payment plan for you, which spreads the cost of your energy to make it more manageable. If you want to find out about payment plans, you can request one online here – we’ll take you through what you need to do, and ask you for some details. Our dedicated team is also specially trained to support you. They can make sure you’re receiving any financial assistance from the government that you’re eligible for, and take you through payment support schemes that are available.
You can find out more about these schemes and where to seek free, independent advice right here.
How easy do you find your Direct Debit calculations?
Got it sussed or still got questions? - Comment below, we’d love to hear how we can improve our Direct Debit process! 
