Do we pay a month in advance for our energy? I want to know whether I'll need to pay another Direct Debit if I apply to switch away!

After receiving 3 requests to increase the direct debit I cancelled it as I did not wish OVO to be my banker and hold excess funds.

I am so fed up with being told I have to have a direct debit even after submitting meter readings  each month and paying the balance in full. Yet again this month because I took the readings and paid I week early I am told I have a balance, of course I have a balance as everyone does who uses electricity daily and pays once per month.

As I do not pay in advance for my groceries I have no intention of paying in advance for my electricty I do not know how much I will use and neither do OVO.

I have now compared suppliers and OVO do not compare favourably with any other I am changing to a more customer friendly company.

Sorry to hear this, @blackbart - our Direct Debit process for fixed tariffs aim to get you to £0 by your contract end date. That’s the goal, and that works for most. See what Eva here for more info on paying ‘in advance’:

With Simpler Energy, you don’t need to have a Direct Debit set up at all, and you can make payments after charges like you describe. For our fixed plans, a Direct Debit is required. You might also have early contract termination fees if you switch to a new supplier, if it’s more then 6 weeks before the end of your contract. More info on this here. 

Any questions of feedback, leave a comment below. 

Hope this helps,
Tim

Perhaps you need to train your staff as I am on the Simpler energy plan and as Eva stated

With Simpler Energy, you don’t need to have a Direct Debit set up at all, and you can make payments after charges like you describe. 

I have had two days running 30th June and 1st July one of your staff insisting I submit a Direct debit.

I would also point out the amount outstanding 9aULKY as

I would also point out the amount outstanding (which I have now paid) is the difference between my submitted readings  on 14th June and your estimated reading on 20th June. If you insist on charging for estimated readings even when readings are submitted there will always be an underpayment.

My contract also states there are no exit fees.

Ahhh yes you’re spot on there, @blackbart - Simpler Energy plans don’t require a Direct Debit and have no leaving fee. I’m really sorry to hear that you’ve been advised otherwise!

All sorted now? If not, our web chat team are less then 60 seconds away, and you can easily link them to this thread if case there’s any doubt. Find their details are the bottom of this page.

Tim

I will be moving house next week and my current property will be empty, so just minimal energy usage for at least a few months until it is sold. Is it possible to get my DD reduced or should I just accept that it will be a savings account for a while? I know how much of a battle this sort of thing can be, and I don’t have the time for a fight if it will be a waste of time!

(apologies for typo in title, seems I cannot edit it!)

Hi ​@portland555 ,

If you let OVO Support know about that, they can make the arrangements for you. You’ll still need to keep paying something in every month, but they should be able to drop the DD down a bit to reflect the reduced usage.

As a reminder, if you have Smart Meters in the old house, please DO NOT take the IHD with you - it needs to remain there for the new owner as it cannot be used at any other property (and it won’t work anywhere else!).

Please make sure to let OVO know once you’ve sold the property!

As for the title, I can arrange to get that fixed for you as I think you just wanted to get rid of a rogue W? Piece of cake! ​@Ben_OVO can I steal your ModPowers for a sec? XD

Good luck with the house move!