Does OVO offer a change from monthly to quarterly billing?

I'll need to know the exact day he's coming as all our meters are securely locked up due to yobs turning off power, we're on the first floor, really dangerous  if you're on the stairs.

We were told that we were moving over and nothing else, they'll be cutting us off as we have to save the money up every three months, we've only just paid our quarterly  bill last month, all our other money us spoken for for other bills, I don't think they get that.

I know we may bave to put up with it, but like I said, if we can't pay it will affect our credit score too.

Hi @Whizzy 

I am just a customer like you. There are a few of us that try and help out when time permits.

I like OVO but appreciate some peoples finances work better with quarterly bills. I am not moving from OVO at the moment. 

Personally i find monthly budgeting easier.

I haven't checked the whole market recently, but i did contact EDF this week. They are still offering quarterly billing at least at the time of asking for me. This is not a recommendation and you would need to double check they would make the same offer to you. I think you would need to phone up rather than get a quote from their website. I doubt you could get quarterly billing via their website. I agree with @Blastoise186 i doubt there are many suppliers still offering quarterly billing.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Keep us updated as it may help other customers. 

Thanks for that, I'm going to sit my husband down on Monday and work it out together,  annoyingly,  8f 6ou pay tv licence  monthly  it costs more!

We don't do direct debits if we can help it as we've heard vuorror stories, so we'll be paying by cheque monthly. 

I do however think that they should honour  the payment method especially as it bas been thrust upon us.

Hubby does all the finances so not sure what essential bills we have, ought to learn as you never know!.

Think I'll also register  him as a vulnerable person as he is listed as vulnerable with ovo.

With energy suppliers, paying monthly has never cost more than paying quarterly anyway. Its the same price, but monthly is better for cash flow 

5hat may be true, but when you've worked this way for 40 years, and you're 70, it can be hard to recalculate,  we manage very well like this, never been in debt and bills always paid on time.

I think it depends on the person.

We are old school in everything  because its more trustworthy.

I've also heard the horror stories of people's direct debits going pear shaped and smart meters giving a single person whose never in a bill of a £1000 pounds.

I remember at work once no one was paid on time one April ( the person in wages thought there were 31 days).

Everyone  but me were panicking  as their would be no money in their accounts  for direct debit.

I'm also very concerned over people being forced to change the way they conduct their lives.

That's another reason 8 yet so irritated. 

I can see its the way of the world but there is such as a thing as my choice .

I’m afraid that’s the way the world works these days. What may have worked 40 years ago doesn’t always mean the same methods work today.

You are of course welcome to see if any other supplier will offer quarterly billing, but I doubt there’ll be many.

It appears that instead of getting quarterly bills, We now get monthly ones. Thanks to OVO.

So unless we do a comparison (from S.S.E.) before we were unceremoniously switched to OVO. We have no way of knowing if we are paying more for the privilage of serving O.V.O. (Obviously. Vastly. Overated)!🤑

They gotta keep their shareholders happy!

Hi @parcel 

The post has been set as a question but I can't see what the question is. Feel free to post again if you require any assistance.

 Marking “As cant be done” is a poor excuse. I was switched from SSE. I was not given a welcome pack, only on the account did it explain anything and that was bills would be rolled into one. That is perfectly fine. 

BUT, and this is a big but, for me personally monthly is not an option. To be asked to pay each and every month is not practical in my situation. 

I understand this is too gauge why people want quarterly and I think asking that is a bit invasive about peoples finances. 

But for the purpose of this thread, here are my reasons.

My bills have always been quarterly. There is a reason for this. My finances are set up to pay things like my car service, Water bills, Tax, vets, etc etc on different months. I have 2 months money to sort these things out and a little left for saving for things for emergencies. Then the 3rd months money was always put aside for my energy bills. I never had an unpaid bill, no meter fitted, no ccjs. Always paid. So its not a case of cant pay, its a case of cant pay each month. 

My finaces work because I plan for them to work. I save, and pay my bills. Always have. Im disabled so very little income. So having 2 months money to pay extras, as above, along with clothes, bulk food shopping, birthdays etc then one month living on very little has helped me save and live sort of okish. But now being asked to pay every month, means Im broke every month and no extras for other bills as expalined above.

I simply cant do it. I have just paid nearly £700 for car service, MOT and Insurance. This month. I CANT NOT PAY MY OVO BILL this month, I can no problem next month, even if its £700/800/900 . This is available every 12 weeks for my bills. 

To say energy companies need to pay their bills each month is NOT OUR PROBLEM! you are not putting customer need first. You send out emails saying ring us, we will do all we can to help, but then do not. 

I rang OVO, Migration and even started a twitter to see if quarterly would be acceptable. All I got was NO. I can not move energy suppliers yet as none are taking new customers. So what does OVO expect people like me to do? Get a meter, go hungry, have no car, limited food, etc ect. When someone CAN PAY, just not as OVO want, that is distressing and stressful. Yet emails say you dont want us to have to worry. Well I am stressed and worried. I coped perfectly well before and prepared for these increases by clearing anything that normally would be paid every 3 months, so my 3rd lot of money each quarter was wholey for OVO. I expect this response will do nothing. As big companies do not care about us little people. Next move is complaint I guess, the ombusman.

Hi @Andi67 and thank you for sharing your thoughts and reasoning for quarterly billing. 

It make sense, and I wish I could offer you assurances here and now that your once-every-3-months payment method is available. I’m unable to here, but I’d recommend you consider calling our ‘Collections’ team, and set up a payment arrangement. Get them on: 0800 0699 831. I’m hopeful that a payment amount and a payment date can be agreed that works for us both.

It’s worth bearing in mind that prices are set to rise for all Simpler customers. If you’re on a fixed plan, when it ends the prices available are likely to be much higher. It’s critical that you know how much your costs are, as early as possible, to avoid a debt building up very quickly. It makes it much harder to do this when we only have 4 shots at getting it right a year. Hence why monthly tends to be preferred for both customer and supplier alike. In fact, most companies have a monthly payment schedule. We’ve got a really good page on financial help and support here if you haven’t had a look I’d recommend it.

I hope that helps and that we’re able to get something sorted for you,

Tim