High estimated bills but the property is empty?

​@maryrooms I got caught out by this as well when we had an extended power cut but the graph was showing that power was being used. I got pointed to the actual readings as well which were zero so all was well. The graph just seems to be a bit of decoration but I still don't know why it can't follow the data. Maybe the task to do the coding for that never gets far enough up the list to get actioned. Maybe the coders know to leave stuff that is working tolerably well alone on the basis that changing it could cause another unkown problem that is potentially more serious. That has happened before. On the plus side some people get to discover where the real data is.

I really wish OVO would flag up empty properties as such. I have an empty property currently for sale for which the last bill was £33. I have just been informed that the DD is increasing from £50 to £186 next month. I have to waste more time getting it dropped back down again.

My new house has Octopus energy. It is so much better just being able to pay what I use every month and not a penny more.

All sorted now after a phone call. I expect to repeat the battle again in 3 months time though!

If the property is empty you do have the option of Pay On-Demand.

Just saying.

Well hopefully It won’t be for much longer and it will be sold!

Hey ​@portland555, 

Are you still providing property readings, either manually or via smart meter? Hopefully, the property will be sold before the next review. As you mentioned, a quick phone call to the team should resolve any issues.

We do have a guide for moving or leaving if you’re paying on demand or Pay as you Go which i’ll link below: 

Once again, I find myself on hold to Ovo to sort out an increase in my DD to FIVE time what the actual monthly amount is.

The last five bills are all under £30 as the house is awaiting sale. They now want £160 a month.

PLEASE can Ovo have an option on its system to flag a property as empty? I guess they are averaging over 12 months, so the figure is nonsensical!

What will happen if I just cancel the DD? I am currently 6 months in credit and expect to sell any time soon.

Phone call was a waste of time. They said they could only reduce payment to £103 a month. DD has now been cancelled.

You’ll probably be warned by email to reinstate a direct debit, or the account will be switched to a pay monthly tariff. However I think that’s your best option. You’ll mainly be paying for the standing charge now the property is empty. Once you close your account after the sale you’ll get a refund of any remaining credit.  
You could contact OVO again to confirm that’s what you want.

Hey ​@portland555, 

I totally understand that your situation has changed, and I appreciate you sharing that with us! However, we currently don’t have a way to mark a property as vacant or to reflect changes in your usage.  

Your Direct Debit is based on an annual estimate and gets adjusted every three months to keep everything on track. 

As Julia mentioned, once you sell the property and close your account, any credit balance you have will be refunded to you as part of the closing process and final statement. 

The final statement will be sent to you within six weeks, and we'll email or post it to you. 

The statement will show:

• Your recent energy use
• Any money left to pay and how to pay it
• Any money we need to refund you (if so, we'll post a cheque within ten working days of your final statement)