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How do I get a refund from OVO when my account is in credit?


My balance is around £400 in credit, my annual usage is around £1000.

My most expensive winter bill was less than my monthly DD.

Why do you refuse to refund?

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Best answer by Anonymous 19 March 2017, 16:55

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131 replies

Cancel That... Ive just persuaded it to give me £300 back

Updated on 26/06/2023 by Abby_OVO

 

Sorry to hear you’ve had some trouble when requesting a refund via your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS).  Before we allow a refund of any credit you’ve got in your OVO account, we first need to make sure that your account balance is accurate.

 

If you don’t have a smart meter, make sure you’ve submitted a meter reading in the last 28 days. If you’ve done this and are at least three month’s Direct Debit amount in credit, you can then ask for a refund via the ‘Payments’ page:

 

Exact appearance may vary

 

You can apply for a refund of up to £500 online and the balance will return to your bank account in no more than 10 working days (in most cases it will be within 4 working days). Find out more about requesting a refund online on this great guide:

 

 

If you’d like more credit refunded than this, you can contact our Support Team who can initiate refunds up to £2,000. Please note, if the refund is over £599, we’ll need to check the account has been billed to smart/actual meter readings and request photos of the meter. 

 

If you’re on a fixed rate tariff, you’ll still be required to keep one month's worth of direct debit as credit in your account. If you’re on the Variable tariff you aren’t required to leave any credit on your account, although it is advisable.

 

Hope this helps get that important credit back to you! :slight_smile:

 

OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!

 

Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!

 

At present my account is almost £400 in credit because I have elected to pay £74.00 per month for my dual fuel against an OVO recommendation of around £50. I decided that I would treat my wife and myself to something nice from our credit. I only want £200 which roughly half of the credit held by OVO and my first shock was when I pressed the "Apply for a Refund" button. It tells me that I cannot have a refund until I submit an up to date meter reading. Ok I attempt to do that and lo and behold I am told that because I have a smart meter I cannot do that. OK I ring OVO, wait ten minutes to speak to someone who tells me that a new up to date statement must be had. That takes 5 minutes then I am told what I can have of my money and that it will take between 5 and 7 working days to get paid into the my bank. If I owed OVO any money are they prepared to wait for up to 7 working days. I think we all know the answer to that so why must their customers wait. Have they not heard of BACS or even FASTPAY. It is about time they moved into the 21st century. A very unhappy customer am I.
Userlevel 7
Cancel That... Ive just persuaded it to give me £300 back

Just to add to this, I've edited the title slightly to make it more 'searchable'.

Enjoy that refund!

Tim
Userlevel 7
At present my account is almost £400 in credit because I have elected to pay £74.00 per month for my dual fuel against an OVO recommendation of around £50. I decided that I would treat my wife and myself to something nice from our credit. I only want £200 which roughly half of the credit held by OVO and my first shock was when I pressed the "Apply for a Refund" button. It tells me that I cannot have a refund until I submit an up to date meter reading. Ok I attempt to do that and lo and behold I am told that because I have a smart meter I cannot do that. OK I ring OVO, wait ten minutes to speak to someone who tells me that a new up to date statement must be had. That takes 5 minutes then I am told what I can have of my money and that it will take between 5 and 7 working days to get paid into the my bank. If I owed OVO any money are they prepared to wait for up to 7 working days. I think we all know the answer to that so why must their customers wait. Have they not heard of BACS or even FASTPAY. It is about time they moved into the 21st century. A very unhappy customer am I.

Hi Shepshed,

Thanks for sharing this experience with us, but it’s a shame that it’s not more of a positive one! As other users may need help getting a refund, I’ve added some tags and changed the title to make this topic easier to find.

When dealing with a customers money, we need to get it right first time. For this reason, we make sure the account balance is accurate (by generating a statement) and we check that everything’s good before sending it to the bank. When this is done, your bank also needs a bit of time to process things as well. All of this quickly adds up, so it can take a maximum of 5-7 working days. This is done via a BACS refund. Our OVO Answers page covers this refund process in a bit more detail.

Did it get sorted in the end?

Tim
I have received my usage bill and found I am £327.00 in credit
How can I ask for partial refund please?
Thanks
tTen all that I can say is that your systems are extremely slow. BACS is an overnight service and Fastpay is an almost instantaneous service. Personally I use Fastpay often and am yet to be let down. If it takes OVO 5 to 7 WORKING days then that is slower than slow. 7 working days is totally unacceptable in this day and age. For instance if it starts on a Friday then it is probably a week the following Tuesday before it arrives at the money owners account.
In my case I decided to take my wife to a particular fine dining restaurant for dinner one evening during our holiday but we will be back from holiday before the money hits my account.
OVO used to be a great Power and Energy Company. Now it just another Power and Energy Company.
Userlevel 7
Hi John

First of all, thanks for signing up and becoming part of our forum. Great to see you getting stuck in and asking your first question. I've updated the title and added some tags to make it easier for others to find this question in case they need the same information.

To obtain a refund when you are in credit, you can request this via our website, here's the link: https://www.ovoenergy.com/

Just login to My OVO, there's an option to request a refund. Just make sure you have taken up to date meter readings, as we need to ensure these are correct before a refund can be issued.

Hope that helps, any other questions or comments, please feel free to post below.

Thanks

Darran
I am over £800 in credit, how do i get a refund?
Userlevel 7
Hi minnsy

Thanks for joining the forum! Welcome aboard!! Don't forget to add your picture and fill in your profile. It will help us and other users get to know you better.

We had a few topics already started on this subject, so I have moved your question here to allow others to offer any help and advice and so that others customers can find the information more easily.

Please see above my comment to John which explains what you need to do to request a refund. Worth noting that you'll be earning 3% interest on that credit balance to, if you decide to leave it there for a bit longer!

Let us know how you get on.

Darran
I am due for my annual review. I have a credit balance in my account please advise how I can get a refund. My payments have gone up for the next 12 months by £5 per month. As I have already a credit balance from the last 12 months is it necessary to increase my monthly payment, I would have expected my payments to be reduced as it seems that I am overpaying.
Userlevel 7
I am due for my annual review. I have a credit balance in my account please advise how I can get a refund. My payments have gone up for the next 12 months by £5 per month. As I have already a credit balance from the last 12 months is it necessary to increase my monthly payment, I would have expected my payments to be reduced as it seems that I am overpaying.

Hi Eamonn - nice work finding this refund topic and sharing your query with us!

You can apply for a refund via your My OVO page here. If you’re in a fixed tariff, you’ll need to keep at least 1 months Direct Debit, as credit in the account. Remember this will give you 3% annual interest whilst it sits in your OVO account.

With a change in prices, annual costs will also change. This page explains the calculations to work out a monthly payment.

Hope this helps,
Tim
Userlevel 7
Hey, some great discussion and useful information being shared here. Please continue to check back in from time to time for any updates and read any new comments.

We'd love to know what you think we could make clearer in regards to our refund process, so don't forget to comment here, or check out the other topics to get more information and share your thoughts.

Thanks to everyone for being engaged on this.

Darran
I have a similar issue, apart from when I received my statement, the day after I logged in a tried to apply for a refund and it told me I needed to submit meter readings still. i had just submitted them!!

I keep getting the same message to me as attached.

Help please? Is there an error with my account?

Many thanks,
every summer my credit rises because I dont use gas for heating. And lighting is minimized by daylight extention. BUT, I know for sure that I am covered for what the media keeps predicting every year - the 'mother of all winters'. So it stays there in my account. What I can do? Reduce my direct debit if its too high.
Userlevel 7
I have a similar issue, apart from when I received my statement, the day after I logged in a tried to apply for a refund and it told me I needed to submit meter readings still. i had just submitted them!!

I keep getting the same message to me as attached.

Help please? Is there an error with my account?

Many thanks,


That's a pain, Dhumphrey.

There will be a reason why this refund isn't possible. This OVO Answers page lists them all, so the reason is hiding in there.... somewhere: https://www.ovoenergy.com/ovo-answers/topics/payments-and-statements/payments/theres-some-credit-on-my-account-can-i-get-a-refund.html.

For me to check on this, send me a PM with your account number, full name and DoB.

Tim
Userlevel 7
every summer my credit rises because I dont use gas for heating. And lighting is minimized by daylight extention. BUT, I know for sure that I am covered for what the media keeps predicting every year - the 'mother of all winters'. So it stays there in my account. What I can do? Reduce my direct debit if its too high.

Hi Elbmek,

That's the way we like it. Building up credit in the summer (paying more then you use) and eating into that credit in the winter (using more than you pay). That way, your Direct Debit doesn't need to change all year round. This is the ideal, but sometimes it’s not quite right. If you're building up too much of a credit balance (so at this time of year, you're still in credit by more than 1 month’s payment) then you might consider a Direct Debit reduction or a refund. You can do both of these things via My OVO here: http://ovoener.gy/myovo. If not, you'll carry on earning that 3% annual interest, so it’s all good.

Tim
I switched energy supplier a couple of months ago and although OVO haven't supplied my gas and electricity for some time you still refuse to pay me back the £429.29 credit held in my account. In addition, it appears that you are taking a monthly £50 DD because it is your policy to do so until the account is closed. Please accept this email as my formal notification that I WANT TO CLOSE MY ACCOUNT. And I want my money returned to me promptly.

Ever hopeful.
Userlevel 7
I switched energy supplier a couple of months ago and although OVO haven't supplied my gas and electricity for some time you still refuse to pay me back the £429.29 credit held in my account. In addition, it appears that you are taking a monthly £50 DD because it is your policy to do so until the account is closed. Please accept this email as my formal notification that I WANT TO CLOSE MY ACCOUNT. And I want my money returned to me promptly.

Ever hopeful.


Thanks for this query - I’ve moved it to another topic on refunds so other users can hear about the issue (and our fix for it).

It sounds like we might be waiting for the meter readings to produce your final bill. These readings are checked by a third party and issued to both suppliers, usually within 6 weeks of the supply change date. As you mentioned, we won’t cancel the Direct Debit automatically until these final bills are sent out. That said, you can do this at the bank, or I can do it for you once I’ve got some account details from you. I’ll also check on the progress of closing down your account. If we are still waiting for those readings, I could set up a partial refund, leaving some credit in the account ready for those bills.

So that I can get started, PM me with your account number (or full address), full name and DoB.

Thanks,
Tim
Dear Ovo, it was nice being a customer. Your prices were good, and I was always pleased with the service I received......that was until I decided to change Energy Suppliers. That happened in December 2016, and while I expected there to be some delay, with administration, changeover issues, etc, I now find myself at the end of March 2017, with OVO still taking payments from my account. To add to my frustration, I have received one email from OVO in December to explain the leaving process. It says it will take 4-6 weeks after leaving, and then 14 days to refund any credit. The only communication since then is a monthly Energy Bill, which is not easy to handle, especially when I am also paying a monthly Energy Bill to my new Energy supplier! I would really appreciate a response to this, before you lose credibility as an alternative to the corporate giants you try to differentiate yourselves from.
Userlevel 5
Dear Ovo, it was nice being a customer. Your prices were good, and I was always pleased with the service I received......that was until I decided to change Energy Suppliers. That happened in December 2016, and while I expected there to be some delay, with administration, changeover issues, etc, I now find myself at the end of March 2017, with OVO still taking payments from my account. To add to my frustration, I have received one email from OVO in December to explain the leaving process. It says it will take 4-6 weeks after leaving, and then 14 days to refund any credit. The only communication since then is a monthly Energy Bill, which is not easy to handle, especially when I am also paying a monthly Energy Bill to my new Energy supplier! I would really appreciate a response to this, before you lose credibility as an alternative to the corporate giants you try to differentiate yourselves from.

Hi Ron,

I can understand why you’re feeling frustrated by this. You’ll have been able to cancel your Direct Debit at your bank so no further payments should have been taken. If you need us to cancel this for you though, we’d be happy to.

It also doesn’t sound good that you're still receiving a monthly bill as this would suggest that one (or both) of your supplies are still with us. To be able to look into this fully, feel free to send me a private message with your name, DoB and OVO account number.

We also already have a topic on getting a refund, so I’ve moved your topic onto here for greater visibility..

Lucy
Hi guys, we've just switched away from OVO (purely cost) but was advised not to cancel my DD. I await my refund of credit on the account, received that on the same day my next payment went out. Therefore I need that refunding. Does anyone have any email address or place I can message? Cheers 🙂
Userlevel 6
Hi guys, we've just switched away from OVO (purely cost) but was advised not to cancel my DD. I await my refund of credit on the account, received that on the same day my next payment went out. Therefore I need that refunding. Does anyone have any email address or place I can message? Cheers :-)

Hi Lilybeansmummy,

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear you've left the OVO family and are seeking a refund of the credit on your account.

My suggestion would be to make contact with OVO - either on social media or by phone to the care team and ask for the refund to be processed ASAP. If you contact OVO by social media be sure to include your full name, address and OVO account number in a private message so that when the staff are back to work it will speed up their reply to you.

Hope this helps and you get this sorted soon!
Hi
My account is in credit. When I apply for a refund it tells me I need to provide a meter reading. When I try to provide a meter reading it says this is already being provided by my smart meter. Please help?
Userlevel 6
Hi
My account is in credit. When I apply for a refund it tells me I need to provide a meter reading. When I try to provide a meter reading it says this is already being provided by my smart meter. Please help?


Hi @chickenzinger welcome and thanks for posting

It sounds like you've hit a glitch on the website which isn't good for you at all! If you drop @Tim_OVO a private message with your name, address, OVO account number, date of birth and the amount you'd like refunded - Tim will be able to look into this for you and discuss in private message with you

Hope this helps

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