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Rank 1
ic31420
Rank 1
March 17, 2017
Solved

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

  • March 17, 2017
  • 81 replies
  • 31967 views

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?

 

 

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

Best answer by

Updated on 14/08/25 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 on the online account:

 

Exact appearance may vary

 

On the app, you can do this via the Bills section and then ‘Request a refund’.

 

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!

81 replies

Show previous replies
T
Rank 5
Technophobe
Rank 5
June 10, 2023

Great. Thanks! I'm grateful to OVO, of course, but would prefer the excess in my purse right now rather than lining their pockets.

Thanks again.

G
Newcomer
Gwim
Newcomer
June 11, 2023

I will get all my money returned, I left ovo yesterday

 

P
Rank 3
Padster
Rank 3
June 11, 2023

Hi Gwin,

 

Can you kindly update here how long it takes for your credit to be returned assuming it does and if it ended up being fairly automated other than final readings etc...thanks.

 

Who did you move to and why if you don’t mind me asking, sounds like we are in similar situations .i.e. sick to the teeth of the disaster that ovo has become but also petrified of being robbed!

 

Regards

 

Padster

Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
June 11, 2023

If you switch supplier, the old one usually refunds any spare credit roughly six weeks after the switch takes place. This relies on you submitting the meter readings on time when requested.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
P
Rank 3
Padster
Rank 3
June 11, 2023

Thanks Blastoise,

I have read that and i’m sure  the majority of folks old suppliers do just that assuming they are half decent companies that comply with law, not the outfit that ovo has become.

Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
June 11, 2023

What do you mean by that? It’s quite a harsh claim to randomly make if you don’t provide context

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
P
Rank 3
Padster
Rank 3
June 12, 2023

Hi Gwim,

Great news for you is that Octopus has nothing to do with Ovo and its owner Fitzpatrick.

So far Octopus appears to be fantastic with a great bloke at the helm, just what I thought about Ovo 3+ years ago when I moved away from Bulb despite the 2 year fix deal with Ovo being slightly more expensive. I did this thinking inflation might begin to rise (and encouraged to do so) to help erode the covid debts. This happens after dramatic events such as world wars etc….history books don’t tend to lie.

Octopus is probably top of my list at present but… isn’t everyone thinking the same thing. They have just bought Bulb’s 1.5 million customers. Wasn’t Ovo great until they bought SSE’s 3.5 million customers? I thought so. It would certainly be refreshing if Octopus didn’t go the same way wouldn’t it.

I would still greatly appreciate an update in the future concerning your returned credit balance, I know how long its supposed to take, how long will it actually take Ovo?

Due to a bad injury I have plenty of time on my hands for the foreseeable future and shall be having a good look at Octopus. I already know enough about Ovo that I don’t think wise to post here. I can of course guide you to such info but not via here.

I wish to defend Blastoise some what as he certainly spends a lot of time on here helping people which is nice. I do not think he works for Ovo, he sounds far too intelligent. Fitzpatrick’s father in law maybe, only joking, mad world??!! I would prefer to wait until nearer April 2024 to move with a token gesture credit balance left for personal reasons, I just hope nothing dramatic happens to Ovo between now and then. My fixed deal ended in March so I would just end up on variable elsewhere with my balance protected, no problem. It will be interesting to see who buys Shell Energy.

 

Regards

Padster

Jeffus
Rank 20
Jeffus
Rank 20
June 12, 2023

10 days after switching according to your own site.I ent with Octopus, irionically owned by the same man as ovo. Still, I will get my money back, .

 

Up to 6 weeks for a final bill. Then up to the 10 days for any credit refund following the final bill. So not 10 days from the switch date. 

https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/leaving-ovo

These are industry standard times that all suppliers have to meet. 

Miss either of them and £30 compensation is normally automatically due. 

 

Tim_OVO
OVO Staff
Tim_OVO
OVO Forum Legend
June 12, 2023

You can get more than that if you call 0330 303 5063. The £500 limit applies to self service only 

I phoned the number and was told to take images of meters and send them via email to ‘hello’ etc., Then they sent the email further reminding me I would get £500 and no more unless I moved.

 

“Thanks for taking the time to contact us about a refund.

As you pay for your energy use by Direct Debit, it's important to maintain a credit balance which is at least one month's worth of your current Direct Debit payment amount. This is because you're effectively paying for the month in advance so it minimizes the risk of your account being in a negative balance at the end of your current contract.

 Your balance is currently £1,492.15 and your Direct Debit amount is £168.00 so the maximum available refund we can offer is £500.00 Because your account is billed daily though, this amount will change regularly. So we can process a refund for you, please could you reply to this email to confirm you're happy to have the maximum available refund?”

 

 

I’d like to offer my apology to you, @Gwim, for the experience and misadvice regarding this refund. In short: it’s correct that we may ask for meter photos if your refund is about £500 but this can be sent over a web chat and a refund organised in the same chat. No need to email. If you’re in a fixed contract you do need to leave 1-3 month’s credit in the account. If you’re on a standard variable tariff which we call ‘Simpler’, you can get every £ back. 

 

I’m aware that you’ve already switched so you’ll be getting a full refund soon, once that final bill is sent. It may be much quicker then 6 weeks but that’s the maximum time unless there’s an issue with the reading used etc. 

 

Your most recent comment has been removed as it didn’t fit with our house rules. You can find these here:

 

 

 

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C
Newcomer
captayenolu
Newcomer
June 20, 2023

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

Hello Darran,

How long does it take to ‘audit’ a customer’s account to be sure the customer has made correct and accurate payment that correspond to the amount requested for refund?

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