How does OVO Energy calculate my Direct Debit?

Hello,I recently had an e mail from you to suggest increasing my payment to £420 a month ,following a conversation with your call centre I agreed to increase to £300 per month ,I think that there are still some observations I need to make to ensure your understanding of how much energy I use ,I think you may be basing your estimates on the property type and not my usage ,I live in a four bedroomed property and only use one bedroom (as there are only two of us in the property ) that's the first thing, secondly I have a solar array generating (at max) 4,8 KW ,thirdly I also have 6.5 KW of rechargeable batteries in the loft ,the house is fully insulated with triple glazing .over the last moth my amount of energy usage (electric ) is less than £2 a day and gas is negligible as I only use it for central heating ,I also have a economiser to heat hot water from the solar power .so can you explain why I need to pay £400 + a month ?

Hi @Ron Hardie

That is a good question. Just so you know i don't work for OVO. A few of us try to help where we can. 

The OVO estimates of your "Future Annual Consumption" is what drives the direct debit.

You can see the OVO estimates here

https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan

Over time this should automatically get more accurate as the OVO system sees how much energy you actually use. 

Do you mind us asking what it says now compared to what you expect to use over a year?

When you first signed up to OVO did you give them an estimated annual usage for gas and electricity that they could use?

How long have you been with OVO for the system to adjust the Future Annual Consumption?

Whenever you see quotes in the press these are based on the ofgem typical consumption values of 2900 kWh of electricity and 12000 kWh of gas. Do you use less than that given what you have said about your solar/battery setup and the fabric of your house? 

thanks for the response and in answer to the question with regard to usage I never gave any info so I assume the algorithm used ifs for a ‘typical’ usage I am assuming that as time goes on OVO will understand more fully what my actual usage is and amend the DD to compensate ,I have no real issue with building up a credit but just didn’t want it to be massive for no reason ,it makes sense that as you say its using ‘typical’ usage figures ,with my set up I also need to factor in the feed in Tariff payment I receive and the fact that I have an economiser fitted to heat the hot water from solar as well ,I have a first generation smart meter and am not at all sure this is accurate ,I would like it changed and the smart meter checked for accuracy but so far no one seems to want to do that ! 

Hi @Ron Hardie,

Great to hear about the solar panels you’ve got installed there. Just in case you haven’t spotted it we’ve got a guide to all things solar over here.

It’s worth mentioning that as you are paid for your generated energy directly, these FiT payments don’t affect the Direct Debit calculations on your account.

Have you manage to get logged in to your online account yet? This is the best place to check how your monthly payment amount is calculated using the Direct Debit calculator. You can also check whether we’re currently receiving meter readings from your smart meter. Check out the guide below for help with this:
 

Do you know what type of SMETS1 smart meter you have installed? As all SMETS1 meters are being remotely upgraded to allow them to communicate with all energy suppliers, we wouldn’t usually offer a SMETS2 replacement. I’m sure our community smart meter fan, @Blastoise186, would be happy to help check if your meter should be updated yet, if you’re able to post some photos of the meters here.

Let us know if this would help.

Thanks for the useful response ,yes I am aware that the fit payment will not affect my DD I guess the point I was making is that with energy price increases at least the FIT payment offsets it somewhat ,yes I do have access to both my online account and the app which allows me to keep an eye on my day to day usage and direct debit ,I think my point in the first instance was that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all ,although I live in a four bedroomed property we (two of us) only use one bedroom as my kids are long gone ,one room is my ham radio shack, one is a spare room and one doubles as a spare room and an ironing room ,we have invested a lot into the property as energy efficient as possible by having solar panels with battery storage, an economiser to heat hot water from solar triple glazing and full wall and roof insulation ,my point is that the OVO algorithm won’t take account of this and so pre supposes (I Think) that as it a four bedroomed house there are four people here with attendant energy costs ,I am resigned to the fact that I will be overpaying effectively for the next few months until there is sufficient data to accurately predict usage .

as far as the smart meter is concerned it is an old one and my concern is not with the meter itself but with the screen in the house which is old ,clunky and vastly inaccurate ,that's what I need a new one for to keep an eye on what's going on ,I do have a separate one to show me the house versus solar panel generation and use 

@Jess_OVO 

many customers think their DD is too high and / or that they are maintaining excessive credit balances. Does OVO have statistics that show the average credit balance of customers, how many are in credit compared to Debit etc. You used I think to pay interest on credit balances, which was an excellent idea. But you don’t allow pay on receipt of bills by DD, whereas other suppliers do.

all adds up to an impression of a less than caring supplier. Please post answers to each point in turn.

Hi @meldrewreborn and can I just say that it’s nice to see a new and helpful face round these parts. There’s 5 or so forum members that have been essential in helping posters of this forum needing urgent help and advice, and you’re one of them. I’m sure everyone you’ve helped is just as grateful. 

I can confirm I have no access to figures of this kind. Credit balances and payment amounts are managed by a software platform built by our sister company, Kaluza. The aim of this software is to keep customers out of debt, by their contract end date if they’re fixed in, or for 12 months if they're on the variable plan. The calculations for the variable plan uses available prices which in this case includes the October price cap. 

We still do offer interest rewards for some customers. I’ve asked for the latest around eligibility as I heard it suggested that it wouldn’t be scalable to offer the incentive to every new customer joining from other brands within OVO Group.

As I’m sure you appreciate I’m removed from strategic decisions around things like whether to offer this or that payment method, and therefore not able to comment with any facts. Just my own opinions if I think it would be helpful. I suspect it’s the same reasoning for Direct Debits on receipt of bills: it might not be scalable given winter spikes in usage and the increased risk of debt over that period. OVO needs to be a sustainable business to make the kind of decarbonizing changes we’re aiming to make for itself and its customers. 

In response to your suggestion that OVO is a less caring supplier, I’d point you to OVO’s 10 point plan to address the national energy crisis

Sounds more like your browser cache messed up than anything else. It happens sometimes. Not much OVO can do about that I’m afraid.

There seems to be something very wrong with OVO's algorithm that it doesn't take account of the contract term end and constantly sets the DD relevant to 12 month from the day you access the account page. This means that I'm overpaying based on a constantly ongoing 12 month period and not calculated on the 6 months left of my contract.

Going into my account today I see that i'm £220 in credit. Yet I'm being flagged up that my account wiil be in debit in 12 months time and need to increase my direct debit!

Why? My usage is down and cost down (even with the recent increase levied) down compared to last year and my contract ends on the 13th May 2023. Not in 12 months time!

Offgen have recently announced that they are contacting suppliers who are abusing the direct debit system. Is this instance a sample of this abuse?

This is very interesting, we have just come over from SSE & regardless of price hikes our usage is quite low but they saying we should be paying £203 pcm!!! I'm sure it's being calculated on our use so far with the company & they won't tweak it at all!!! We were paying £121 with SSE & was in £300+ credit!!! Hope this is sorted for you!!!

Rob I think this is how they calculate the direct debits. it’s not an individual check based  recent usage, it’s not even a check on my previous 12 months usage, they seem to be basing it on the upper end of average usage for our house size nationwide., Of course his is also by far the most favourable options for the supplier.

I’ve tried several times now to change the direct debit based on my usage calculations. The algorithm in the account prevents it from going any lower than the amount it/they have decided it should be.

“

Keep sending meter readings and the system should eventually correct to your actual usage.

Sorry but I don’t share your optimism. I’ve been with OVO for two years and my direct debit always exceeds my use. The system just keeps accruing a credit balance.Have a look through some of the threads on here or on some of the review sites and you will see that this just does not happen. Besides why should we be overcharged every month and have OVO hold on to your money while waiting for their system to correct itself? It might make sense for OVO but how does that work out in anybody’s favour but OVO?  We don’t get interest on them holding on to our money. Money is tight for a lot of people. Being overcharged every month is no help if you are feeling the pinch. The consumer should be able to adjust the direct debit amount to the appropriate amount without any of this nonsense.

Is it really beyond OVO that they can’t figure out a better method? How come that I have a credit rating that if I wanted could run up thousands of pounds in debt and OVO cant be bothered to run a credit check to see that I and others like me can pay their way?

Hey @rodman,

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

If you’re not on a fixed contract, your direct debit will be based on a 12 month period. This takes into account a years worth of your estimated annual consumption. Every time you submit a meter reading your estimated annual consumption will update.

The more meter readings OVO gets, the more accurate the estimate will be. If you haven’t already got a smart meter, I’d advise booking your free upgrade. That way your billing will always be accurate. 

Prices increased significantly in October even with the Energy Price Guarantee, for some customers they’ll increase again in January due to the OFGEM price cap. In April 2023 the government is increasing the threshold for the EPG from £2500 a year (for an average household) to £3000. 

If you disagree with your direct debit calculation, you can request a refund of the surplus credit in your account, if you pay by direct debit you’ll need to keep one months direct debit in there. Or, you can call our Collections Team who can put your account on a review suspension for three months, this means your direct debit won’t be reviewed or increased for this period. 

Hope this helps.

Good morning

I'm new to the group,do any off you know why ovo would take over £230 off my account if my bill was only 75 for the month.we have always been in credit and still are ,so I can see no reason why they would take that amount.

Hi @Terry317 It is going to be difficult for any of us here to help as none of us can access your account or see your bills. I am just a customer like you. 

We could ask you a few questions to see if we notice anything obvious, but you might find it easier to contact OVO and ask them given your question. 

https://help.ovoenergy.com/#contact_us_container

1. Have you recently switched to OVO?

2. Do you pay OVO monthly by direct debit?

3. Assuming you do pay by Direct Debit, what is your monthly direct debit set to on this page?

https://account.ovoenergy.com/payments/direct-debit/calculator

My energy costs are working out around £34 / month.  I currently pay £30 but the OVO app suggests I will be £700 in debt at the end of the year and won’t let me adjust to anything less than around £90/month.  I assume this some sort of quirk? Does it reset at the end of the billing month? Or should I get OVO to intervene? Thanks

Hi @NFGoudie ,

If you’re on Simpler Energy, it’s probably best to leave things alone until mid-July and see what happens from there as prices are about to drop.

If you’re on Fixed Rate and think the calculations are wrong, https://help.ovoenergy.com to use Live Chat is probably the best place to ask for a review.

Either way, the calculations are reviewed pretty much daily and every time you submit a reading.

Hey @NFGoudie,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

It could be that it’s including your proposed wintertime usage. If you’re using more than the direct debit amount over summer, it’s likely when the usage increases over winter you’ll go into an arrears. The following topics may be helpful to you:

Or, it may be that estimated usage, or an out of line reading is causing your estimate annual consumption to be high. 

Hope this helps. 

Hi OVO,

I think your algorithms have gone a bit ‘wonky’.  My bills are more or less  constant (no gas) with lighting the only main user and that is intermittent.   All of them have had the DD changed by 3x despite a call yesterday that agreed with my predicament.   Hopefully it will resolve before my next payment date or I’m not sure who to ask to resolve if the customer service teams are being overruled by AI! 
 

best wishes

Neil

Hi @NFGoudie , as this forum is mainly other customers, your message won’t necessarily be seen by OVO. Being a public forum no one has access to your account from here but hopefully your call will result in a resolution 

Not OVO - just another user. You have to use the available channels to interact with the company.

The calculation is pretty straightforward*, and Ofgem has strict rules about how it’s to be carried out. The biggest factor is your Future Annual Consumption (FAC) figure which you can see on your Plan page. This must be based on available data wherever possible, so if yours is very different from your actual usage over the past twelve months, as evidenced by meter readings, you have a legitimate gripe.

Sadly, exports (I see you have a FIT) will interfere with this and I’m not at all certain that the calculator will treat them accurately.

I also see that you’ve recently had a windfall which may have reduced your credit balance - the other major factor. 

Do these calculations for yourself and have them ready when you go in to do battle with OVO. If it helps, in my experience, a DM on Twitter gives the best experience when dealing with OVO support.

*
EAC (Estimated Annual Cost) = (FAC x Unit Rate) + (366 x standing charge) + extras

DD = (EAC - credit balance)/12

Hi, has anyone else had their DD automatically increased? We currently pay £290/m and are over £250 in credit, however I went on the app this morning and they are saying if I don't increase my DD up to £300/m I will be in £53 debt by the end of my fixed rate term.... I understand this, however, every other energy firm I have ever used you sort of expect to go into a little debt through the winter then it rights itself through the summer again? I have tried to reduce the DD back down to my original amount as I feel this is more than sufficient but the app won't accept it.

Thanks.

Hi @Priceyred ,

I’m a forum volunteer.

I suspect that’s because you will be in debt at the end of the current contract and the system is designed to avoid that by getting you to either £0 or just above £0 at that point. If you make a manual payment now, it’ll recalculate things and may allow a reduced monthly amount.

If you still want to set it below the minimum amount, please call the Support Team on 0330 303 5063 and they can discuss it with you.

Hey @Priceyred,

I can see Blastoise has already given some helpful advice here.

Just wanted to add, the following topic may be useful to you: