How do Direct Debits work?

A Direct Debit is an automatic monthly payment set up with your bank or building society. It means you can choose which day you want the payment to go out each month, and your bank will sort the rest.

Once a Direct Debit is set up, you don’t need to do anything else.

It’s often the best way to make regular payments, such as your energy bill.

Why paying by Direct Debit is the best way to pay

Direct Debit is usually the best way to pay bills because:

• you get a cheaper rate if you’re on our variable Simpler Energy plan

• you don’t have to think about it – it’s all done automatically each month

• you don’t need to worry about forgetting or missing a payment

• it can help you budget as you know how much is going out of your account each month and when

• it spreads your energy costs evenly

My Direct Debit has changed recently. Will it change again because of the price cap?

Yes, it could change – but it depends. Your Direct Debit will be based on your new prices, as well as the energy your home has used over the past year. If the Direct Debit looks too high or too low, we'll let you know and it might be changed automatically. 

This is to make sure you don’t build up unexpected debt by 31 March 2026. We always want to avoid that happening to you.

How does OVO work out my monthly Direct Debit?

To work out your monthly Direct Debit amount, we:

• look at your energy use so far and estimate how much you’re likely to use by 31 March 2026. This includes any costs, such as standing charges and add-ons

• take away your current balance, factoring in any credit or debt

• divide the result by the number of payments left until 31 March 2026, which gives us your monthly amount

We aim to bring your balance to £0 by 31 March 2026. This way, you won't owe us anything, and we won't owe you anything, making it easier to manage your energy costs.

We regularly check your Direct Debit to make sure your balance is on track. 

Why is my Direct Debit increasing when my balance is in credit?

This could be down to a few reasons. Sometimes, even if your balance is in credit, your monthly payments still need to go up.

Usually, this happens if it looks like your balance is going to drop below £0 by 31 March 2026. We want you to avoid building up any unexpected debt – we never want that to happen to you. So we work out if that’s likely by predicting how much energy your home will use, then checking if your payments will cover it. 

It’s also useful for your balance to be in credit. It can act like a pot of money to cover those times when your energy use might be higher. For example, you’re likely to build up credit in the summer months when energy use is lower. But you might need to use this credit in the winter months when it’s colder and darker – and your energy use is usually much higher. 

We regularly check your Direct Debit to make sure you’re paying the right amount.

You can check your current Direct Debit amount and adjust this if needed on the ‘Payments’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS) -

Have we received your meter readings recently?

The more information we have about your usage patterns, the better we’re able to predict what you’ll use in future. If you haven’t already got one installed, we’d really recommend getting a Smart meter installed, which will automatically track what you’ve been using. If not be sure to remember to submit your meter readings at least monthly (you can submit these on the ‘Meter Readings’ page of your online account). This can really help your suggested Direct Debit amount become more accurate and avoid large increases to your Direct Debit amount in future.

Is there any support available if I’m struggling to pay for my energy?

There is help available if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills – both from us here at OVO Energy and from government schemes and charities as well.

There are many ways we can help – such as setting up a payment plan for you, which spreads the cost of your energy to make it more manageable. If you want to find out about payment plans, you can request one online here – we’ll take you through what you need to do, and ask you for some details.

Our dedicated team is also specially trained to support you. They can make sure you’re receiving any financial assistance from the government that you’re eligible for, and take you through payment support schemes that are available. 

You can find out more about these schemes and where to seek free, independent advice right here.

Hey @victsandy thanks for your quick reply, could you please check your account balance and confirm if you are in credit or debt? That will help us understand what's going on here.

It's good to hear you have a Smart Meter, as that should have been sending us readings each month so we've been able to record what you've been using.

As I mentioned Direct Debit increases are usually due to the amount you are paying per month, not actually covering what you are using so if you can check your account, that will help us narrow down what's going on.

Darran

Just looking back this is the contents of the welcome email i received from Ovo. 

Putting aside any prior knowledge of how energy bills work. 

There are quite a few mentions of "fixed". 

It doesn't actually say there will be any review over the 12 months based on actual energy consumption which may cause the direct debits to go up and down. There may be further info in the attachments that came with the email, but i didn't look at them at the time, and important information should really be in the email itself rather than in any attachment small print. 

It is interesting as my mum was on a fixed cost energy plan for several years, irrespective of the amount of energy she actually used. A few providers offered these plans for a few years. I haven't seen anything like that since then. 

I was aware the direct debits could change based on energy use so i didn't notice the ovo wording. 

Just MHO, the email is very poorly worded. Not everyone would be able to deduce the direct debit was variable based on usage over the 12 months if they didn't have prior knowledge about how the plan works and the meaning of fixed.  It may seem like common sense, but the variable nature of the direct debit should really be made obvious in the email 

--------------

Welcome to OVO Energy

OVO Energy Logo

Account Number: xxxx

Your journey to zero carbon starts now

Hi xxxx

Thank you for choosing OVO.

We’re on a mission to fight the climate crisis using green energy and technology all with the help of members like you.

Ready? Let’s go!

Your switch at a glance
Your plan: Better Smart

You're getting: 100% renewable electricity as standard and a carbon-busting tree planted in your name every year

Your start date: xxxxx

Your first Direct Debit: £xx on xxxxx

Important check

Now’s the time to make sure we have the right meter details for your home. If they’re wrong even by 1 digit we could end up switching the wrong person.

MPAN for electricity
Xxxxxx
MPRN for gas
Xxxxx

Please check that these numbers match yours by looking at the top of an old bill (you won’t find them on your meters). If they don’t, please call us right away.

Your plan
Better Smart
£xxxx a year inc. VAT
£xx a month
Fixed for 12 months
 
Electricity
Gas

Unit rate:
Xxxxp/kWh
Xxxxxp/kWh

Standing charge:
Xxxxxp/da
Xxxxp/da

Plan length:
Fixed for 12 months

End Date:
Xxxx
Xxxxx

Exit fees:
£xx
£xx

The unit rates and standing charges in this table include 5% VAT. See our terms and conditions.

We’ve attached your Plan Overview and Tariff Information, so you can read all the details. If you spot something that doesn’t look quite right, please call us within 7 working days.

What next?

Today - Sign up to your account
Just sign up to your account online with your email address and create a password.

Your switch progress
We’ll drop you an email to let you know how the switch is going.

Xxx – Opening meter readings
We’ll ask for your first meter readings.

Xxx – Your start date
We’ll begin powering your home and take your first Direct Debit (either on this day or the next available working day).

Your year of energy
We’ve estimated your energy use over the next 12 months and what it will cost you on Better Smart.

Electricity
Gas
XxxkWh
XxxkWh
Xxx
Xxx

Estimates include VAT but exclude any add-ons, discounts and the Warm Home Discount, if you’re eligible.

Direct Debit
We work out your Direct Debit amount by dividing the cost of the energy we think you’ll use in a year by 12. That means your Direct Debit will be £xx a month.

? 

If your Direct Debit payments fail on Simpler Energy, or you or your bank cancels them, you’ll start paying the higher On Demand rates instead. We’ll let you know before this happens, to give you the chance to set up the Direct Debit again and avoid paying more.

Priority Services Register (PSR)
If you or someone in your household needs extra support for medical reasons or otherwise there’s lots we can do to help. From giving notice about planned power cuts, to creating large-print or braille bills.

Find out more about PSR.

Get your questions answered
You’ve got lots of ways to do that:

Chat to us via our online chat (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-1pm)

Check out our online Help pages

Or ask other members on the OVO Forum

If you can't find what you're looking for online, just give us a call on 0330 303 5063 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm).

Megawatts of love
The OVO Team

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@Jeffus excellent comment. Exactly!

Would be better if OVO  put the energy (pardon the pun) into providing the customer with clear terms and conditions of their contracts rather than providingchoochy forums to complain about them

I never read the detailed terms and conditions and only skim read the email and checked the meter IDs. So i can't honestly say anything about the terms and conditions either way. 

I do agree the email is poorly worded, obviously i don't know what you actually received from OVO. 

I may not agree with everything posted on this forum, but i do find it useful background info myself and there are many posters (both ovo employees and customers like ourselves) who i find very informative and helpful. 

Glad to hear that you’re finding this community helpful, @Jeffus - we’re working hard here to provide a platform for valuable discussions and peer-peer support.

Whilst we might not always get things right, by allowing a space for issues to be raised publicly, we can take this feedback on board and hopefully provide advice for others who might have similar issues in future.

I totally appreciate the confusion surrounding the term ‘fixed’ when referring to your plan, @Anne_6JC - whilst it’s a standard industry term and no energy providers now provide a ‘fixed Direct Debit’ type energy plan, we have already amended the wording of our welcome emails to make our Direct Debit review policy clearer -

I think that helps, but i think it would also benefit from a statement just after this. Rightly or wrongly some people may not get down to the updated statement. Something more explicit that says your direct debit payments are not fixed and may go up or down depending on how much energy you actually use. 

It is still too easy for a cohort of the population to misunderstand i personally think. I suspect my disabled brother may misunderstand if he looked at it for example. And i am not sure my adopted brother would pick up the statement you have changed. 

-----------

Your plan
Better Smart
£xxxx a year inc. VAT
£xx a month
Fixed for 12 months

Thank you for such thoughtful and considered feedback, @Jeffus.

I think you’ve raised a really important point and I’m going to make sure this one is passed on to the team behind these communications.

Removing the complexity of the energy industry and making your energy account easier to manage and understand is a vital in our journey to Plan Zero, so getting things right from the very first email we send is key. 

As always it’s so nice to see this community providing a space for these discussions - keep up the great valuable contributions! 

*edited by mod* I am £512 in credit and do not agree to the proposed increase of Direct Debit from £195 to £364. I therefore request that my monthly payment is not increased while I am in credit. I fully appreciate the unit price increases that will take place on 01/10/22. Thank you. Richard Lewis.

I posted the above to the OVO online chat this afternoon but have yet to receive a response.

Hi @Sunelectric ,

I’m sorry, but you can’t make this kind of request via the OVO Forum as we cannot access your account from here. Please contact the Support Team if you still want to make this change.

In addition, please refrain from posting personal information on the forum as it will affect your safety. If possible, please consider editing out your account number, otherwise it will be removed by a moderator.

Thank you.

What safety issue is there in sharing my account number?

It’s personal information, combine that with a couple of other details and I could easily take over your entire OVO account if I wanted to. Social engineering is pretty powerful after all. However, I don’t use my skills for evil but I still look out for forum members because I want to help you stay safe online.

just ask for your credit back and accept the DD increase, which is a “normal” level of increase in today’s crazy world

Ovo increased my DD without any previous mail or notification and I cannot change it back. I am currently in credit and never been in debit with them neither di I envisage I will be in debit at all in the foreseeable future. Why is it possible for you to increase my debit based on what you think I will use and I cannot reduce my DD based on what I think I will use? With this DD increase my account will be in credit over 300 pounds. Then you will still add to the debit the 66 pounds in order to credit my account? What is this? While I understand energy prices are extremely high right now, I believe this is an extremely wicked act. To what end.. to increase you profits!

If this amount is presented, I don't guarantee it will be paid as I am not prepared for it. I wasnt informed

Hi @Tsalewa ,

If you wish to dispute this one, I’d recommend giving the Collections Team a call on 0800 069 9831. They’ll work something out with you.

With that said, the £66 a month is meant to go to your bank account, rather than stay with OVO.

Thank you very much @Blastoise186.  I will definitely give them a call. I believe before this increase was done they should have gone though the account an carry out a proper estimate. I would rather 300 pound sit in my account than with Ovo. I need the funds too!

@Blastoise186 This isnt my meter usage at all. This must be based on previous tenants usage. The highest I've used is 87 pounds a month! And that went down this month to 59 so far. I do submit my meter readings regularly and just requested s smart meter. This DD is simply not correct

Keep submitting readings. The calculations will adapt but it can take three months before changes go through, just to avoid it constantly flying all over the place.

Thank you so much @Blastoise186Many many thanks. Will definitely do. 

I’ve tried to stop my DD being doubled - my kids have just left for university, and there’s only me in the house, and I spend most of my time round my partner’s, so there’s a significant portion of time when there’s minimal energy usage.  I have a smart meter and the OVO app, so I can see when there’s been usage, and keep an eye on the bill.

 I rang through to the customer service centre to ask for it to not be increased - my usage will go down, and I’m £200 in credit.

After much debating with a very enthusiastic agent on the other end, I was told I had no choice, so I offered to pay monthly, and was then told that if I did that, the smart meter would be removed, and a pre-pay meter installed.  I’m happy to pay when the bill arrives, but no, this wasn’t an option.

My argument is that my estimated costs/charges are to ‘allow a zero balance at the end of my contract’ - which doesn’t end for 12 months - but hang on, I was with SSE, then arbitrarily moved to OVO, I don’t remember anything about a new 12 month contract? - I def didn’t sign anything, and I’ve been out of contract with SSE for a significant period of time!.  I also argue that there ‘projection’ is base upon this year’s usage, when there’s been a massive charge (120Kw in one day!) on may account back in May as an ‘account adjustment’ when moving from SSE.

So, I’m in a new contract I didn’t agree to, I can’t change my DD amount, even though its proven wrong, and can’t go to monthly manual payments for fear of losing my smart meters!

Is all this correct????

Yours annoyingly

Phil

Nope. That doesn’t sound right.

The name’s 186, Blastoise186. I’m one of the forum volunteers here.

If you wish to move to Pay On-Demand, simply cancel the DD BUT be warned that you will lose any active fix deal by doing so. It will also cost you around £200 a year more to be on Simpler Energy On-Demand than Simpler Energy Direct Debit. You would however, get to keep the Smart Meters.

It might be worth talking to the Collections Team for now. They can force a 3 month Direct Debit Review Suspension and discuss a more appropriate payment amount with you. The direct number should be 0800 069 9831.

Just spoke with the number you mentioned Blastoise 186 - many thanks for your reply! - Unfortunately, they refuse to put a DD review suspension on my account, and I’ve been given a ‘temporary’ discount down to £209.  Its not that I can’t afford it, its that I’m being forced to pay pre-emptively, and they’ve no basis for assuming I can’t - I’m £150 in credit!   Damn, I’m so ruddy annoyed…   They apparently need six months reading before they’ll agree to reduce the DD anymore - I’m guessing that SSE never provided any historical info then?...

You’re welcome It’s probably the best you can easily get at the moment. But if you’re still not convinced it’s enough, you could try the Complaints Process via https://ovoenergy.com/feedback . You might get some results that way but be prepared to wait as it’s rammed at the moment.