Has anyone else had a continual ongoing battle with ovo to try and stop endless price increases? so far my 'fixed rate' dd payments have increased from £76 pcm to their current estimate of £293 pcm... for a small 3 bed semi!!! any suggestions about how to prevent my impending bankruptcy at the hands of ovo energy? TIA.
Solved
I feel like my Direct Debit Check In is totally unfair, why has it increased?
Best answer by Darran_OVO
Updated on 22/08/25 by Abby_OVO
How do Direct Debits work?
A Direct Debit is an automatic monthly payment set up with your bank or building society. You can choose which day you want the payment to go out each month, and your bank will sort the rest.
Once your Direct Debit is set up, you don’t need to do anything else to make your payments.
Why paying by Direct Debit is the best way to pay
Direct Debit is usually the simplest and cheapest way to pay for your energy. This is because:
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You don’t have to remember to make payments each month – it’s all done automatically
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You’ll get a cheaper rate if you’re on our variable Simpler Energy tariff
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You’ll pay the same every month for your energy, which can help with budgeting
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A Direct Debit spreads your energy costs evenly over the year, which means you’re less likely to have to pay more in winter
How does OVO work out my monthly Direct Debit?
The aim is to make sure you have credit for 1 month’s payment in your OVO account by the end of March. This is to help cover any change in your home energy use over the course of the year.
For new customers, this only comes into effect once you’ve reached March. When you first join, the aim is to make sure you have no balance left to pay after 1 year.
Why is my Direct Debit increasing when my balance is in credit?
It’s normal for a credit balance to build up in your energy account over summer, when energy use is usually lower. This credit can help pay for your energy in winter, when most homes use more. It helps you spread your energy costs over time.
Even if your energy account is in credit, sometimes your Direct Debit payments still need to increase.
This could be the case if we’ve worked out that your OVO account is likely to have a debt balance long term – based on how much energy your home is predicted to use.
You can always choose to get a credit refund if you prefer. Request one at any time in your online account, in our app, or over the phone. You just need to leave credit in there for 1 month’s payment. This is in line with our refund policy.
It’s important you have all the info, then you can decide what’s best for you.
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If you request a refund online, sometimes we’ll need to confirm this over the phone. This is to make sure you have the details of how it’ll affect your energy account.
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Getting a refund might mean your Direct Debit payments will need to increase, once your account has less credit in it.
How we check you’re paying the right amount
Your Direct Debit payment amount will be regularly reviewed to make sure it still covers your home’s energy use.
We’ll let you know if your Direct Debit amount needs to change to keep your energy account balance up to date.
For even more info on how our Direct Debits work, check out this short YouTube video.
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?
If you’re worried about your payments changing or you can’t afford them, please speak to our team. We can make sure you get financial support that’s tailored to you and your situation. There are many options available for anyone who needs help. We have a dedicated Library section on the Forum all about the additional support available.
To get in touch with our team:
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Sign up to our online tool at ovoenergy.com/payment-support and we can find the best plan for you.
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Call us on 0800 069 9831. We’re open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.
+7- Super User
This query deserves a proper response, but first we have to know which ‘future energy cost’ figure you’re referring to, where you’re seeing it and why you doubt its accuracy.
There are two related figures that are available in the online account:
- the Future Annual Consumption figure on the Plan page. This is in kWh, which can be used to estimate future fuel costs by applying current tariff rates;
- the Estimated energy costs shown under Check your monthly minimum payment calculation on the page Change direct debit amount.
There may be others, so please clarify ...
I'm referingʻ to Estimated energy costs shown under Check your monthly minimum payment calculation on the page Change direct debit amount.
This is a monetary value that has no relation to the same usage period last year!
+4- Super User
This one then:
Looking underneath that you will find dropdowns with an explanation of how they calculate that ‘monthly minimum payment’ and the calculation for your account at the current time.
I'm referingʻ to Estimated energy costs shown under Check your monthly minimum payment calculation on the page Change direct debit amount.
This is a monetary value that has no relation to the same usage period last year!
The monetary value that is shown there is calculated as a total of 4 things:
Your recorded usage last year* in kWh for the period from now to the next 31 March priced at your current tariff prices (not last years tariff prices),
PLUS
The daily standing charges that are due to 31 March, (current SCs not last years SCs).
PLUS
Your current account balance,
PLUS
An extra payment, if needed, so that you will be at least a month in credit on 31 March.
*If a full recorded usage for last year is not available then ‘Industry Standard’ figures are used instead.
Thanks Nukecad, I'll try this calculation.
I have all my usage data from last year, so will run the numbers to see how close it is.
Cheers
+7- Super User
I don’t have gas, so these instructions will have to be modified as appropriate if gas is involved ...
To find out where the Estimated energy costs come from,
- Take the Future Annual Consumption (FAC) figure from the Plan page, calculate the annual cost using the unit rate per kWh and add 365 standing charges, then add 5% VAT.
- Divide the result by 12 to find the notional ‘one month’s cost’ amount.
- On the DD Calculator page, use mouse, pencil and paper to tot up the monthly amounts showing on hover on the Costs bar chart.
- Add the results of (2) and (3) together to get a total estimated cost between now and 31 March next year.
- Adjust this figure for Today’s balance - add it if it’s negative (debt), subtract it if it’s positive (credit).
This should bring you within a penny or two of the Estimated annual costs. The one variable that could throw the whole exercise off kilter is the FAC. This will ideally be not far off the past year’s consumption, found by finding the difference between the latest meter reading and the one on the same date 365 days earlier. If your FAC is very different, there will be an explanation.
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OVO Energy Ltd, registered office 1 Rivergate Temple Quay Bristol, BS1 6ED, company no. 06890795 registered in England and Wales.
OVO (S) Gas Limited is registered in England and Wales (Company No. 02716495) at 1 Rivergate, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6ED.
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