I am paying monthly by my meter reading. I won't pay by DD I don't want OVO having my money upfront and changing it when they feel like it. I already have a ongoing complaint with them from my change over from SSE . Which will take months for them to sort out.

Hi there @iqute1,

OVO doesn’t support any payment method other than Direct Debits if you’re on any OVO fixed rate plans, so cancelling it will result in you being asked to reinstate the DD or be forced onto the SVR plan Simpler Energy. You will get a chance to re-instate the Direct Debit first though. You might be charged an early exit fee if this happens.

To be honest, I’d strongly recommend staying on fixed rate with the Direct Debit in place if possible, especially if the rates are below the next price cap.

Hope this helps!

Yes I agree the fixed is the way to go, I didn't concider the exit fees.

Like a lot of people OVO have increased their DD,  mine has gone from £115 to £225,  for some it will have gone up by much much more.

Thanks for the replies,  hope it helps other people thinking of cancelling their DD whilst on a fixed deal,  it's the best of the bad deals I guess for now anyways. 

Hey

im thinking of cancelling my DD and paying for what I use, I know I have to advise them of my intent( so not to be black listed) 

has anyone else done this please? 

This is not a good time to do that to be honest. If you cancel your direct debit, you will lose any fixed rate deals you currently have and will be forced onto standard variable. The next price cap is due to be announced this week and it will only last for three months, not six like the ones so far. Any potential savings now will be destroyed come the new year.

Thanks for responding, I’m already on a variable rate, which is increasing as expected, but I’m paying double already to what my actual usage is? So am in credit by a good amount. I just think if we were all in credit by £1000 they’re all earning a good commission on our overpayments? 
hooe that makes sense? 

Even more of a reason not to cancel the Direct Debit. The tariff rates for Pay On Demand/Pay On Receipt can be higher than Direct Debit due to the extra risk and costs that OVO incurs.

As for commission? Some people say it’s technically the only thing keeping some suppliers alive right now. Ofgem will eventually clamp down on that behaviour but it’s a long road. If you have a lot of credit right now, trust me… You WILL need it and you’ll be glad you stayed on Direct Debit so that it doesn’t hit your payments anywhere near as badly.

The profits made by energy suppliers are also miniscule, you’re talking maybe 1% profit margins at best after all costs are deducted.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

All that said, @TessDay, you’re perfectly entitled to pay on demand on Simpler. It’s your choice and you don’t need to even let us know. 

Why not have a look at reducing your Direct Debit instead, via your online account?

@Tim_OVO  I would as would be cancelling a DD ? So if not informed payment would be returned then that’s where the bad payer starts? 

If you’re on the variable plan, Simpler Energy, there’s no contractual requirement to have a Direct Debit in place. Instead you could pay on the receipt of the bill. If you didn’t make those payments to keep your balance at or above £0, you’d enter our debt collections journey. But other than that you’re all good. 

As blastoise says, we recommend you keep a Direct Debit active to automate payments, and have it set to the recommended amount to keep you out of debt this winter. Have a look here at what that amount is, and make any changes:

https://account.ovoenergy.com/payments/direct-debit/change-amount

You may also find some of the resources and support channels listed here worth considering. 

Hi.  Re cancelling monthly d/d.  I am on Simpler Energy SVR.

There is conflicting advice over this.  
 

Some on this forum advise against, but I have been advised via OVO Help Chat that I can cancel my monthly d/d with no repercussions & pay on monthly receipt of bill - either by online payment or S/O.  Quote “And you will have more control over your finances”.  Unquote.

 So.  My decision is to cancel & I will monitor my monthly usage & pay for what I use.  I may top-up occasionally.  But I will be in control.  I’ll take the risk.

Hello,

Please can you provide the Standing charge and pence per unit rates for both the simpler energy and the simpler energy on demand plans as i am cancelling my direct debit and will pay on bill receipt…

I would also like to point out that during the currently climate it is very unfair to charge customers a higher amount for not wanting to pay estimated amounts rather than what they use each month…

Thanks in advance 

Hi @beardez ,

I’m sorry but I don’t have that information available. It will be provided to you when you switch tariff. Be warned that the on-demand version is going to be more expensive than the Direct Debit version.

As a forum volunteer, I cannot access your account myself and the OVO Forum runs independently from the main Support Team. I will pass your feedback to the forum moderators when I get chance.

Hi @mwrutherford,

Welcome to the OVO online community.

I’m sorry you’ve received conflicting advice. We have two types of Simpler Variable Plan; on demand and direct debit. The rates for the direct debit option are cheaper, but you can choose the payment on demand method if that suits you better. You can pay on receipt of the bill through your online account. 

We also recommend direct debits as it avoids a spike in payments in winter and automates everything. 

We’ve got some great guides here which explain how direct debit reviews work and how we calculate your direct debit. 

Here are some more resources you might find helpful:

Price rises: we're here to support you

Here’s the latest information on rising energy prices, and how we can help 

Energy Bills Support Scheme

This page has all the information that we and our call centre team have on the Energy Bills Support Scheme right now. 

Ways to get financial support

If you’re struggling financially or you’re worried about your energy bills, we’re here to support you. Find out about the different ways we can help here.

I hope that helps. 

If your objection to Direct Debit is that you do not want to build up a large credit (in effect an interest free loan to OVO), just go along with the DD and then periodically demand the surplus DD be returned to you.  Its a fundamental right that OVO cannot refuse, except when the balance is too low to justify such a move.

The whole purpose of Direct Debits is to spread the bills across the year, and bills are heaviest in the winter.  Logically it makes excellent sense to commence a DD in November, so that your account will be in debit through the winter and repaid the next summer.

good luck asking for a refund the online account says not has not had a meter reading in the last 28 days they had one 13 days ago they get one every month

Actually, the online self-service refund process does work. I managed to pull out the £465 I stashed away a few months ago to keep it safe via the mobile app. It’s currently on the way back to me.

The only reason I refunded that is because I always had a particular purpose in mind for that cash but I wanted to put it somewhere safe for a while so that I didn’t accidentally spend it.

It’s another reason why smart meters can be useful. Given that Raichu is set to Half-Hourly mode and submits daily, I never have a case where a refund gets blocked because I didn’t submit a meter reading.

Well it nor working for me and I psy by DD and submitt regular reading every month. 

In that case, your best bet is to talk to the Support Team as they’re able to attempt a refund in cases where self-service isn’t working.

Hi

thanks for replying

I leave it till January till we whats happening with changes that are coming, I hope that if the cap is frozen OVO will reduce our DD’s down.

This is the message for me re refunds, They have reading every month.Last reading 22nd august

We’re sorry we can’t give you a refund today

It looks like you haven’t sent us any meter readings in the last 28 days, so your balance isn’t up to date. Please send us a reading for all fuels on your account and allow 24 hours for your balance to update. If you think we’ve got this wrong, please let us know(opens in new window) .

Good evening folks.

Thank you one & all for taking part in the discussion.

I’ve changed my mind & will continue with monthly d/d whilst monitoring our actual usage.  If it appears that our energy saving efforts are working then the monthly d/d may go.

Our latest bill has seen an increase of nearly £110 credit to £264 despite remaining at our £150  monthly d/d set earlier this year.

In addition to a new ATAG boiler, new dg windows , radiator reflectors & a bio fuel fire we are also now booked for a Solar Panel with Battery consultation.  And that’s the savings gone!

Cancelled the Hybrid car (self charging via petrol engine).  Can’t afford that now & want to have something in case OVO account goes into debit.

NB We’re going to be paying towards our two daughters energy bills too - I really hope that the Conservatives (or SNP up here) get to grips with this crisis.

OFGEM reckon paying by cash / cheque rather than DD adds £215 to the average bill. Think it through!