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) .