Increase to Direct Debit - new way of calculating Direct Debit amount?

No you don’t.

However you do hand over payment for them before you consume them.

The diesel is a particularly good comparison:
If you put a months worth of diesel in your tank then you pay before you use that energy to power your car over the next month.

That is what having a months credit on your energy account balance at the end of each month also effectively achieves, that credit is paying for your next months energy before you use it.

Which is the same as you paying for your diesel before you use it, (and paying for your coffee before you drink it).

I hear your argument. It rather ignores a few fundamentals:

I am already in credit with OVO. And not getting interest on that credit any more. Just not the the amount they desire it to be. I am not already in credit to the petrol station or coffee shop.

I don’t have a contract with a petrol station or coffee shop. I do with OVO. 

The historical norm is to pay for goods or services on receipt, eg after receiving a bill or invoice. Money is a form of “IOU”. (Eg on bank notes “I promise to pay the bearer…”)

Continuing your argument, I should be paid my salary a month before I do a months work. Good luck with arguing that one to employers.

Have you ever tried to get credit back from OVO…? They used to pay interest, then that stopped. Then they set a % limit of how much of your own credit you could “request” back per request. Before you initiate the process, they make it seem straightforward and easy. Then once you actually try it, all the “ifs, buts and maybes” come out. 

And I would also add, at the beginning of the year I set the DD payment to that recommended by OVO themselves. Their DD calculator confirmed “we think you are paying the right amount”!

We use less than the predicted amounts. 
Yet the goalposts get moved, mid contract, to bank roll OVO. 
If they collapse, are customers likely to get their credit back? I would guess not. 

Of course historical norms change, otherwise it would still be the norm to use horses and sailing ships for transport, and heat our homes with coal fires.

It was the historical norm for PAYG meters to take coins and someone would come round and empty them once a month, things change.

I do hear what you are saying, I’m not keen on the changes either and I am actively controling my DD’s to give just over zero balance on 31st March 2026.

(Hint- once youve looked at the DD calculator chart click the ‘continue’ button, scroll down, and take the 10% reduction to counteract their 8% ‘month-in-credit’ increase. You can’t keep that up forever though as after 3 months it will set a higher recommended DD, and so it will get you eventually).

There again if you don’t like what OVO are doing then you can always vote with your feet, be careful though because a switch may cost you more than it might look at first.

eg. I could switch supplier and currently would pay a lower DD amount each month - however I would then be paying a higher rate for my energy use.
With OVO they currently want a higher DD, but that’s  building up a months credit, it’s still MY credit (My money).
Once I do have that months credit built up then my DD with OVO should be lower than it would be with another supplier.

It’s the difference between a short term view and a longer term view.

There aren’t really any ‘predicted amounts’. The DD calculator’s Cost chart shows only how the previous year’s consumption might be apportioned over twelve months. At this time of year, there may only be three or four months left on the chart, but they are expensive ones. The first quarter is nominally responsible for 29% of the year’s consumption; add in December’s contribution and the four months account for 40%. 

If the ‘predicted amounts’ are currently bigger than your actual usage, then either your consumption year on year is falling, or there are other months when you use more. If consumption is falling, the ‘previous year’s consumption’ will also be falling, so the effect you see will lessen over time.

This time last year, the target date had been pushed out a year, so we were expected in December 2024 to be aiming for a zero balance by 31 March 2026. This hasn’t happened yet this year, so it may be that the ‘extra month’s costs’ added to the DD are somehow instead of the extension. The extra will of course become more onerous as we approach 31 March, simply because there are fewer months to amass it in. 

In any event, the extra cost is IMO not really significant. The pecuniary loss is immaterial, so it can surely only be the principle that causes so much ill-feeling.

When energy companies collapse, those in credit NEVER lose the credit they have with that company. See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/what-happens-if-your-energy-supplier-goes-bust where it explains this. If you have ever paid for something in advance from a retail company (for example, some furniture), you almost never have this level of protection and you become one of the many creditors of that company. There is a hierarchy of who gets paid first, if at all. 

Morning ​@Carter_99, I hope you’re well, and many thanks ​@Bendog, ​@Nukecad and ​@Firedog for your input here.

​@Carter_99 as Bendog says, your credit is guaranteed by Ofgem if a supplier goes bust. I’m well versed in this situation, having worked for OVO during the company being chosen as Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) in this scenario. I’ve also been on supply previously with a supplier who went bust, so have been through this myself. Although it was slightly annoying, I got my credit back quite quickly. 

Regarding the interest reward that we historically used to pay on credit balances, we had to scrap this as it wasn’t falling under the Ofgem expectations of treating all customers fairly. Of course it was a shame for customers when we stopped this, but sometimes we have to alter our offerings and propositions to fall in line with Industry expectations.

As for the Direct Debit - we’re not the only supplier who charges and reviews Direct Debits in the way that we do. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach that won’t suit everyone. Apologies if it doesn’t suit you. Be prepared to not have a complaint logged if you do contact in to make one - if the complaint is only about the Direct Debit review procedure than it will be logged as feedback, as it’s a policy that we’re not going to change. However, if there’s an actual issue with your account, that’s causing an incorrect increase to your Direct Debit, then this of course can be logged as a complaint.

You do also have the option of cancelling your Direct Debit and moving onto the Simpler Energy (variable) plan to pay on demand. Please note this may cause an increase to your rates if you choose to do this.

I hope this helps.

So I'm currently £287 in credit and paying £175 per month. 

OVO wants it up to £205 per month to cover me till march. 

Great, except my usage will drop as I'm away for 2 months, but the system won't let me keep my DD at the same amount.

Come on OVO, I've been in this house 20 plus years. You've already ripped me off by changing my tariff (to a much more expensive one, obviously!)when you installed my smart meter, don't do it again....

‘The system’ may not, but a support agent will be able to do more. Give them a call:  Emergency contact information, scheduled PAYG outages, and methods for contacting OVO - (December 2025) | The OVO Forum
   

This sounds odd, unless you’re referring to exchanging an RTS system for a smart meter. Even in that situation, you shouldn’t be worse off after the exchange, although you might have to make some behaviour changes to arrive at the most economical outcome. If this is your situation and you’d like help, please use the Ask our community button to start your own thread about it. 

That's what happened.. I had the old meter and when it was phased out I got the smart meter. 

Was told my tariff wasn't compatible with the new meter and was put on a tariff that more than halves the amount of off peak electricity I get.…