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

You will have been given a choice before the meter exchange, so it may not be completely accurate to say you were ‘put on a tariff’. 

There’s no limit on how much offpeak electricity you can use (within reason, that is). The number of offpeak hours may be lower, though; some RTS systems had a separate 24-hour lower heating tariff, but that will have gone. Some RTS replacements are configured for 10 hours offpeak, possibly more than were originally available for storage heaters. Which tariff are you now on? Do you have storage heaters?

I was on a tariff for about 25 years, which was done away with because it wasn't profitable enough…

It gave 12 hours off peak per weekday all day at weekends , plus a separate lower stored heat rate. 

Changing to smart meter, I was told the only tariff I could have now is economy 10.... So I've lost 60 hours off peak electricity per week. 

So yeah, I got the choice of economy 7 or economy 10.…

Not really a choice though.

No comparison there, I see - depending on what the peak, offpeak and heating rates were, of course. Some of the ones I’ve seen were eye-watering. I hope you’re managing to keep warm at a manageable cost.

Did you ask Support if you could freeze your DD for three months in view of your forthcoming absence? What did they say?

Yeah I've been stiffed big time on tariffs. I'm lucky I can afford it but there must be many in the same position for whom it was disastrous. 

I've emailed OVO to tell them to leave my DD alone. I shouldn't have to explain why!

However, as you have explained, your meter was replaced recently due to the switching off of the RDS system, something outside of the control of every company. You have a new tariff so OVO have no idea how much energy you are likely to consume as they will not have enough data from you to make a proper estimate. If you are unwilling to give them the information that might help, then, perhaps, if you can afford it, you should enjoy your time away, safe in the knowledge that, when you return, you will have credit on your account that will allow you to heat up your home again after being empty. As many of us found in the cold snap in November and the below 0°C temperatures of just a few days ago, warming up the fabric of our homes as well as the interior of them takes quite a while. If, at the end of the winter, you have a lot of credit, you can, of course, request a refund. 

The data for my winter usage is available from previous years... The pricing has rocketed but the number of KW/h is a standard. 

 So my payments stay the same, rather than me cancelling them 

As they have done the entire time I've been here, but the company hasn't hiked my DD to this degree at any time in the past.

I understand the principle, but I don't get interest on the credit they hold for me, so I'm not going to increase that amount!!

You yourself should be able to get the £205 reduced to £184.50 instantly.

Login to your online account and go to "Adjust your Direct Debit".
Click the green "Continue" button.
Scroll down a few lines, do you see this?

If you see that then you can click on “Reduce payments now” to instantly reduce your DD to however much it says, (for you that should be 205x0.9= £184.50),and peg it there for the next 3-months.

If you don't see that, or if want a bigger reduction then you need to contact support.

PS. The DD calculator doesn’t know that you will be away for a few months, and wouldn’t take it into acount anyway.
(OVO don’t seem to trust their customers to manage their own budgets and set their own DD’s, but you can get round things like with that reduction tool or by talking to support).

Hi thanks, tried that first and it won't let me adjust it down at all....

​@Heilan_coo do you actualy see that Green “Reduce payments now” button?
If you see it then have you actually clicked on it?

If it shows that message with the “Reduce payments now” button, (and you haven’t already used it to reduce your payment from the recommended), then clicking on that green “Reduce payments now” button will reduce it instantly.*

Even when putting in an amount in the box above, or the box on the previous page, won’t let you reduce the DD payable clicking on that green button will reduce it for you to the amount stated, and will do it instantly.

*(Obviously though you can only use that button once to reduce it - unless it later shows you that the recommended DD has dropped, so you can then drop your already reduced payment by another pound or two).

​@Heilan_coo it’s a shame for you and many others what happened with the closure of the RTS signal. Unfortunately, this was an Industry decision, and was not down to OVO so, when it came to offering solutions, our hands were somewhat tied.

Regarding your Direct Debit, our computer systems are programmed to estimate future consumption on the basis that you’ll be in the property using energy. If you’re going to be away for a couple of months then we’ll have no way of knowing this without you telling us. An advisor can have this discussion with you, and ensure that your Direct Debit isn’t increased for that time. Get in touch with our Support Team and explain the property will be vacant - they should be able to put a freeze on your Direct Debit.