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

It doesn’t really help ​@Emmanuelle_OVO.

My mother has a smart meter, those latest monthly bills are based on smart meter readings that OVO is automatically receiving. Your predictive algorithm is not really the issue, it’s the inability of your customer service staff to override it for more than 90 days. She has storage heaters so normally her bill would rise significantly in the Winter. So based on historic usage you’d be right to increase her direct debits. BUT.. having informed you the property is empty your staff should have the autonomy and power to override the algorithm permanently on an account basis and save me having to contact you every 90 days. I’ve certainly got better things to do and I’m sure OVO staff have too.

To be fair it was an Ofgem directive that DD’s are reviewed/revised more frequently than they used to be.

As Ofgem now review the energy price cap every three months so they expect suppliers to recalculate DD’s at least every  three months. (not necessarily at the same dates as the cap reviews).

For that reason the OVO computer reviews each customers DD every 3-months and sets the amount to what it’s algorithm says is needed for the next 12 months usage. (Well currently 13 months with OVO).

Of course the computer algorithm is a simple one for “Standard” usage and doesn’t cover the full range of possible circumstances, so if your circumstances aren’t “Standard” you then have to play the game of contacting support and getting it corrected to what is actually needed.

Empty propertys using less, credits from schemes like Charge Anytime or Power Move, even the Warm Home Discount credit all act to reduce your future bills but are not considered in the DD calculations.

TBH It’s probably better that way, I would anticipate things getting in a right mess if they tried to factor more into the DD calculation than just simple ‘Standard’ circumstances.

As a developer adding a simple boolean flag on an account to say “don’t run direct debit recalculations” on this account doesn’t add any complexity to the prediction algorithm. I also doubt that Ofgem would regard it as a breach of their directive for a supplier like OVO to exrcise some discretion when notified of a change in circumstances on an account.

As it stands I’d need less ongoing interaction with OVO if I simply cancelled the direct debit on my mothers account and waited until they’d exhausted the £250 credit in approx 5-6 months time, then reinstated it.

Tempting as this may be, cancelling the DD will (again automatically) switch the account to Standard Credit (otherwise referred to as ‘payment on demand’ or ‘payment on receipt of bill’). This attracts a surcharge of 5-10% on the rates applied.

Hi all.

What is going on with the direct debit payments?
Once upon a time I could, and did, raise and lower my payment to manage my usage.
Now OVO have decided they can choose to raise my DD even though they owe me, and my usage has decreased.

The only reason I can think of is that more people have been withdrawing their excess and OVO don’t like that.
Do they do an old fashioned billing system?
I no longer want to pay by DD.

Hey ​@Lewie 

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.

Your Direct Debit payment amount will be regularly reviewed to make sure it still covers your home’s energy use.

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.

Useful to know - It’s important you have all the info, then you can decide what’s best for you.

• 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.

• Getting a refund might mean your Direct Debit payments will need to increase, once your account has less credit in it.

Our billing system is a live billing system, this means that the balance shown on your online account is always an accurate reflection taking into account

• The cost of your energy usage, as calculated and billed with each time your smart meter sends us a reading or you submit a reading manually.
• Daily standing charges.
• Payments and refunds.

I’ve linked below to a helpful topic all about our billing system and how it works:

If you still wish to cancel your Direct Debit, I’ve linked below to a similar topic on how you can do this:

I hope this helps.

Having come to the end of my fixed rate and found that I'm over £600 in credit, and have never been in debit at any point in the year I'm switching. 

Took great delight at cancelling my DD and the subsequent email demanding that I reinstate it no more than a couple of hours later. I think that tells you everything you need to know.

And yes, joined the forum simply to post this.

I'll be taking daily screenshots of my balance until the switch is complete.

Average month £250.

OVO has upped direct debit to £450

Called and asked them to set it at £280, they refused. They waffled on about winter consumption and I explained that we no longer have storage heaters and my consumption will not change.

OVO stated that they need 6 months consumption to confirm this.

 I advised them that they were not dictating what my direct debit would be and they responded with…. You can switch suppliers but you will be subjected to a credit check at which point I said crack on, never missed a payment and sitting in credit.

Seriously poor customer service and since when did an energy company think they can dictate your finances.

Hi, wander if anyone has thoughts on this. Or have taken a stance. 
On my July quarterly statement it showed I was in credit for £304. I phoned for a refund and was told OVO policy had changed months before and that I had to keep 1 months payment on my account. I argued that I knew of no such policy change as had not been contacted previously about it. I therefore refused as this was not the contract I signed up to, with a bit of to and fro I eventually was given the £300 I asked for… 
roll on next quarterly statement, and they now want to put my monthly payment up by £79 extra. Going from £283pm to £362 because I took my refund!! 
Each year I over pay, with a refund of £500 given back 2 years ago. So why should I be made to up payments when clearly the amount I’m paying now is too much. What can I do. Thinking of just going to someone else

The only way around this is not to pay by Direct Debit. OVO as with most other suppliers does not operate Direct Debit on a whole monthly billing basis. Therefore payments are spread across a year and this for many can result in a substantial credit. This is why billing is done this way so the energy provider is always in credit from you the customer.

I pay the whole monthly bill on demand. While this is regarded the more expensive way to pay it does mean there is no build up of credit balance, a balance you could invest in saving and gain interest.