OVO Energy Live billing platform and monthly statements - what do I need to know?

I always pay what the app tells me is my balance, but then there is always a discrepancy. Today my balance is -£23 which I assume is the standing charges, something else tells me it's -£71 and another page says it's -£80!

Why can't we just get a straightforward bill? Utterly confused. I've only ever had one bill in an email. Can I get back to paper bills? If I die, my wife won't be able to sort the bills as they're in my name and I'm the one with the app.

You may be confused by the ‘live billing’ @AndyJ , it does confuse some. 
There’s a live feed updated daily on charges to date. 
Preduming that you’re on direct debit ? or Pay monthly? You only need to pay at the time due, not every time you see an update

I submitted my readings, had an opening balance of 71, and now it says my balance is 80.06 when it previously said 23. God knows what I'm meant to pay. It's the same every month. Is it 80.06? Is it 151?

If I pay the 80.06 will I still be 71 out next month? It'll tell me next month that my charges were more than 80.06, that I made a card payment and that will differ again!

I'm not on direct debit, that's the point. I want to pay only for what I used. I refuse to have a smart meter, I'm happy submitting my readings.

I was happy with SSE, a paper bill every 3 months. Been utterly confused since being forced over to OVO

It’s difficult to tell just from what you’ve said but it sounds like they might be estimating your readings. You should be able to check online. 
https://account.ovoenergy.com/billing-history
Depending on your payment method, there should be a way of getting a bill. I get one sent by email at the end of my billing period but I pay by direct debit so it’s already paid. 

Thank you for replying, but it isn't estimated, I submit them every time I get the email asking for it. I will look again after the 5th July. I've had 1 bill by email in 18 months. The history has never matched. If I had an opening balance of 71, why did it say 23 before I put the readings in? And 80 now? We have low usage so 80 sounds right but who knows what it'll say next month lol

Even if you send readings we’ve noticed that they still estimate depending on when you send the reading. As I said, no idea on the various costs you posted. It does look odd

If you’re using the app click on Payments and you’ll see the option Download my Bills

Click that, and each month’s billing period will be displayed, click each one for the bill. 
That might help.

21st April I suddenly got a £2000 debit from being £350 in credit. No explanation. My guess is they estimate bill based on the year ahead and then increase the direct debit from the estimated quote and then the debit reduces along the way. It would be really unjust if they are billing based on forecast usage, but that is how corruption works. I’m guessing because their explanation is so vague on the back of that bill and live chat was of no use. I’m quit Ovo today and movign to Octopus, but quite worried that estimate will be my bill to settle. Others on Trustpilot alluded to what I have said here.

Not sure why you’re posting here as well @nuru26. Your original thread is best to get any answers. 

I’ve also noticed you’re posting at a high rate. Please can we ask you to slow down for a little bit, just to help us catch up?

I do download the bills, and it doesn't help. Every single amount differs. 

It will tell me the opening amount which differs from what I paid based on what the balance was that they asked for. Then what I paid, and the new charges. I've tried paying just after the readings and at the end of the month so I paid almost double the norm to see if it cleared. Not once has it said zero. Today it still says £80.06. If I pay it today I guarantee it will generate a completely different opening balance in July

Would you like to post an image of a bill here, but without any personal details address account number etc ? We may be able to shed some light on it.

A thought about this @AndyJ , on your account page

https://account.ovoenergy.com/

you will see several things including a section on charges and balance

This will change from day to day in-line with their live billing system. 
If you scroll down further to bills 

You will see your billing summary by billing period. As far as I’m aware, it’s this billing section which you should watch mainly. As I mentioned, the charges and balance section will always be changing. There is a part of ‘Today's Balance’ which offers a pay now part .. I wonder if this is what you’re referring to. If you pay in there, your payment will show in bills at an accumulated level

Can you please double checked my charges and the deduction on my account. I double paid on June and this July my bill reach up to more than £900. How come???

*edited by moderator*
 

Thanks.

Sorry, but that can't be done from here. Please check with OVO directly via https://help.ovoenergy.com to use Live Chat 

As this is a public forum @bevsbernido , you shouldn’t post private info here. A moderator will remove it. No one here has access to your account. 

Hey @bevsbernido,

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

If you’ve paid twice by accident, please contact the Support team for a refund.

If you are surprised by a large statement this is often due to a meter reading submitted which was higher than the estimated usage or is out of line. As we don’t have access to your account we can only case assumptions based on the information you’ve provided. 

Hi everyone, I pay by direct debit and am in front but I paid some extra in and it went onto my balance but has no been deducted and is showing up on consumption charge? Does anyone know why this is, and I'm wanting to keep in front but if their going to do this I wont bother

Hey @Tracey335,

Sorry to hear this! 

That’s very unusual, can you please post how this appearing on your bill and Online Account.

I’ll take a look into it. 

I have spoke to someone via phone and they said when my bill is due eg . If the bill is £300, I would pay 250? But I'm not convinced, I suppose I will just have to wait for the bill I guess

None of my business but you have a huge amount in your account. You can see your payment of £50 has increased your balance. I’d take OVO’s advice and decrease the dd.

No the £50 DIDN'T increase it, it was taken off and went onto a consumption charge? And i want to be in front you never know when prices are gonna get hiked up, plus I can ask for a refund if needed

By my calculations it did increase the balance, but got countered by that £57 charge. If you hadn’t made the payment, your balance would be at least £57 lower than what you’re showing us.

I cannot find a fault with this. But I’ll call in a third and fourth opinion from @BPLightlog and @Firedog as well. They know their number crunching better than almost anyone else here.

I will also comment that your balance is awfully high. I’m not saying you should refund every penny, but I would recommend pulling back at least some of it.