OVO have sent an email about my Direct Debit - Why are you increasing my monthly payment when I’m already in credit?

IF you can tell me what supply region you are in I can advise the likely prices you’ll face.  Better still here are the DD prices for all regions and both fuels.  With a forecast of your consumption you can work out your likely costs at these rates for the next 12 months and decide if your DD is fair and reasonable or not.  Remember though that these prices hold till January 2023 when another increase is likely.

Hi @allysonp13 ,

Sounds like a bit of a tricky one there to be honest. I’m going to start by giving you a link to one of my guides, which also has a bunch of resources that might help you out.

It sounds like you were being billed using estimated meter readings. Could you show me what you’re seeing under https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/electricity and https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/gas please?

If you submitted an actual reading that turned out to prove your usage has been lower than what the estimates suggested, this would have wiped out some of the outstanding balance automatically and you would no longer owe that portion.

There is also a recently announced Customer Support Package that OVO is planning to offer to anyone who needs it and I would encourage you to apply for it once it’s available. There’s more details at https://www.ovoenergy.com/customer-support-package if you’d like to take a look.

Thank you for your reply. I will have a look at these and do some computations.

As with most people we will be making savings with energy usage where possible. I mentioned we are already over £1000.00 in credit also. 

A standing order for our current payment can replace a DD. The additional amount can then be made via BACS credit monthly if applicable AFTER our credit has been used.

Thank you again for that. 

We are not on fixed rate. 

If £200 per year means we control our own finances and budgets then we are happy with that.

Apatently though they are not variable DD'S so I have read.

It now remains to try to get hold of an OVO representative to change to pay on demand/receipt🤣

Hi @dspinks41 ,

Right now, it’s probably best to leave things as they are if you can. As a forum volunteer I can’t access your account so there’s no way for me to make the changes on your behalf. You may find the advice in my guide useful though.

If you still need to speak to OVO, try Live Chat instead of the phones. It’s likely to be faster!

I am happy to pay Ovo for the energy I use however I do not see why Ovo should increase my direct debit to cover FUTURE usage ….  my main complaint is that you cannot speak to a human being in order to discuss this …. waiting on the phone for hours is unacceptable …. Ovo clearly has a staff shortage in their call centres to deal with the level of calls … we never ever got this problem with SSE!

A fixed Direct Debit amount must be fair and reasonable.

The idea is simple.  Energy bills tend to be lower in the summer and much higher in winter. To help customers, suppliers can calculate what you bills will be, typically over a 12 month period, but this relies on an accurate forecast of consumption and the prices of the fuels that you use. Your direct debit amount doesn’t cap your liability irrespective of usage – if you use more fuel you will have to pay more, if you use less then you will build up a credit.

In practice the forecast of consumption is either too high or too low, and prices can change.  Recently, the price cap has changed 6 monthly, now it’s going to change 3 monthly.  And then there is the question of whether the customer’s account is currently in credit or debit, because that has to be factored in as well.

With prices of energy rising rapidly in the past 18 months, its unsurprising that changes to direct debit amount will be a substantial increase.  The average customer faces an increase of 80% from October in their prices, but that’s the average, some might face a lower figure, others, particularly heavy gas users, could face even higher increases.

So while the initial reaction is one of shock and horror at what is being requested for a new Direct Debit, that isn’t a sound or logical way to dispute the proposal.  What is needed is an accurate forecast of consumption for 12 months times the prices of the fuels that you use, plus /minus your current account balance, then divide that total by 12.  If prices are going up soon (like now) then using the October 22 prices would be entirely logical, even though that will in reality understate the required Direct Debit, as prices will likely rise again in January 23, although the amount isn’t yet known.

Your energy supplier doesn’t know that much about you, and changes in your household size, occupants, working practices and use of devices will affect your forecast of consumption that you can and should factor in but your supplier can’t.   Prices and account balances should be matters of fact.  Challenge your supplier on this logical basis if their assessment is markedly different from yours.  But what your Direct Debit was in the past compared to the current request is not really a relevant factor.  Social media is often touted as the best method of contacting your supplier – phone lines are always very busy.

What if you prefer not to pay by Direct Debit?  Prices for energy if you pay by Standard Credit rather than Direct Debit work out at £215 per annum more for the average user @ October 2022 prices.  And paying by standard credit could mean paying a very high energy bill in the depth of winter when the bills from Christmas also land in your inbox or on your doormat.  Most people will not find that an attractive proposition.

It really doesn’t make sense does it, you are in credit but they still increase the direct debt???

We are forced to take what the Energy company thinks our direct debt should be and that what we pay  will not cover the increase. Don’t they think we can think for ourselves if we are in credit surely using that credit first would be better and then increase if needed. I’m in credit but my bill has increased by £73, I use less than £2 for both fuels a day, I monitor my usage daily. I, I appreciate standing charges VAT etc needs to be added but it still doesn’t reach the amount I pay by direct debit. I’m not on a fixed rate as it would’ve tripled my monthly payment. 
 

@Blastoise186 great thanks. I’m still waiting on the phone for them to confirm. I’ll update when I know more

Can @meldrewreborn ‘s answer be posted somewhere where it can easily be found by everyone who is trying to deal with their Direct Debit increases. It clearly explains the reasons for the increases and importantly the implications of not sticking with a DD. So many forum threads are about the same thing at the the moment - not everyone will be looking at the forum, can it go in a FAQ answer ?

I have this morning received an E-mail from OVO telling me I must increase my direct debit to cover increasing costs, but they haven't told me what these are!!!!

They further tell me if I don't increase it they will just take more anyway, is this legal, or even morally just???

Further to watching BBC's Panorama last night, I find they lied to me recently saying that my electricity costs were due to OVO buying my "100% renewable electricity " on the open market, when according to Panorama the electricity price is just coupled to the gas price, nothing to do with production costs or availability. 

Cheers, Ali, (rant over)