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Rank 1
Elaine
Rank 1
August 9, 2017
Solved

OVO refusing to refund when I'm in credit - why?

  • August 9, 2017
  • 93 replies
  • 13782 views

My account is over £1200 in credit, but when I have applied for a refund online I'm being told I can't do this until further metre readings and the next statement. This isn't legal - anyone else had this problem?

    Best answer by Darran_OVO

    Updated on 15/08/25 by Abby_OVO​​​​​

     

    Before we allow a refund of any credit you’ve got in your OVO account, we first need to make sure that your account balance is accurate.

     

    If you don’t have a smart meter, make sure you’ve submitted a meter reading in the last 28 days. If you’ve done this and are at least three month’s direct debit amount in credit, you can then ask for a refund via the ‘Payments’ page of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS):

     

    You can apply for a refund of up to £500 online and the balance will return to your bank account in no more than 10 working days (in most cases it will be within 4 working days). Find out more about requesting a refund online here.

     

    If you’d like more credit refunded you can contact our Support Team who can initiate refunds up to £2,000. If the refund is over £599, we will need to check the account has been billed to smart reads, or actual meter readings if your meter is still traditional, and request photos of the meter. 

     

    If you’re on a fixed rate tariff, you’ll still be required to keep one month's worth of direct debit as credit in your account. If you’re on the Variable tariff you aren’t required to leave any credit on your account, although it is advisable.

     

    93 replies

    Show previous replies
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    juliamc
    Rank 20
    October 24, 2025

    Chrisablake suggested putting a hold on your direct debit. I’m not sure that’s the best idea as I think that would just trigger a load more emails to ask you to reverse that, and it would put you on a higher tariff. 

    C
    Rank 6
    chrisablake
    Rank 6
    October 24, 2025

    Irenec

    You seem to have lots of good advice + support from other members on Forum 

    I agree, signing up for Priority Services Register is always beneficial, especially in the unfortunate event there’s an unexpected outage 

    I’ve had a refund this month.
     I happened to see I could request one, whilst looking on site for a new fixed deal I got my refund within days in my bank account. A couple of months ago same thing, requested and in account a week later. 
    Call 03303035063 and speak to a person.

    Make sure you identify your a pensioner 

    Keep us updated. 

    Wibbly Wobbly Hypermobile - EDS’er
    Ben_OVO
    Community Manager
    Ben_OVO
    Community Manager
    October 24, 2025

    ​@Irenec welcome to the OVO Forum, and thanks for your post.

     

    I can see a few of our members have come by with some helpful replies here, thanks all. And I agree with the above, the Priority Services Register is definitely worth signing up for.

     

     

    I just want to let everyone know here - the online account / app will only allow a refund of the recommended figure based upon rates, Direct Debit, balance and length of contract. Seasonality is also taken into account. The online account is built this way also because we often need to see photos of meter reads before a large refund is possible. Additionally, if the account is in a huge surplus, there’s the slight chance that there’s an error in billing that needs to be looked into.

     

    If you ever want more refunded than what’s recommended on your online account you just need to get in touch with our Support Team and request a refund. They’ll advise you of the fact that the account should remain in credit over winter and also warn you that, if you do take a large refund, your Direct Debit may need to be increased to compensate.

     

    ​@Irenec please contact us - our Support Team will be able to sort this out for you.

     

     

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