Hi @surema - sorry to hear that you’ve got the same problem.

You don’t need to start court proceedings. Even the Small Claims Division of the High Court still requires filing fees.

The Government has set up the Office of the Energy Ombudsman in order to ensure that redress against an Energy Supplier is free. Unlike the Small Claims Court, they can also order (a small amount) of compensation to be paid.

First, you must ensure that you have proof of having gone through both stages of the Complaints Procedure.

Email exchanges are ideal, but the dates of telephone conversations are sufficient.

Note that if you have waited 8 weeks or more from the date of you going to the 2nd stage in the process, then the Ombudsman will regard that as having reached a stage of Deadlock, even if you haven’t received the letter from OVO to say so.

If you need further clarification or help, please post here again. But do not write here any account details or information which could identify you.

My usage over the past 3 months has averaged £40, I live alone and use hardly anything yet my DD is for £115 - surely taking more than you owe is illegal?!! (I have credit balance too!) 

HI @helenjramos and welcome to the OVO online community,

We appreciate that understanding your energy charges and Direct Debit calculations is getting more important at the moment. If you haven’t already, we’d recommend checking out the guides below which might help explain how the process works:
 

As your monthly payment amount is based on your average annual usage you might find the amount you pay over summer is higher than your monthly charges. This allows you to build up a credit balance to offset your higher winter bills.

Have you logged in to your online account and checked out the Direct Debit calculator yet?  

Thank you. But this is something I am aware of. I simply want to pay what owe and I will manage my own money to ensure I have enough in the winter - I have decided I want that money sitting in my account not Ovo’s.

In that case, we’d recommend reaching out to our Support Team, who can help get your Direct Debit arrangement cancelled and confirm any change to your rates as a result.

You’ll then be able to make manual online payments following each monthly bill, see the guide below for more details:
 

Hope this helps work out the best option for you going forward.

Unless you desperately need the money, leaving it with OVO is actually quite a good idea. Not many places are paying 5% interest at the moment...

Just so anyone reading this knows. 

This is referring to the OVO interest reward. 

Interest is payable on credit balances up to £1000 for customers that joined prior to 27th September last year. 

This is worrying as an OVO customer.

As each month my balance is getting more and more positive, can I every month request a refund as you dont give me the option of changing my DD to a more sensible amount, indeed you keep bumping it up!!  If all customers do so, im sure OVO would get the message and stop over charging people each month…. 

I completely agree!

Hey @andy_h,

Thank you for your great question. 

You can request a refund of up to £500 through your online account at any point as long as the following are met:

• Have been billed within the last 28 days to an actual reading

• Have an active Direct Debit with at least one payment received from that bank account

• Request a refund of over £5

• Request a refund up to £500

• Leave a remaining balance of at least one month's Direct Debit

If you would like more refunded you can contact Support who can refund up to £2,000 as long as they either have a smart meter reading, or if you want over £599 refunded and have a traditional meter, you may need to send in a photo. 

Check out these helpful guides that explain how we review direct debits and how you can use the direct debit calculator on your online account. 

Hope this helps.

Thank you.

After speaking to work colleagues, apparently British gas can bill you quarterly for energy used, I think I'm going to change to them as I like to be in control of my usage and finances.  

Have been waiting over 4 months for a refund.

The balance showing by OVO is 506.54 after the reply I was just directed again to a phone number.

Hi @LynG thanks for getting back to me.

You should be able to request a refund of £499 without having to call. If you’re on a fixed plan, that’s £499 whilst leaving one month’s payment amount in there as credit. If you’re on Simpler, you don’t need any credit in the account. 

For a bigger refund than £499, we might need meter photos and an up to date reading. Why not just submit a request for £499 and request another refund next week?

I have nearly 600 in credit and they've only just let me reduce my energy DD from 241 to 186! I am only entitled to a refund of 37! how is this fair?

Hey @kategray,

That does sound frustrating.

Customers should be able to initiate refunds via the Online Account for up to £500. 

But you must match the following criteria to request a refund online:

• Have an active Direct Debit with at least one payment received from that bank account
• Request a refund of over £5
• Request a refund up to £500
• Leave a remaining balance of at least one month's Direct Debit
• Have been billed in the last 28 days to an actual meter reading

Are you getting an error message appear?

We’ve got a great guide here you might find helpful. 

Hope this helps. 

I fit all of these things and it's still telling me I can't get more than £37! Just not fair at all.

Hey @kategray,

Sorry to hear this!

I’d advise contacting Support if you have tried all the above. 

I'm £1004.84 in credit I've requested a refund and I'm only allowed an £80 refund even though my monthly energy usage is only £96 and my direct debit is £308 per month which was increased by OVO from £206 I'd like to know why the hell this company feels that my money belongs to them going to take this up with my local MP and the  energy ombudsmen

Absolutely appalled 

The same question on this direct debit scheme is being asked all over the country. The government needs to step in soon to stop this “legal” banking of our money by OVO and other energy providers.

Hey @MBick,

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

OVO allows customers to initiate refunds via their Online Accounts leaving 3 months worth of direct debit as credit in their account. 

If you contact Support you can get the entirety of your credit refunded, leaving one months direct debit as credit in the account. This is because you pay monthly, in advance. We have a guide on this topic:

If you’re building up surplus credit on your account, you should be able to reduce your direct debit via your online account, this will also allow you to initiate a larger refund. 

We understand that direct debit’s aren’t for everyone @rodman, customers have the option of paying on receipt of their bill on the Simpler Variable On Demand plan.

Hope this helps. 

Can this simpler variable on demand plan be setup on your online account page?

I would recommend phoning up and getting ovo to talk you through the implications. 

The unit rate and standing charge is more expensive if you pay on demand rather than by direct debit. So you would end up paying more over a year. 

We still aren’t able to look up the different rates online are we @Jeffus ?

Unfortunately not on the OVO website. 

Although we could sign post other data sources on Energy Price Guarantee, to be certain of the exact ovo rates it would be better to call i think. 

Honestly, i doubt there are many people that should be encouraged to switch given it will cost more.