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

How do you figure that out? If I could pay what I was actually due every month even with a 10% increase on my tariff I would have the £285.00  OVO have taken from me in my bank account at this moment.

As stated, I’m £285.00 in credit at the moment. Here is the rub though, my contract ends in early May, yet the direct debit and credit is worked out on a 12 month period from now. on each month. It just goes on and on. That means I get a debit every month from my bank account that bears no relation to my actual use and this amount gets added to the credit.

Effectively this means that the credit I/we accrue never actually gets used to pay the bill. It’s only there as a financial safety net for OVO to use if me and thousands of other customers like me default on their payment. Rather than let market forces dictate what happens in an open market - The goverment have done this to prevent any more suppliers going bust. The consumer has been made to pay into this safety net to safeguard against closures.

Ah @rodman  I think the Ts&Cs for the contract would say you need to stick to paying by direct debit, so if you were to change to pay monthly you’d lose the benefit of the contracted rates. Hence @Jeffus ‘s comment that we ought not to encourage people to move.

As regards the apparent rolling 12 months, well that does seem wrong.

What are the benefits of the contracted rates? Without knowing the difference how would anyone know if it was a good option?

I moved from scottish power and paid quartely. When I signed up there was no other option offered for paying your monthly bill.

Email just came in to me as I was writing this about the January 2023 price increase!

If you still want to pay quarterly, this might be an option depending on circumstances, but it’s only allowed for the variable rate Simpler Energy plan. Collections can arrange a payment plan if you call 0800 069 9831 if they agree to allow quarterly payments. But your bills would still remain monthly because OVO does not do quarterly bills.

A fixed rate deal means the agreed rates are locked in for the entire term, but under OVO’s rules you’re required to pay by Monthly Direct Debit if you’re on one.

If you are on a fixed rate tariff, the direct debt is worked out to leave you with a zero balance at the end of your plan in May.

If you don't think this is working then contact the OVO Support Team.

Only on the variable rate does the direct debit tool calculator base it's calculations looking forward 12 months. 

Once you are on the variable rate, if you really want to you can phone OVO every month and request a refund of all your credit. 

All customers suffer if suppliers go bust. Currently £94 of your bill is for bust suppliers. This doesn't cover the biggest failure Bulb which may add over £6 billion to bills. A free market would expose millions of the customers of failed suppliers to catastrophic costs for gas and electricity. I am not sure that is realistic. Tighter regulations to prevent the failures in the first place would have helped i personally think , but hindsight is easy. 

What plan are you on @rodman ? 

I have requested a refund on my account ..it has left my account last week but it is still not in my bank account is this usual!  What a carry on to get my in money! 

Hey @Maryjimmy ,

It takes time for banks to catch up. Give it some more time! There’s nothing OVO can do if your bank is just being slow I’m afraid.

After my March bill was settled my account was in credit by 3 times more than my monthly DD.

I provided meter readings on the 30th March.

My DD for April has now been put into my energy account.

The online refund request area says refunds are not available

I have tried to call OVO for 2 days with no joy

I cannot find an email address 

I AM A PENSIONER ON A LIMITED BUDGET, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET MY REFUND IF I AM UNABLE TO UTILISE THE WAYS PROVIDED?????

Hi @VW Lowndes

Welcome to the customer forum, i am just a customer like you. 

OVO don't have an email address. 

If you want a large refund try calling the OVO Collections number. This is a different number to the standard OVO number. 

0800 0699 831

If you are on a variable rate plan you can request up to 100% of your credit balance, but i wouldn't recommend quite that much.

If you are on a fixed rate plan you need to leave the equivalent of one months DD.

Any credit you ask to be refunded may impact future DD levels. 

See if you have more luck with this number

If you post how you get on i am sure it will help other customers on this forum. 

Hey @VW Lowndes,

Sorry to hear you’re having difficulty applying for a refund,

In order to issue a refund online, 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:

• How to request a refund on the OVO app Tutorial

You can request a refund via web chat, as @Jeffus advised of your entire credit balance if you are on Variable. 

Keep us posted with how you get on.

I have just received my first communications from ovo energy

I was transferred from sse on 15th November 2022 and was £762.84 in credit on 11th December

On 11th January 2023  I was £716.89 in credit.

On 11th February £697 in Credit.  11th March £717.42 in credit and 11th April £737.13 in credit.

I know that is good but it’s a lot of money to me and you are prepared to let me know if I do not have enough credit and will ask for further payment, but I feel this is too much credit and wondered if you paid some of it back into my account. My husban and I are both in our eighties and would welcome some of our own money back as we do have other bills to payl

This is possible, but you’d need to request a refund. Please use https://my.ovoenergy.com or call 0330 303 5063 to do that.

Hey @Maureen Birrell,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community,

This tutorial might be helpful to you:

• How to request a refund on the OVO app Tutorial

Can anyone help I was refunded all my credit after leaving OVO and when I paid it into my account they failed to honour the cheque so it bounced  I have phoned and emailed numerous times but no one is able to answer what's happening. They advised it was re issues 12 days ago but now stating they're not sure if it's been posted. I can't even get through to the complaints department. Any help would be appreciated as they still have my money! 

Thanks 

Hi @helen04 ,

In the first instance, try https://help.ovoenergy.com to use Live Chat. If that doesn’t work out, try https://ovoenergy.com/feedback. 

Thanks Blastoise186 I tried the live chat but she just cancelled my chat when I asked for confirmation the cheque was posted 🙄 ill try the freeback 

Several suppliers were fined recently over refunds

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/17/ofgem-orders-three-energy-firms-to-pay-8m-compensation-over-late-bills

Suppliers must refund the money 10 days after your final bill else they need to pay you £30 compensation automatically without you having to complain in theory at least. 

It sounds like OVO haven't done that, so if you speak or email the complaints team ask for your £30 compensation. 

If the compensation isn't paid within another 10 working  days you are automatically entitled to another £30. 

You can email complaints

complaints@ovoenergy.com

If OVO refuse to pay compensation you believe is due, ask OVO for a complaints  deadlock letter and then ask the Energy Ombudsman for help. 

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy

Hi Jeffus Thanks for this that's really helpful not sure what's going on looking like the staff are left in the dark too as they can't help with the simplest of questions but will definitely keep the £30 in mind Thanks 

Here are list of what should be automatic compensation payments and deadlines from the Ofgem website. You shouldn't need to claim in theory, but i suspect you would have to. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/policy-and-regulatory-programmes/switching-programme

Thanks that's really helpful 😊 

I am sure the last time I wanted to refund some of my credit I did it on line.  Now I have to contact OVO ? 

Hi @Snipepie ,

Depending on the value of the refund and how much credit you’d have left afterwards, you usually can do it online. However, if it’s for more than £500 or would leave less than three months worth of spare credit afterwards, you need to do it via the Support Team as a safety measure.

The same applies if there’s been no recent meter reading - you have to submit one first.

Thank you. I presume there is a phone number somewhere on the site ? 

https://help.ovoenergy.com for Live Chat or 0330 303 5063.