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Recently signed up to a new fixed contract- Will my prices be affected by the Energy Price Guarantee?

  • 12 September 2022
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C
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Hi @Blastoise186, I've seen you responding to several posts on different subjects across this forum, you seem to be speaking on behalf of OVO, but dont appear to be doing so in any official capacity.  Who do you represent and what is your function within this forum?  Should we take it that your advice is given with OVO's tacit approval and they therefore accept liability for the accuracy of your advice or otherwise?

Blastoise186
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You’re right. I don’t act in an official capacity. Usually if I’m doing more than a quick one-liner, I chuck in a disclaimer to let people know I’m a forum volunteer, but I don’t always add one if I don’t feel it’s needed.

I represent myself as one of the trusted forum volunteers and my functions here involve various tasks:

  • Content creation - I’ve written quite a few community guides!
  • Running the show - I’m part of a group of forum volunteers who answer many of the questions posted here and we also help curate the place
  • Moderation - I’m a super duper spam blaster for starters! I don’t have ModPowers myself, but I’m heavily integrated with the process!
  • Technical advisor - all of us have our specialities, but mine is for Smart Meters and IHDs
  • Mentor - we help new forum volunteers learn the ropes
  • And whatever else the community needs from us

Over 99% of my content is moderated on a post-moderation or reactive moderation basis. I have an exemption from the spam filter and almost all automated moderation tools on the basis of being trusted, but I’m still subject to manual moderation by the Forum Moderators and the House Rules still apply to me just like they do everyone else. OVO doesn’t vet my content (except my guides which is mainly for moderation reasons) but we do get early notice of big changes so we can help out more easily.

As for liability? That remains with me essentially, but only for content that I post myself. I do have an obligation to try and make sure my advice is accurate, but there are tolerances for cases where old info simply got outdated over time. I’d only get in trouble if I was to deliberately mislead you.

But if the advice you get here comes from anyone with the Carbon Catcher, Plan Zero Hero ranks, Community Moderator, Community Manager or anyone with a forum title containing OVO e.g. OVO Engineer, OVO Employee, OVO Staff, OVO Team or OVO Product Team, then chances are it’s pretty accurate anyway.

And usually, if I’m reposting an official answer provided by OVO, I’ll quote it and mark it in some way that lets you know it’s an official answer.

You can often spot us all by our forum signatures as well. Many volunteers and staff here have energy related jokes somewhere in our signatures and it’s become a running joke!

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
C
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Hi @Blastoise186, thank you for the guidance.  In yoir capacity as a Forum volumteer do you have any back channel communication to relevant OVO staff?  I ask as OVO could themselves a big favour by sending out a customer bulletin on what they are doing to manage these Energy Price Guarantee changes.  They said everything will happen automatically and they said they would communicate to customers in 2 weeks.  That was over 3 weeks ago.  By doing this they could save a fair proportion of their customers continued uncertainty and reduce the demand on their customer service teams.  If you (or any of your fellow forum volunteers) do have any inside track to OVO, I and from what I see on this forum, would welcome your support in this respect.

J
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Yes very good idea. I still have not heard anything . Which I imagine is the same as a lot of other people.

Blastoise186
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In yoir capacity as a Forum volumteer do you have any back channel communication to relevant OVO staff?

 

https://forum.ovoenergy.com/groups :)

One of those Groups does exactly that.

 I ask as OVO could themselves a big favour by sending out a customer bulletin on what they are doing to manage these Energy Price Guarantee changes

 

Everything publicly available can be found at https://www.ovoenergy.com/pricecap .

 If you (or any of your fellow forum volunteers) do have any inside track to OVO, I and from what I see on this forum, would welcome your support in this respect.

 

Already done. Someone will probably stop by this thread sooner or later. There are two amazing OVO staff who patrol this forum constantly and we’re in constant contact with them. I can also tell you that they read basically everything that gets posted as well. They don’t always reply, but you can be sure that they’ll definitely see this thread!

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @stead,

 

Thanks for a great question!

 

If you have the OVO Drive + Anytime Add On, you will still benefit from the add on. Even if you are changed to the Simpler Variable Tariff.

 

If you are affected by the Energy Price Guarantee, OVO will contact you directly about your prices. 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
C
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Once again we end up with More Questions than answers.

 

How many people have paid the over estimated and over inflated direct debit request from OVO? if you concentrate too much on the £3900 price cap then an increase of £1200 a year to say £2000 is easy to swallow………..seems a ploy to guarantee a bank full of credits from OVO customers.

I still cannot find any link to changing my over inflated fixed plan(Took out in March 2022) or see any variable tariffs..

 

Coco
Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @rodblue,

 

Thank you for a great question! 

 

If you are affected by the Energy Price Guarantee, OVO will be in touch. Please see this similar thread for more advice:

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Blastoise186
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I’ve had an update back from the forum moderators @Jacko6625 @Corgimajor @Aljowi .

OVO has agreed to automatically refund all erroneous exit fees and this is being done in the background starting this afternoon. If you were charged an exit fee by mistake, OVO will apply an account correction to undo it and refund you appropriately. You will probably also receive an email to let you know that this has been done.

Please allow a few days for the billing platform to re-run the numbers. Your existing bills will not be modified but it will show up in your online account that the exit fees got refunded or cancelled.

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Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @Aljowi,

 

Thank you for your question.

 

I can see @Blastoise186 has already given some helpful advice here. 

 

If you’re on a fixed rate contract and you are affected by the Energy Price Guarantee, OVO will be in touch with your new prices. Please keep an eye on your emails.

 

It is worth noting that for some people on fixed rate plans, it won’t be beneficial for them to change tariffs. They will remain on the plans they are on currently and OVO won’t be contacting them.

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
A
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all fixed now cheers

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @coco34ymail.com,

 

As you signed into your contract in March, before the April price cap increase, it may be that the fixed prices you signed into are lower than the Energy Price Guarantee cap.

 

When the cap refers to £2500 this is for an average home. If you are a higher user or your monthly direct debit X 12 months comes to higher than that amount, this doesn’t mean you’ll be better off on the Simpler Variable plan. Or that your prices will be changing. 

 

OVO will be in contact directly with all customers affected by the recent government announcement.

 

If your direct debit is too high, or you are building up a large credit balance you can reduce your direct debit and request a refund through your Online Account:

 

 

Here is more information about how OVO calculates your direct debit:

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
C
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the price i got in March is more than todays current prices but OVO are not helping me on that one.

If  i let OVO put my direct debit up £190 to £368 then i would have to use over 100% more gas and electric just to spend it lol. 

I pay for what i use and am in credit again so your Direct debit calculations are wrong. 

 

I am dumbfounded by how stupid OVO are coming across but then again their bank balance is rising and profits per share are also.

Coco
Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @coco34ymail.com,

 

If the unit rates and standing charge you pay are higher than the new Energy Price Guarantee then OVO will contact you directly. 

 

What are your current unit rates and standing charge? It sounds like your referring to your direct debit when you talk about prices.

 

The direct debit is based on usage, so if you are using more we’ll recommend you increase your direct debit. The best way to make sure your direct debit review is accurate is to submit actual reads to your Online Account. 

 

 

If your direct debit is too high, or you are building up a large credit balance you can reduce your direct debit and request a refund through your Online Account:

 

 

Here is more information about how OVO calculates your direct debit:

 

 

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
C
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I am not too bothered about prices per KW as its what comes out of my bank that concerns me and I budget monthly so keep a close eye on it.

 

If OVO want to contact me to reduce my prices per KW then fine but they are difficult to deal with as I have previously experienced so won’t be ringing them anytime soon.

 

I’m standing firm on the Direct Debit increase and still say £190 increase per month is a scandalous attempt from OVO to make price hiking alot easier to take and as I have said previously the excuses offered by OVO as to how direct debits is non sensical and doesn’t offer a reasonable explanation.

 

Coco
Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @coco34ymail.com,

 

The Energy Price Guarantee refers to unit rates and standing charges. The direct debit is based on usage. If you use more, you have to pay more.

 

But if you think your direct debit is being over estimated, I'd advise submitting an actual meter reading to your Online Account. That way you can ensure your billing is correct.

 

We have some great guides advising how OVO calculates customers direct debits:

 

 

If your direct debit is too high, or you are building up a large credit balance you can reduce your direct debit and request a refund through your Online Account:

 

 

Here is more information about how OVO calculates your direct debit:

 

 

 

 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
C
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What is the point of a smart meter if you want meter readings.

 

My meter usage is fine and don’t doubt the readings are incorrect, if my usage had risen dramatically then I would question it and have a good reason for the £190 increase in monthly direct debits. 

 

The above isn’t the case and yet I am still waiting for OVO to send me any new rates etc???

Coco
Blastoise186
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It takes a while to send out several million emails. Rate limits on both sending and receiving infrastructure means that OVO can’t just blast them out to literally everyone at once. Be patient.

You should get an update by the end of the week.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
C
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It takes a while to send out several million emails. Rate limits on both sending and receiving infrastructure means that OVO can’t just blast them out to literally everyone at once. Be patient.

You should get an update by the end of the week.

I am not too bothered about a new rate as I can currently afford my monthly usage, my point is….

 

OVO have been very quick to increase direct debits by £190  in my case but haven’t given me any calculations to base it on. 

They have known about this for some time and are sitting back waiting for the last minute….not sure why.

I understand price rises and an increase in usage now the darker seasons are upon us so expect an increase but not 100+% with no real answer or workings out.

My fixed rate tariff is on until March 2023 and although I have been told on the forum I pay more than a few am happy with my Fixed Rate tariff but was slightly miffed at OVO trying to increase my DD over 100%.

 

I am in credit every month and make sure  i pay for more than I use.

 

Baffled.com

Coco
Jeffus
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Hi @coco34ymail.com

I don't work for OVO.

Have a look at this page on the website, not the app

https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan

Here you will find your unit rates, standing charges and something called Future Annual Consumption. This is the amount of electricity and gas OVO currently estimate you will use over a year. The system automatically adjusts the number as it gets a better idea of your usage

Here is mine for example

OVO use the Future Annual Consumption to calculate your direct debits. You can manually calculate your annual cost and hence direct debits using the Future Annual Consumption. 

If you post the data from the page i am sure someone here can do the calculations for you if it would help to get a second opinion. Obviously you may simply be happy to do it yourself. 

 

 

C
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My plan doesn’t show the Future annual consumption figures.

Coco
juliamc
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What does it show ? can you post a pic of it..

Note this is on the MyOVO website page, not the app.

Blastoise186
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You need to look at https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan from a computer, not from a phone in the app.

 

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juliamc
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@coco34ymail.com third line from the bottom Future Annual Consumption 

Electricity 4445 kWh   Gas 11563 kWh

For each fuel multiply that number up by the kWh rate, divide by 12, that gives the amount OVO are charging you for the year.

Blastoise186
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I’m seeing your Electric EAC/FAC as 4445kWh and Gas EAC/FAC as 11563kWh based on that last screenshot as well

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!

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