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Why am I being forced to change my Direct Debit?

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T
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On the 16th we got an email telling us the direct debit was increasing. I immediately phoned OVO and was eventually passed through to the collections team. After explaining the solar panel install to the lady she agreed to leave the direct debit as it was but this would be re-assessed in three months.

I don’t think this was deliberately targeted for Boxing Day, that’s just a stupid lack of planning. How many people will have had this sort of thing happen when there is nothing they can do other than stew in their own stress for the next couple of days.

If I’d done nothing about this then fair enough but I did and the OVO collection agent I spoke to clearly did not do what they said they would.

R
Rank
Userlevel 1

Exactly the same problem.

Email received at 08:10 on 13th December, rang in and call answered at 09:30 and spoke to customer services who stated that DD would be left as is.

Email received on 23rd December stating they were putting it up!

To be fair, despite the issues I have had with OVO this year they have always added my account to the exceptions list to prevent to requested DD increase from going through.

Very disappointed this time as not only have they breached the agreement to leave as is, the customer service agent clearly did not do what they were supposed to, they were also totally closed on 23rd so no way of stopping the increase!

Blastoise186
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Userlevel 7
Badge +1

The Support Team is active today. Try https://help.ovoenergy.com .

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
R
Rank
Userlevel 1

The Support Team is active today. Try https://help.ovoenergy.com .

Too late, I’m already on the phone!

H
Rank
Userlevel 1

 

Very disappointed this time as not only have they breached the agreement to leave as is, the customer service agent clearly did not do what they were supposed to, they were also totally closed on 23rd so no way of stopping the increase!

Well, they have to give you ten WORKING days notice of the change - and the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th along with 31st, 1st and 2nd aren’t ‘working days’ for the purposes of direct debits - so you effectively have all options open to you (including stopping the payment) until the 9th January … some of those actions may however come with consequences (unless OVO are trying to take the changed payment prior to 10th January (in which case OVO are the party in breach of the agreement, which has serious consequences for OVO and allows you to recall any payment made by your bank).  

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @Taff1937 and @Rivieralad,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having, 

 

A customer will receive two separate communications before their direct debit is increased. This (shown in the image above) is the first direct debit review communication you should receive by email, it states ‘On X date- that’s 10 days before your next Direct Debit date- we’ll automictically change your monthly payment to £X’. 

 

It then goes on to advise what to do if you don’t want your direct debit to increase which is call our Collections Team. It sounds like you both did so, in which case your direct debit should have been put on a 3 month direct debit review suspension. If it’s been increased in error, I’d advise filing an indemnity claim with your bank to get the increase payment back. Also I’d advise contacting the Collections Team to ensure a suspension is put on the account correctly.

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
R
Rank
Userlevel 1

@Emmanuelle_OVO 

Yes, I received the “10 day warning” via email and responded the same day to get my account added to the exceptions/suspension list.

Not the first time I have done this as OVO estimates of energy usage are somewhat conservative and certainly don’t take into account changes in a customer’s usage trends!.

I then received the, ‘Oh, we’ve increased your DD” notification by email, 10 days later.

To be fair, this is the first time I have suffered from this issue but I have now added it to many others experienced over the past 12 months.

Thanks, I have already been onto the collections team and, eventually, managed to get things straightened out but not without a couple of challenges!

 

@Hafnia 

I actually meant no way of stopping the increase before Christmas due to closures. This left a very real risk of either not being able to get hold of them in time (having had many problems trying to contact them by phone this year), or them failing to correct the situation in time. This is based on previous poor experiences with them over the last 12 months or so, unlike the many years previously as a happy customer.

Trust me, I know exactly what my options are, the obligations on both sides of the DD process and guarantee (theirs and mine), having been involved in many DD implementation and update projects for a variety of clients in my career as a Business Analyst.

I managed to contact the collections team this morning, probably because I was on the phone at exactly 9:00 this morning! However, this was a slightly more challenging experience than previous calls due to them having already increased the DD and being very, shall we say, “reluctant” to change it back.

However, it does not excuse the original failure to udpate the system correctly by adding my account on the exceptions/suspension list. Yes, I would almost certainly be less critical if this had been the first problem I had suffered at the hands of OVO this year but it is just another in a growing list!

O
Rank

...me paying any balance owed every month. I give two readings a month to keep a check on things. I see no text where OVO answers these questions which says the DD will go down if (as in the summer) the DD will be too high. I totally hate DDs anyway. We are not cash cows to fill their coffers regardless if they are in debt and to pay for ‘lost credit’ for other crashed companies why should existing customers foot the bill? Other than that I like OVO as they have a good website and easy to use.

juliamc
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Userlevel 7
Badge +2

The direct debit calculator suggests I reduce my payment from £200 per month to £5 per month. I think most people on here are more likely to mention increases in dd and not bother mentioning decreases, but they do happen, honest.

O
Rank

Thanks. Interesting I will watch for that!

Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @Omits,

 

If you’re on the Simpler Variable Tariff your prices may have increased in January and will increase again in April in line with the Energy Price Guarantee.

 

*Taken from another thread*

 

Energy Price Guarantee

 

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) refers to the Government initiative which started October 1st. This limits the energy bill for a typical household to £2500 until the 31st of March 2023. This will be increasing to £3000 in April 2023, and will remain in place until March 2024. 

 

The EPG is in addition to the Energy Bills Support Scheme, where every household will receive a £400 discount to help with the cost of energy. You’ll receive £66 in October and November, and then £67 every month until March. 


 

Price Cap

 

The Price Cap which is set by OFGEM means the maximum cost that a supplier can charge a customer on average, per year. The Price Cap is influenced by wholesale costs. This includes distribution costs in each region. OFGEM takes a look at the underlying costs to supply energy and sets the cap accordingly. 

 

Don’t worry, although the Price Cap has been set much higher than the EPG (about £4200). The EPG protection will remain in place until March 2024 and the government is still absorbing a lot of the cost. 

 

Why are some customers seeing a price increase despite the EPG? 

 

OFGEM has decided to amend the Price Cap to make changes to regional charges, but the EPG discount remains consistent, as an average, across different regions. This will result in some customers' charges increasing on the 1st January. 

 

The EPG is an average discount across the board, however regions that are more costly to provide energy to, will see an increase in costs. 

 

All of this will be communicated to affected customers. If you're affected by the regional pricing updates and your prices are set to increase in January, we’ll contact you over the next few weeks with an update of your change of price and forecasted costs for the year.  

 

What about Fixed Tariff customer’s moved to the EPG?

 

We made a promise to these customers that we would continue to monitor their accounts and if a customer becomes disadvantaged, we’ll reach out to them and inform them of the next steps. 

 

Support available for customers who may be struggling with their bills:

 

Customer support package and where to apply. 

Warm Home Discount

What to do if I can’t afford my energy bills? 

Energy Bills Support Scheme

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
C
Rank

We got a note saying our direct debit would go up but then as we were in credit and because of the rebate, we called and asked for it to be kept as it is. What I don’t understand is on the phone we were told that they were able to do that for three months - so this is a few weeks ago. And then today, a note has come saying our direct debit is going up automatically now. So what’s the point in being told when we called a few weeks ago that they would keep it as it is? And then when I tried to call today as this is when I got the note, apparently OVO doesn’t answer calls on Sunday.  Is anyone else having this - where they are told it won’t go up and then it does. 

Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @Chandra,

 

Really sorry to hear this,

 

It sounds like your account was put on a 3 month direct debit review suspension but something has gone wrong and it was incorrectly applied. It may be that the suspension was added but the bank had already been contacted with the instruction to increase the direct debit. 

 

If you contact Support they’ll be able to re-add this to your account. 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
F
Rank

Why on earth does OVO employ people who simply couldn’t care less, 

I was made to go on to OVO after SSE went and suddenly I’ve got one account not two, having two was much easier to navigate, but now I haven’t used my gas in 10 months and still being charged the stupid daily charge and DD went up from £85 to £223 a month, 

now I’m trying to get them to take of the gas amount and set up a payment plan of what I can afford and continue £85 a month for my electricity, but being told the amount of £170 + would be acceptable, not for me it isn’t, I’m on the priority list and registered as vulnerable due to health conditions, not one bit of help offered apart from contact a dept charity, not even offered the free electric throw over

yet on the OVO app it tells you that you can change the amount and dates of payments…. Wrong as it wouldn’t let me change a thing, lets wait and see if I get a response from my complaint 

very annoyed customer 

Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Hi @Fedupcustoner

I don't work for OVO, am just a customer like you. A few of us post on a regular basis.

Did you try phoning the OVO Collections Team as they can do more in these situations usually in terms of payment plans. 

0800 0699 831

Of course you may have already tried that. 

F
Rank

Thanks, I haven’t tried that yet just waiting upto 48 hours now for a call back as I escalated it to complaint dept, only been trying to get this sorted since April 2022 , 

thanks again for the advice 👍

R
Rank

I received an auto email saying my direct debit was increasing, despite me being over £300 in credit. I telephone the helpline & eventually spoke to an advisor who said that the DD would not need to increase due to the amount of credit on the account.

Despite this, I have received a notification this morning saying the direct debit will increase - this is appalling customer service. Has anyone had similar issues and have been able to resolve them without spending hours on the phone ?

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

Hi @Roy Solomon ,

You’ll want the Collections Team for this one. 0800 069 9831. They can freeze your DD at any amount and lock it for three months.

But please think carefully before doing so, as we’re about to hit another price increase fairly soon.

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

For the second time my direct debit has just  increased.  Now ive always been in credit and they say they review direct debits every three months.

  However today only a week after they automatically increased it i get yet another message saying ovo think i will owe them £67 at the end of my yearly term.  And suggest an increase to at least £101..00  if i don’t they will do it automatically. This is not within the 3 months review they say they carry out.  

is anyone else getting these weekly messages ?  Trying to contact them is a nightmare.

 


 

 

 

 

 

Blastoise186
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +1

The price cap is about to go up, so it’s quite possible OVO is starting to react and adjust DD amounts to reflect it.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Hi @Baldyman

Sorry to hear about your query. 

1. Does it say £101 on this page?

https://account.ovoenergy.com/payments/direct-debit/change-ddamount

2.Are you on a fixed or variable rate tariff?

I don't work for OVO, i am just a customer like you. No one on this forum can access your account. 

B
Rank

Yes up to £101 per month,  On variable rate. What bugs me is they say we will  review every three months but its now twice in as many weeks.  Getting greedy.

Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @Baldyman,

 

Sorry to hear this,

 

The Energy Bills Support Scheme payments stop in March, and the Energy Price Guarantee will be increasing on the 1st of April. If you feel however, that your direct debit review is inaccurate, you can request a three month direct debit review suspension. 

 

The following topics might be helpful to you:

 

 

If you don’t already, I’d advise submitting regular meter readings to ensure your estimated annual consumption and direct debit review is accurate and not based on estimates. 

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Jeffus
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +2

Sounds strange you have been asked twice in 3 months @Baldyman but as we can't access your account it is not possible to give much personal advice. 

@Emmanuelle_OVO mentioned the Energy Bill Support Scheme but as a direct debit customer that should have simply been paid into and out of your account and not impacted your DD.

The Energy Price Guarantee is due to go up on 1st April unless the government changes their mind. But OVO don't yet know the new unit rates and standing charges and these haven't been communicated to customers so that shouldn't have impacted any calculator or any emails being sent more than every 3 months. You will be emailed once OVO know any new rates for 1st April. 

You can call OVO collections and ask for your DD to be frozen for 3 months. They have done that for several customers. It is a different number

0800 0699 831

Once the 3 months is up you can ask for another 3 month freeze. 

 

 

 

C
Rank

Forcibly switched from SSE last year to OVO. Have been told my DD will increase by 33%, as they predict I will be in debt by the end of my fixed tariff in 2024. 

Yes I have a small debt now (it's winter) but this will level out in summer, as a use very little, and have solar panels. 

After 2 hours on chatbots, WhatsApp, and being passed from dept to dept yesterday I was told that 'your with OVO now and this is how we operate.'

I was finally told (I think as the phone line and diction were very poor). When you use less in the summer we'll lower your DD. I thought the whole point was to level out your payments, so that you pay the same each month. Overpaying in summer, to compensate for underpaying in winter.

OVO really need to address their customer service they are the Pontins of energy companies.

 

 

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