Why did OVO Energy not collect my Direct Debit on my usual payment date?

Did this one help get things explained, @Claire88?

Don’t forget you can always login to your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS) to check your up-to date balance and whether the payment has been received. If it’s been 48 working hours since your usual payment date and the Direct Debit still hasn’t cleared, it might be worth checking with your bank. If we request the payment and there aren’t sufficient funds in your account, this will cause a re-scheduled payment 10 days later.

Hoping this information is helpful - Do pop back if you’ve got any further questions 

It did help thank u 

I have direct debit subscription on my account for the 1st of every month, however, this month is not yet taken. What's happening?

Hi @captayenolu !

It’s May Day today, which always falls on the first Monday in May. As a result, today is a bank holiday and pretty much the entire banking system in the UK is closed. Instant payments, deposits, withdrawals and transfers will still process of course, but just about everything else gets pushed back an extra day.

Any payments due to be collected from your bank account today will be collected tomorrow (2nd May 2022) instead. You’ll be back to the 1st of each month from June as usual.

Please don’t panic, this isn’t a payment failure either. Just a quirk of how the banking system works in the UK.

Thanks a lot @Blastoise186 . The information helped in clarifying my worries on all my other DDs. 

Thanks

No worries. Here’s the official list of UK Bank Holidays in case it helps.

There are no further Bank Holidays in England scheduled this year to fall on the 1st of any month at the time of me posting this comment. The next two will be Monday 2nd January 2023 because of New Years Day being on a Sunday next year, and - rather ironically - May Day 2023 which once again, falls on the 1st May next year.

If you’re in Scotland or Northern Ireland though, there are some others you’ll want to be aware of. They’re all in that convenient list, in case that helps. :)

Weekends i.e. Saturdays and Sundays are also considered to be closed days in the banking system. As with a Bank Holiday, scheduled payments on a weekend will generally be pushed back to the following week.

Hi - our May direct debit hasn't been taken although out bank details haven't changed.

I don't want our credit score to be affected if this is seen as a late payment- what should I do? The live chat system doesn't seem to be working.

Regards Richard

Hi @lamina,

A bit of a confusing one. It might be worth taking a look at the advice given in the best answer above,

Direct Debits are held back if the payment date itself falls on a weekend or bank holiday, it should go through tomorrow morning (Monday). From there, it should show up in your OVO account by Wednesday afternoon. There’s a five day cycle that starts two working days before your payment date and completes two working days afterwards.

Don’t forget you can always login to your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS) to check your up-to date balance and whether the payment has been received. If it’s been 48 working hours since your usual payment date and the Direct Debit still hasn’t cleared, it might be worth checking with your bank. If we request the payment and there aren’t sufficient funds in your account, this will cause a re-scheduled payment 10 days later.

Have you logged in to your online account to check whether we’ve received the payment yet?

Hi - no bill has been generated for April and there are ample funds both in our current account and I have a balance on the ovo account considerably more than the direct debit. The smart meter is working fine and o have regular readings of usage .

What do you suggest I do ?

Regards 

Richard

Howdy!

I’m Blastoise186, one of the forum volunteers. Just need to give you a heads up that I can’t access your account though, so I can’t fix this problem myself.

I think the Support Team should be able to forcibly generate a bill for you and if needed, help you to make a payment to the account. If the reason the payment didn’t go out isn’t your fault e.g. OVO’s systems never attempted to take one, then this won’t reflect badly on your account or credit records. You’d only get a black mark if either you didn’t pay at all, or multiple payments bounced.

Could you check the Billing History though, just in case there’s a bill there?

Hi - all sorted after a call to ovo :-)

Richard

Mine also failed to be taken and still not taken as of today.  Friday 6th. 

Hi @Ub8jay ,

I’ve seen your comment in the other thread just now. 

This sounds like it might not just you affected, so I’ll go ahead and ask @Tim_OVO and @Jess_OVO if they can stop by, just to be safe.

Thanks for bringing it up!

Just to check in following the weekend, are you still missing the latest Direct Debit payment on your accounts, @Ub8jay and @captayenolu?

Let me know if so and I’ll check in with our payments team to see if there’s a known issue or this might be account-specific.

Hope we can get to the bottom of this for you both.

Just checked the OVO app and my bank account and nothing showing still.  
 

jason. 

Thanks for the update, @Ub8jay.

Just to let you know I’ve raised this one to the team so will pop back when I know more. 🙂

Hi, this month , I cannot see my DD payment on my account - we did not use £280 worth of gas and electric last month . Plus we haven't received the £66 into the bank account despite it showing as refunded on my OVO account . 

Any ideas please ? 

Hi @Annoyedaswell ,

This sounds very account specific I’m afraid, so your best bet would really be the Support Team.

Can you post a screenshot of the recent Charges and Payments screen please? Also the ‘see details’ which gives Charges Breakdown. No personal info though! Though it may well not help !!! See above 🤦‍♀️

It can take up to 7 working days after Direct Debit taken for the refund to arrive in your Bank Account.

Why on earth would OVO take my direct debit amount on the 27th of July and again today on the 1st of August?? 
 

I have also already paid a deposit upfront so it has nothing to do with that. 
 

extremely annoyed as I don’t have the money to just give it up to OVO, I’m inclined to cancel my direct debit but I’m fixed and they’ll only start charging me exit fees….

EDIT. I've changed my post because I just noticed something -

27th July was a Sunday.

The banking system does not process DDs on weekends so it would normally be taken on the following Monday.
But may sometimes take longer.

Double check you bank transactions, have there actually been two payments taken or was it just taken later than you expected?

Hey ​@xJames99, 

As ​@Nukecad’s already mentioned, July 27th was a weekend, so banks don't actually process payments then. Your Direct Debit might have shown up in your app as planned, but it probably didn't leave your account until the next working day.

If you think there might be a duplicate payment, it's a good idea to check with your bank. If they confirm it, you can ask for a Direct Debit indemnity, and they'll get your money back to you on the same day. You can find more info about the Direct Debit Guarantee right here.

I’ve left some handy articles we have on Direct Debits below

We'd really appreciate your feedback on whether this sorted things out for you. It could really help others in the same boat!

Hi guys, I am new account holder in OVO, I just started usimg it last October 18, I chose variable plan, my payment method is monthly every 28th of the month using direct debit...so now I am due on Ocotber 27 but my bill is £103, Is there anyone who experienced this?because thsy amount is upcoming in my debit?thank you