Why such a large increase to my recommended Direct Debit?

As an Octopus customer (formerly OVO) it is frustrating to see OVO cutomers having issues with their DDs when I can set my DD to any level and nobody cares. I currently set it below the ‘annual rate’ and take the opportunity in September and March to manually add the amount necessary  to keep it in credit in March. It means I never have too much in my account so I never have to ask for a refund 

I've posted this to challenge OVO to rethink their DD policy when it clearly doesn't take into account all the factors that affect the balance. This causes real problems for people. You need to do better. You can do better.

Peter 

Yep! As I said I'm currently paying around £40 a month more than I use and yet they put the DD up AGAIN!!!! So now it's £165 a month and on average we use around £115 and I'm £440 in credit! By my calculations I'll be around £800 in credit in March, ovos calculation I'll be £140!!! Utter joke 😂

Hey ​@fancyabrew,
 

I understand your frustration, 

We have made the change to build one month's usage credit by the end of the winter period on our customers accounts. This credit will help to cover any changes to your energy usage or costs throughout the year leading to a smoother payment journey. Your Direct Debit is managed to ensure that you do not build too much credit on your account and also ensures your account does not fall into arrears should anything change with your usage. If you do build more credit on your account than is needed, we will recommend you reduce your payments or alternatively, you can request a refund at any time Our recommended Direct Debit amount is a suggested amount to ensure you pay for your predicted energy and don't end up with any debt or too much credit by the end of the Winter period. Your energy costs may go up or down throughout the year and we want to support you with those changes. Paying by Direct Debit helps to spread those costs so you don't end up with large bills to pay, and paying by Direct Debit is one of the cheapest ways to pay. 
 

Hope this helps.

I raised a complaint and it has now been sorted. DD reduced back to £136 a month and a £200 refund. And my account will be excluded from DD recalculations. Accounts with credits like charge anytime really don't fit into the standard DD calculation model!

I pay a fixed £98 bill each month and I get charged an additional £51 each month why?

Hi ​@Van ,

Sorry but we can’t answer that here without further context - the OVO Forum can’t access your account.

Pleas show us your bill with ALL personal info redacted

What is written in your bill? How does it explain the additional £51? Is it a separate bill? Is it for the same meter? 

Would need see your bill to check why you have additional charge

Has it only just happened this month?

they set up a direct debit of £51 on the 1st of the month and £98 on the 3rd of the month 🥴I switched from top up smart meter to get the bill every month 2 month ago

I didn’t see any bill for that! They just set up direct payments 🥲