Well my smart meters send readings every day so there actual readings not estimate. I rang the number got pasted to different department then past again to another then told to ring 08000699831 pretty sure it's the same place like wut I'm slowly loosing the will to live lol it really shouldn't take 3 hours to get no where with them 🥱

That 0800 number is for OVO’s Collections Team, it’s a different team to the Support Team and has more tools at their disposal to help you out with this kind of issue.

No idea they passed me around then told me to ring the number I posted above ...

Call it again, you might have better results.

Well now being told they won't change it and there telling me to change to pay as you go or request refund after few months  .... I'm loosing my will with this and no way I can keep ringing them because of my work hours 

Your other option is to cancel the Direct Debit and pay on-demand. However, I will echo the advice that has given in another thread.

If I double 6 months of usage it works out at 

430 electric and 85 gas for 12 months estimated 

With me paying 90 every month for 12 months it's 1080 pounds so there getting more than enough to cover price increases from what I can work out 

Hey @Kingy10005,

I’m sorry for the issues you’ve been having.

As I don’t have access to your account, I can only speculate as to why your direct debit is being increased.

You have mentioned you are on a fixed rate tariff, if you fixed into this tariff a while ago and it is coming to an end soon you will see a significant jump in your bills. Much higher than the price cap increase as you would have been previously protected by the low rates of your fixed contract. 

I would advise you check your current fixed rates on your online account under ‘my plans’ and compare them to those in your renewal letters.  

As @Blastoise186  said if you cancel your direct debit you will lose out on your fixed rate deal. Here are some guides you might find helpful about how your direct debit is calculated and getting to grips with the direct debit calculator on your online account or app. 

Once your fixed rate contract comes to an end you can opt for the Simpler Variable on demand plan which means instead of paying through direct debit, you can pay when you receive your bill. 

As @Blastoise186 advised we have lots of support available and information about the energy bills support scheme. 

Hope this helps.

On 08.08.22 Ovo agreed to reduce my direct debit amount. I was told it would take effect as of my next payment on 06.09.22. It didn’t so I called again and was told to wait two more weeks. My next payment is due in 4 days and the direct debit amount has still not changed. My previous energy supplier changed it with immediate effect why does Ovo need 2 months? 

@chell90 it shouldn't take that long. Sorry to hear that. I don't work for OVO. 

No one on this forum can access your account.

I suggest you contact OVO again to double check it will change. If you have trouble calling, you could try posting on the OVO Twitter or Facebook page as the OVO staff there can access your account.

You could also post a one star review on the ovo Trustpilot site. Again the ovo staff there can access your account. 

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ovoenergy.com

The challenge now is whether it may be too late to change this month's direct debit if it has not been set to change in the background 

Thank you the advice, very much appreciated. Will definitely be posting one star on Trustpilot. 

@chell90 

Do let us know how you get on as it often helps other customers

I am sure it is no conciliation but OVO generally get good reviews compared to many others... 

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.scottishpower.co.uk

If your direct debit is not in accordance with your agreed figure with your supplier, I find the easiest way to focus their attention is to invoke the Direct Debit Guaranteed.  Phone your bank, explain the problem and have the direct debit instantly (yes i really mean that) reversed.

no need to cancel the DD, just reverse the transaction.

Hey @chell90, 

Sorry for the issues you’ve experienced.

You should be able to amend your Direct Debit through the Online Account. It should only take 4 working days to update an active direct debit. 

Was your direct debit put on a review suspension by the Collections Team? If you made an agreement to put the direct debit to lower than the recommended. It may be that the arrangement was not put in place. I’d advise contacting Support about this.

Hope this helps. 

I’m confused. I thought my post was quite clear, I contacted the Support team twice. 

I included details of the conversation that did not include putting my direct debit on a review suspension. Had they done so I would have expected this delay.

And as mentioned in my initial message I requested and was granted a reduction in a direct debit amount, this was confirmed during my second conversation with the Support team on 06.09.22.

I shouldn’t have to contact the support team third time, it should be changed by now.

Here I am again, repeating myself. I think it’s safe to say your reply hasn’t helped in any way.

Hey @chell90,

Sorry for the issues you’re having

The only thing I can think of is that a direct debit review suspension hasn’t been properly added to your account. Otherwise a simple direct debit change should only take 4 days. 

If this isn’t added to your account, and you’ve agreed a direct debit lower than the recommended your direct debit will increase to the recommended amount. 

If you’re having no success with Support, it might be worth contacting our Collections Team directly.

Keep us posted with how you get on. 

Following your initial suggestion, after waiting 22 minutes, Support confirmed my details, I explained the issue, I was told I would be put on hold for 5 minutes, then they hung up.

Second attempt, I got through after 20 minutes to be told that a query about the direct debit not being initiated was raised on 06.09.22 and another was raised as a result of my initial call. So that was a waste of time.

I will try the collection team and you can be assured I will keep you posted.

They have  Taken more money out of my account when its not due until 28th this month.anyone else had this problem.

Hi @Jan89 ,

I’m sorry but the OVO Forum doesn’t have the ability to access your account and we might not be able to help you with this question. Please consider contacting the Support Team for this one.

Rapidly losing trust in OVO. My average monthly bill is around £250 -£280. Never more than £300 ish
My direct debit rose to £400 a month earlier this year.

I got an email from them last week telling me my DD is to go up to £428.
I called them to ask reason and was told it was a mistake. DD’s won’t be going up.

I’m nearly £900 in credit , and tried to apply for a refund.
Put in my meter readings etc, and got told by the app that I couldn’t apply until after 24hrs from sending my meter readings!
So I waited and tried again….. guess what , I have to submit my meter reading before applying for a refund.

Now, today I’ve had another email , telling me my DD IS GOING UP TO £428 again.

IS IT ANY WONDER WE HAVE TRUST ISSUES!

Tried to call and online chat, but they don’t open the helpline at the weekend.

I’ll be calling Monday and stopping my DD until sorted.

Completely lost trust and will go onto pay per bill

@OVO Energy

0800 069 9831 is the number you’ll want for this. Don’t cancel the DD in the meantime because that won’t fix your problem.

Let me know if you want a longer explanation as to why there isn’t actually a trust issue here.

There will be trust issues, as

point 1 , first email telling me that DD is going up, then conversation with the helpline telling me the email was a mistake as it was written before the PMs announement. ( received several days after the announcement )

point 2 another few days and a confirmation telling me the DD is going up..

they are raining DDs on people, despite telling them they won’t go up, and bills being well lower than the actual monthly payment.

they have also altered their refund policy . You need to jump through several hoops to get your own money back, and leave at least a months DD in place. ( although they” recommend” leaving 3 months in place) .

= trust issues.

Well… How about I reveal some insider info.

Just to be clear and in the interests of full disclosure and full transparency, I am a forum volunteer and have never worked in customer service, nor the energy industry or government, I am entirely independent of all of it.

What I am about to tell you comes from multiple sources. OVO is one of them, as is at least one other energy supplier which I shall not name. I am protecting the rest of my sources, which will all remain anonymous at their request.

Two years of experience on this forum has resulted in me gaining the trust of the community. Whether you trust me or not, I’m writing this up for the benefit of the wider community.

point 1 , first email telling me that DD is going up, then conversation with the helpline telling me the email was a mistake as it was written before the PMs announement. ( received several days after the announcement )

In common with other suppliers, those original emails were written prior to the announcement and preparations were made to send them out in advance. It was arguably too late to stop them in some cases, but suppliers did everything they could to shut down the process asap once it became obvious things were changing. It’s just not always possible to shut down absolutely all of them.

Almost all suppliers had literally less than two weeks to process the announcement and set everything up based on the new information. This process USUALLY requires at least a month of work to do it reliably, but emergency routes got used instead when all the suppliers panicked, so a bit of understanding from you would be kinda helpful here.

point 2 another few days and a confirmation telling me the DD is going up..

OVO’s Support Team is correct - I’ve had official confirmation that such emails can be safely ignored if they were to do with the original 1st October plan. You can see the actual recommendations in MyOVO which WILL factor in EPG. However, if you use more energy than predicted, you will pay more anyway.

It’s also true that paying on-demand will cost you at least another £200 a year.

they are raining DDs on people, despite telling them they won’t go up, and bills being well lower than the actual monthly payment.

Ok, so why don’t you prove that all suppliers put up everyone’s DD by unreasonable amounts? Good luck with that - because mine remains very reasonable and didn’t change at all.

they have also altered their refund policy . You need to jump through several hoops to get your own money back, and leave at least a months DD in place. ( although they” recommend” leaving 3 months in place) .

Standard policy across the market. Not OVO specific. Arguably though, it makes sense to keep three months worth of credit at all times. If it has changed, it was some time ago and definitely wasn’t recent. That much I can tell you with 100% certainty.

= No trust issues. Just your perception of them.

Make of that what you wish.

Had a look on My OVO .

DD is set with the increase they said wouldn’t be applied .

hence the issues I’m having.

what I did find is a button which reduces my next 3 payments , which will help get some of my £900 credit balance down ( albeit microscopically ) and gives me time to speak to Customer Service .

Hey @Claymore61,

Did you get a chance to speak to Support and is this sorted now?