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Will my tariff increase if I cancel my direct debit?

L
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I am currently paying by DD and have built up a credit of in excess of £500. I’m on the standard variable price cap rate for gas and electricity. I appreciate that this is going to increase and also that it’s summer so I will be using far less energy than in winter and the idea of DD is to pay a fixed amount over 12 months to cover the usage. I however resent OVO holding on to my money and I would rather it be sitting in my own bank account. If I cancel my DD and pay by bank transfer/card each month on receipt of bill for exact monthly usage will I end up paying any more? What I mean is, OVO obviously prefer DD so are there any additional charges/increase in tariff if I don’t pay by DD? 

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Best answer by Blastoise186 31 July 2022, 10:37

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Blastoise186
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Updated on 26/06/23 by Abby_OVO

Hiya!

Just so you know, I’m one of the forum volunteers who helps out in my spare time. I don’t work for OVO myself.

The answer is… Possibly… But it depends on circumstances.

If you cancel the DD, you WILL lose the safety net of any active fixed rate deal and will be forced onto the Simpler Energy tariff. Now is not a good time to do that if you’re not already on that tariff.

You only ever pay the same amount for your energy anyway regardless of payment method with OVO and I’d personally recommend leaving things how they are - that £500 credit will help you a lot over the next eight months. It’ll act as a buffer that gets used up first and will help with your budgeting.

If you really want to switch methods, please discuss this with OVO first and use the proper process to change payment method via the Support Team. Please DO NOT just cancel the Direct Debit as this will likely trigger the Collections Team to contact you (and that’s not ideal for either them or you). 

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
J
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Having come out of a fixed deal in August my monthly d/d has increased from £120 to £410. 
 

I intend to try and negotiate a significant reduction as clearly will be using less gas & elec this winter where possible in comparison to previous years. At the very max I’d be prepared to pay £290 which is in line with anticipated average cost. I live in an average 3 bedroom home, two adults & one child. 

My question is, if Ovo refuse & I instead decide to cancel my d/d and pay for what I use, what effect does this have on the standard cost for elec/gas? It’s implied that you pay slightly less when you pay via d/d but I can’t see anywhere that confirms what kind of discount is applied? Does anybody know? 
 

 

Blastoise186
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Hi @josh_welsh ,

It’s said that on average, paying by Direct Debit is around £200 a year cheaper than any other method. You might want to talk to the Support Team next week about adjusting your payments back down for three months, but please be advised that you might need to talk to the Collections Team instead for this, their number is 0800 069 9831.

A three month freeze should be enough for the billing platform to get enough data to recalculate - as long as you continue to submit regular meter readings. I’d ideally recommend submitting them at least once a week until next spring if possible, as this extra data will help a lot.

However, this may not always be in your best interests, so please consider it carefully before making that request.

I hope this helps.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
T
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I believe these reviewed DD`s are just computer generated on very limited data. Ovo want to double my DD which has already been significantly increased. It does not take into consideration that my account is nearly £1000 in credit. We also have 2.5 kw of solar on the roof which reduces daytime costs. Neither do the DD projections take into consideration any help from the government btw where is that promised £400. As for contacting Ovo on the telephone just check the thread devoted to that subject ie difficult or nearly impossible. I have never been in arrears and I find it insulting that Ovo can just increase my DD without my express permission, they say they will give give 10 days notice but if Ovo is not contactable how will that work? I have been with Ovo for many years but really not happy with the way things are being handled by them.

Blastoise186
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Hi @trilleen ,

I’m one of the forum volunteers here. I’m also the volunteer who wrote up the guide about the Energy Bills Support Scheme on the forum, which you can find at 

It is also worth noting that the EBSS £400 discount is actually being applied as a rebate, not a discount. You still need to pay in the full DD each month, but will then get a refund of £66 or £67 depending on which month you’re in. The FULL amount of the payment will still be applied to your OVO account however, and you’re welcome to pay the rebate back in if you want to use it as a top-up payment to help with the bills.

If you have any concerns about your payments, please call the Collections Team on 0800 069 9831 and they can advise further.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
M
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You could pay by DD on actual bills, to retain the benefit of DD prices. The benefit of doing so compared to standard credit prices is £200+ on an annual basis (October prices) for an average user, more if you’ a larger consumer.

Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
M
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If you post your region I can give you the gory detail.

Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
K
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How would this work in cornwall

 

T
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You could pay by DD on actual bills, to retain the benefit of DD prices. The benefit of doing so compared to standard credit prices is £200+ on an annual basis (October prices) for an average user, more if you’ a larger consumer.

This aught not to a problem for anyone on a smart meter ie no estimated bills or meter reads required. My beef is ovo upping DD`s in advance on “projected” market conditions. The government has to intervene like many EU countries have done as many consumers on fixed incomes will be simply unable to pay these prices. Failure on the governments part to act will result in much hardship and the decimation of peoples savings and send many SME`s into bankruptcy. Unfortunately its looks like we will not be lead by the brightest & best  in government.

M
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Prices in the South Western region follow.  But to answer the question for all areas, unit prices of both Gas and electricity from October 2022 are 5.3% higher on standard credit than direct debit in all regions.  Standing charges are 17.7% higher for gas (applies to all UK regions), and 12.1% - 16% higher for electricity depending on region (London is the highest!).  Standard credit is always more expensive than direct debit.  Paying after the bill is raised by cheque wastes your money.

  Electricity   Maximum standing Charge per day £'s   Maximum charge per kWh if maximum standing charge applied £'s
Direct Debit Southern Western 0.5264   0.5171
Standard Credit Southern Western 0.5902   0.5446
           
           
  Gas        
Direct Debit Southern Western 0.2849   0.1485
Standard Credit Southern Western 0.3354   0.1564
Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
G
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Ovo are trying to increase my direct from £395 to £565 as they believe my usage will increase over winter. I have tried to contact them to argue this case. My DD was initially high due to the swap over from Scottish Power to OVO I had a some arrears. So was happy to increase the DD, my account is now in credit £300 credit my average bill over the last 8 months has £200. My usage has stayed more or less the same in the last 10 years of living in this house.  I am really sad I have all my bills for the last 10 years.

 

So if you go on my average bill or my usage, when the 80% increase happens my average monthly bill will be £360 ish.  Thats before the £67 discount. 

I have tried to change my DD to balance amount of the bill each month or wont let me do that for some reason. It will only let me change to min of £500.

So I may need to cancel my DD and just pay the bill monthly.

 

I cant get through to customer services, I work full time so I can waste my time phoning every day.

 

Not impressed with the service so or the app.

 

It worry how many vulnerable are falling fowl of this and maybe doing with our food etc when there is no need.

 

 

M
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I suggest you use another method to contact OVO. The average user (who is that?) pays £215 in additional charges on standard credit than DD over a year (October 2022 prices), so that is worth retaining. 

You can pay by variable DD rather than fixed DD, which would meet your objectives and save you money.

Don’t forget another substantial increase is in the pipeline for January2023.

Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
G
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I have tried 2 different methods and I will email them.

Thank you for your feedback but I included oct price increase and January price increase. This isn't my first rodeo.

 

Again as I stated the app wont let me change it to variable DD as that would be my solution. Its forcing me to set my DD min £525. Which I am not about to do.

Personally I don't want to build a too much credit as the money is better in my account earning interest.

 

Blastoise186
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Email isn’t a valid contact option anymore. You’ll find all your contact options at https://help.ovoenergy.com . If you have concerns over your payments, the Collections Team might be able to help. Feel free to give them a call on 0800 069 9831.

Further help and advice is available in the links on my guide at 

If you wish to make a complaint, please use the contact form at https://ovoenergy.com/feedback .

I’m afraid OVO doesn’t support Variable Direct Debits anymore, the last time that option was available was before I joined in September 2020. Apologies for any confusion, meldrewreborn is an experienced forum volunteer elsewhere but he’s still learning the ropes here.

If you don’t want to pay by Fixed Direct Debit, then your only option is to pay on-demand/on-receipt of the bill. Be warned that on average, it costs around £200 a year more to pay this way than it does to pay by DD.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
G
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I will put a complaint in then.  

 

I have calculated my bill i there is no way my DD should be as high as it is moving forward.

 

£200 per year is the equivalent to £16 per month.  Where is currently they are trying to over charge me by up to £200 per month potentially.

 

Meldrewborn needs to be careful of the wording of the reply as well as ensuring the information is correct.

The tone was rude and unhelpful it time that is stressful for all of us.

I am lucky I have disposable income to absorb the increase but doesn't mean I am going to hand over my money willy nilly to a company who thinks most of their customers cant use a calculator.

Also to a company that is making stupendous amount of dividends for its shareholders.

 

 

 

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I’m really sorry for saying customers can pAy by variable DD when OVO don’t permit it.

Customers are entitled to a fair and reasonable DD. OVO should be able to revel their computational method upon request. Make a complaint if they can’t do that.

Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
M
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You could pay by DD on actual bills, to retain the benefit of DD prices. The benefit of doing so compared to standard credit prices is £200+ on an annual basis (October prices) for an average user, more if you’ a larger consumer.

This aught not to a problem for anyone on a smart meter ie no estimated bills or meter reads required. My beef is ovo upping DD`s in advance on “projected” market conditions. The government has to intervene like many EU countries have done as many consumers on fixed incomes will be simply unable to pay these prices. Failure on the governments part to act will result in much hardship and the decimation of peoples savings and send many SME`s into bankruptcy. Unfortunately its looks like we will not be lead by the brightest & best  in government.

Ovo are a out to raise my DD to 355 pound a month! My state pension is 740 pounds per month. How is this liveable? My actual usage over the past few months has been only 69 pounds ! I would prefer to pay each month for only energy I've used. I can cut down in the winter. I want to manage my own affairs. How do I change?

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I have tried 2 different methods and I will email them.

Thank you for your feedback but I included oct price increase and January price increase. This isn't my first rodeo.

 

Again as I stated the app wont let me change it to variable DD as that would be my solution. Its forcing me to set my DD min £525. Which I am not about to do.

Personally I don't want to build a too much credit as the money is better in my account earning interest.

 

This is my beef OVO taking control and increasing DD` payments without my express consent. They say they will give 10 days notice but if they cant be contacted how will it work. One thing for sure cancelling the DD will certainly get their attention they will contact you.

A positive thing about keeping positive balances on OVO they pay 5% interest on balances  shown as a deduction on monthly statement. I am not sure if this applies to new customers or just legacy customers who were with OVO originally. I have given many positive reviews online in the past for OVO but there is obviously huge demand for customer services at the moment and the inability to contact them needs to be be urgently addressed.

E
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Hi my Direct Debit has jumped 250.00 more and keeps increasing daily, obviously I can't adjust this , I'm thinking of cancelling and paying monthly by debit card, I'm not paying them to be able to keep part of my money and earn interest on my money. Any advice

Blastoise186
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Hi @Edo ,

You might find this guide useful as it details a lot of the support being offered right now. There’s also a bunch of links in that guide which will help you out.

If you’re having trouble keeping up with payments, it’s worth having a chat with OVO to see if they’re able to help. Rather than cancel your DD, you might want to take a look at https://www.ovoenergy.com/payment-support .

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
M
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Yes.  Check the DD amount and challenge it if necessary.  Other suppliers allow payment by DD on receipt of bill but OVO strangely don’t seem to allow this.  Paying other than via DD will cost the average dual fuel customer an additional £215 per annum @ Oct22 prices, more if you’re a big user.  Its not something I’d recommend.

Paying by DD gives you set payment of a known amount.  Actual Bills are lower in the summer and much higher in the winter if you pay on receipt of the bill.  So imagine a harsh winter, Christmas bills to pay an a massive energy bill too.  While superficially attractive paying after the event isn’t financially attractive to most.

Eon and EDF customer. Don't think smart meters are worth the expense.
Tim_OVO
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Hi everyone,

 

This is a common discussion point on the forum and elsewhere I’m sure. I want to offer some help wherever I can.

 

Direct Debits for customers on the variable plan, Simpler, factor in October’s price rises but not any other. We use your future annual consumption figure and these prices to work out a payment amount. You can check your future annual consumption and prices here: https://account.ovoenergy.com/plan - it’s your choice when on Simpler to pay on receipt of the bills if you prefer. But due to slightly higher prices and the lack of automation and spiky winter payments, I’d only recommend this if you have no faith in our prediction and you think you’re over paying. Even then, you’ll have credit which you can have refunded, or you may even get interest on this.

 

OVO has created some fantastic resources so customers know what support is available to them. 

 

Top 13 ways to save electricity at home and reduce your bills

 

Price rises: we're here to support you

 

Here’s the latest information on rising energy prices, and how we can help 

 

Energy Bills Support Scheme

 

This page has all the information that we and our call centre team have on the Energy Bills Support Scheme right now. 

 

Ways to get financial support

 

If you’re struggling financially or you’re worried about your energy bills, we’re here to support you. Find out about the different ways we can help here.

 

Hope this helps,

Tim

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
T
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Just a mention re contacting OVO on the telephone I did manage to get through to customer service via telephone the wait was a reasonable 10 minutes they have resolved my problem re automatic dd increases and were very helpful. It seems there has been some reorganisation in the call centres to reduce waiting times. I may have been lucky but fingers x````` ed others may get through to resolve issues.

Blastoise186
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There has indeed @trilleen , say hello to the new Account Management experience!

I can’t say for sure whether you’re on it yet, but the plan is that everyone will be on it soon. The idea makes it so that you have a dedicated account management squad assigned to you. It’s a bit like having a personal account manager, except rather than one account manager, you get 10+ account managers all looking out for you.

The result is way faster waiting times, more personal service, faster resolutions, more consistency… And that’s just the start. There’s more surprises in store as well, but I’ll let you discover them as you find them. Oh, and as they get to know you better, they can improve the service and your experience even more. :)

I’m told the new experience is aimed to be fully rolled out by the end of the year for absolutely everyone. In the meantime, some members are on the new experience while others are on the old one. That won’t be the case for much longer.

I’ve been on the new experience for quite a while now, as my account was selected to be part of the trials right from the start. I can definitely vouch from personal experience that it really does turbocharge customer service experience for me!

Watch this space as more surprises are on the way.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
C
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I called Ovo today and was told that if I cancelled my DD, then as my fixed rate has come to an end, then there won’t be any increase in my tariff.

However, I read on the website (Help Centre) “You’ll also notice that your prices will go up a little (you can check your new rates in your account). This is because you’ll be paying On Demand which costs us more to manage than Direct Debits.”

Does anyone know if there is any change to a tariff on a standard variable tariff if you cancel your DD? Thanks

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