Why have OVO raised an objection (blocked) my switch to another supplier?

Hey @Jeffus,

I’m not sure what the industry wide practice is, but I know that a number of suppliers keep direct debits running until a final bill is produced. In this time a further direct debit may be taken, I think the reasoning is to ensure any remaining debt balances are cleared and that final refunds are made into active bank accounts. This of course can be frustrating for customers who have a large sum of credit which is likely to cover the final bill. I know that if a customer with OVO cancels their direct debit, once the final bill is produced if a refund is needed it will go into the most recent active direct debits’ bank account. 

I recently switched to a new home from a well known, large supplier and had a similar experience. Two direct debits were taken (even though the account was in credit) and the final bill took 6 weeks. I have now been refunded, but when I tried to cancel the direct debit after the move out I received an email advising me not to do so, so I set the direct debit to the lowest amount possible in the App. This seemed to work! 

I will of course update this topic if there are any process changes within OVO regarding the switching away refund process 🙂

Interesting. 

I do have a problem with the ovo process in particular. 

OVO operate live billing and this customer has a smart meter so the outstanding amount should be known exactly by ovo at the point of switching. 

Also this customer had a 500 credit with Ovo at the time of the switch to cover unforeseen circumstances. 

So I don't see any rational for the ovo processes not to consider this automatically and reduce the DD to zero automatically. 10 days  should be plenty for automatic systems. 

I do have a problem with Ovo taking up to two months of DD at the same time as the new supplier. For some customers that is simply unaffordable. I can't believe ogfem want that to happen in normal circumstances, even if they don't explicitly mention it. 

So is the best option for exiting ovo customers with a positive credit balance and a working smart meter is to cancel the ovo DD with the bank at the time of the switch I wonder? 

This appears to be industry wide. Every time anyone I know has switched - regardless of old/new supplier combination - the behaviour has been exactly the same as what’s described here.

@Emmanuelle_OVO its very frustrating if the account is in credit and the bills are totally up to date.
 

In my situation a) having a smart meter, and b) an account that’s constantly been in credit for years, and c) having over £500 in the account and d) max monthly bill of £420 ie last January and most recent bill of £137; all that ought to  add up to the fact that OVO didn’t need to take another dd 10 days after the supply has switched.
 

I also reduced my dd to the lowest but that was still £190.

I don't think that is acceptable @Blastoise186 with the live billing that OVO have.

There is no excuse when live billing is working, when we have a very serious cost of living crises impacting millions of people. 

I think they should update their process. If OVO want to be the best supplier they have to make sure they are the best in all their customer processses, even people that are leaving them. 

tbh if you want one supplier to do it, you need to make the entire industry do it.

I agree, the OVO process simply isn't good enough unfortunately…

I don't agree @Blastoise186 

If OVO want to be the best supplier they need to do better, not the status quo. OVO should be a leader not a follower. 

Especially in a cost of living crisis. 

I’ve just asked you to stop pinging me, please respect that request.

@Jeffus you’re right, the fact that OVO has live billing is a perfect reason for them to handle the leaving process smoothly, without taking an extra dd after the switch. Is OVO the only energy supplier with live billing? 
There are many other calls on people’s finances; such as moving within the rental sector when tenants have to pay one deposit up front before they get their previous deposit back, if the energy supplier bags finances like this it’s another unnecessary and unaffordable burden.