Why was my Direct Debit still taken after my move out date?

My original post on this forum seems to have disappeared so here we go again

My elderly mothers account was moved away from Ovo in Mid June. The final bill and a small refund were processed promptly. No problems

Unfortunately a subsequent direct debit for £95 was taken on 27.06

I raised a complaint and a Stephanie from Account Management responded with profuse apologies and said the money would be refunded immediately (if it had not already happened). This was on 16.07

Well needless to say no money has been received and when I try to  email Stephanie (hello@oveo email) I get bounced with a message saying “this email is not linked to an ovo account” Thats right….me and my mother have both moved from Ovo

A stroppy woman from complaints just rang me to say as I was not the account holder they would not speak to me.

I dont want you to speak to me, I just want you to put back the money you have taken without permission. Stephanie was able to respond to me immediately, so why am I being bounced around now?

Im posting here because no one will speak to me. My old mum is 94, housebound and getting very stressed at someone keeping hold of her money

This really isnt a good look for your company!

I know that things have moved on now, but your first post about this matter and a reply from ​@Chris_OVO is here:

Tip- If you go to your account by clicking the icon top-right of any page, or by clicking your blue username on any post that you have made, the you can see a list of all your previous postings.

You now say:

I raised a complaint and a Stephanie from Account Management responded with profuse apologies and said the money would be refunded immediately (if it had not already happened). This was on 16.07

Well needless to say no money has been received

It has only been two working days since the 16th.

End of account refunds are normally sent by cheque, and if it’s been sent as a cheque then you need to give Royal Mail some time to deliver it.

Thanks for answering but the original closing refund was paid by transfer, and Stephanie advised on the 16th

“The refunded amount should have reached your mum's bank account by now. If it hasn't, please let us know and we will be happy to investigate further for you.”

Well I am trying to advise them that no funds have been received (as I was advised to) but no one will take my message or answer my emails

​@MikeMilf if there was an email address attached to your mum’s old account then my recommendation is for an email to be sent to OVO from the account holder, from that email address. This will then be linked to the account on our side, and an advisor will reply via email.

If you’re calling in to speak to an advisor, and aren’t named on the account, then they won’t be able to speak to you, as this wouldn’t pass our data protection rules. I appreciate this can cause frustrations, but we have to do this for the security of our customers. Another option is to call OVO when you’re with your mum, so we can briefly speak to her and pass security, and then get her permission for us to speak to you on her behalf.

This guide gives more info:

As ​@Nukecad says - if the refund was processed on the 16th of July, then it may still be a few days before it hits the bank account. We always advise ten working days for a refund via bank transfer, however it normally takes about four days.

Hopefully you’ll see the money soon - we’re still within the usual timeframe.

I recently switched to Octopus and have received my "Final Bill" from OVO Which I've Paid - but I'm worried because this month's regular payment is still showing as due on my app ! (although I am in credit by £15:73.) Is it likely that I will receive further demands from OVO after having paid my "Final Bill ? Shall I stop my Direct Debit now ? Any advice very much appreciated. 

Hi ​@Very Old Man ,

I’m one of the forum volunteers around here. I don’t work for OVO myself.

It looks like you might be using bolded font for accessibility reasons. I’ll do the same in this reply in case that helps. If you’d like us to make any other adjustments to make the using the forum easier for you, please let us know.

If you’ve had a Final Bill and it shows a credit balance after the bill is paid, you’re all done with OVO - you’ll get any remaining credit back automatically. Feel free to end the Direct Debit now if you wish, or you can let OVO cancel it automatically - either way, it’ll terminate on its own after 13 months with no activity.

If you want to be super safe, leave things active until the Final Refund is in your bank account - after that you can 100% cancel the direct debit as OVO will process the remaining steps in the background.

Hope that helps!

Morning ​@Very Old Man, I hope you’re well.

As Blastoise186 suggests, we’ll refund any remaining credit back to your bank account soon after the final bill has been generated. If you’ve paid the final bill, then by all means cancel your Direct Debit.

Just to let you know, you might receive an automated email requesting that you set it up again. Don’t worry - this email is automated.

We wish you all the best with your new supplier.

Hi ​@Very Old Man , as Ben mentions,  if you’re confident that your account is clear (no monies owing), you could cancel your direct debit. I did my switch that way a while ago when I moved.

There have been some instances of an extra dd being taken and although it will be repaid, I prefered to not have that to deal with. 

If you cancel your dd, you will get an email to say that you need to set up a dd but (again if you’re sure there’s nothing to pay) you can ignore it.