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Rank 1
October 7, 2022
Solved

£66 government energy bills support scheme deducted from my OVO account balance not added?

  • October 7, 2022
  • 645 replies
  • 34621 views

Can anyone explain what’s going on here?

Opening balance was £335, we used around £90 worth of electric/gas combined (£66 government payment was taken off this, hence the £22 charge), I paid £150 so by my reckoning the balance should have gone up by around £125.

It hasn’t though - they seem to have then deducted the £66 again.

Does anyone know why? Do I need to contact them or will it right itself?

Best answer by Blastoise186

Updated on 28/06/23 by Abby_OVO

 

This scheme is now closed.

 

How you will be awarded the £67 depends on how you pay. If you’re seeing a deduction, it’s because you pay by Direct Debit and the grant payment went into your OVO account and is then deducted from the account and refunded to your bank account. 

For all information on this topic please see the website page Energy Bills Support Scheme or this previous response:

 

 

If you pay by direct debit and have seen the credit go to your OVO account, this payment will be transferred into your bank account. 

 

The payment will be made 3-5 working days after the direct debit has cleared. This will happen automatically and you don’t need to do anything. 

 

All customers who pay this way will receive their refund into their bank accounts within 3-5 days of their direct debit date. For example, if your direct debit is the 15th of the month, it’ll be 3-5 days after this. 

 

For anyone that pays on demand, their payment will be made directly to their OVO account. 

 

 

If you pay by Direct Debit

You’ll receive your discount as a refund. This means you’ll carry on paying your full Direct Debit amount. Once the Direct Debit payment has cleared, we’ll refund the monthly discount amount to your bank account shortly after. If you cancel your Direct Debit, or your payment fails, there may be a delay in applying the discount to your account.

You’ll get your discount every month, even if you don’t get monthly statements. You'll see confirmation of the discount on your next statement. 

 

If you pay when you get your bill

You’ll receive your monthly discount as a credit to your energy account in the first week of each month. You’ll see this on your monthly bills from October. 

We’ll add the discount to your energy account every month, even if you don’t get monthly bills. You'll see confirmation of the discount on your next bill. 

For example, if you receive your bills on the 15th of the month, we’ll add your discount in the 1st week of the month, starting in October, so you’ll see confirmation of this on your bill dated 15 October.

 

Hey @meccles !

Please check your Charges as well. I suspect you’ll see a line entry there that explains it, just like this example:

 

645 replies

juliamc
Rank 20
Rank 20
December 2, 2022

@Dizzy diana Not clear from your comment. Are you saying the ‘charges detail’ section of your bill doesn’t include the EBSS -£66 line ??

I’m not saying OVO have made this easy but in most cases the entry for EBSS has been found in the detail of the charges. The charges are reduced by £66. Can you show that part of your bill here ?

Newcomer
December 3, 2022

Very interesting, I'm a unwillingly  swopped SSE 15+ years customer also. I've sent 4 emails now all ignored or not acknowledging my queries or complaints. I feel utterly trapped by this farce of a company who are trying to double our DD even though our usage is quite low. I don't like talking on the phone as bad reception & my hearings not great. But I feel I'm going to have to try to bite the bullet ..😒

juliamc
Rank 20
Rank 20
December 3, 2022

If you use WhatsApp you can phone in then select to have a WhatsApp link sent to start a ‘conversation’ with customer services. It takes a while (one took more than a day for me) but it got my query dealt with.

Newcomer
December 3, 2022

No sign of any charge reduction on my statements (see my thread).

alanwestlake
Newcomer
Newcomer
December 3, 2022

I am struggling to understand this £66 government subsidy to assist with payment.

DD remains the same.

Charges out similar each month.

£66 removed from winter pot only to be seen in the bank account  Left hand robbing the right hand with effectively NO advantage to me. In fact the £66 is now in the bank and not in the correct place to pay for fuel.

If we are receiving £66 subsidy it should read +£66 and the pot increasing if other inputs remain unchanged.

I didn't think my accountancy skills are that bad and this is a CON by the government, OVO or both.

Firedog
Super User
Super User
December 3, 2022

There’s a clue in your screenshot - why are you paying £119 a month if your usage at the coldest, darkest part of the year is only £83? You would normally be expected to use more than the Direct Debit in the winter.

Have a look at the charges in detail to see whether your ‘Total charges’ haven’t been reduced by the £66 rebate.

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA | It may look as if I know what I’m talking about, but don’t let that fool you. |
alanwestlake
Newcomer
Newcomer
December 3, 2022

We have a small outlay monthly subsidised by solar panels.

£66 taken out of my ovo account only to go directly into my bank is in effect me moving money from one account to another. 

juliamc
Rank 20
Rank 20
December 3, 2022

But look at your Charges in Detail… is there a line above VAT saying EBSS  -£66 ? If so it’s the government money coming into your account, reducing your charges by £66.

Emmanuelle_OVO
Retired Moderator
Retired Moderator
December 5, 2022

Hey @robtrudiF and @Sarareynolds,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

 

I’d say the best way to raise a complaint is over the phone, as that way it can be dealt with there and then. If you’re unhappy with the resolution you can ask for the complaint to be escalated. 

 

If you’d prefer you can use WhatsApp or web messenger @robtrudiF. You might be interested in joining our Priority Services Register where we can offer extra support and free services. 

 

You’re increased direct debit might be due to an out of line estimated annual consumption or a read dispute might need to be raised on your account. 

 

 

Hope this helps. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Emmanuelle_OVO
Retired Moderator
Retired Moderator
December 5, 2022

Hey @williamjjames,

 

I can see this issue has now been resolved, I’m glad you managed to locate the payment on your billing 🙂

 

@Nico, please can you send a screenshot of your billing from the Online Account where it shows ‘other charges’? Make sure you don’t include any personal information, as this is a public Forum. 

 

Let’s get to the bottom of this together! 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.