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Underestimated past usage & back billing- maths doesn't add up?

  • June 3, 2025
  • 11 replies
  • 232 views

I was forcibly switched to a smart meter by SSE in 2023. I didn’t want to but they entered my home and installed whilst I was away. I have since paid by topping up.

I had an issue with topping up in May 2025 and OVO rep told me I should not be on a smart meter and should be paying monthly. I explained to her that it was done forcibly under SSE and she apologised profusely and switched me back to pay monthly. 

I then went to the OVO app to check I could still log in as I needed to be able to monitor my monthly usage and bills. I found I had a credit of £2191.**. It was late so I could not contact OVO to refund the money straight away so decided to call back the next day. 

I received an email from OVO the same evening claiming they had underestimated my energy usage. Claimed I would not be billed for any error past 12 months as it was their mistake but I owed £709.91. I thought that’s okay my credit amount should cover that no issues. 

Imagine my surprise when I went to call OVO and logged into my app/account to find that my balance was now +£733.** . I spoke to several support agents many of whom were confused about the situation, some to the extent of just hanging up on me. On my bill I see a write off back - billing but it is logged as a minus. When I queried why it is a minus I have been told “The £770.92 write of the debt your account would have been due to underestimation which was no fault of yours so we added the credit to take care of the debit balance” however I did not have a debit balance so I am confused as to where the money has gone.

I started off with +£2191 on 20th May 

£709.91 was deducted as money owed from miscalculations

A cheque for £688.90 was generated on 23rd May to me

My balance stands at £94 after a DD payment of £60

To me the above maths just doesn’t add up and no one can explain where the balance has gone.

I’ve included a screenshot of how the write off back-bill is shown as a charge on my latest bill. £770.92 was meant to be written off but appears to have been deducted instead.  Would appreciate some input on whether I am being dim and just don’t get the maths or whether my calculations are correct and something has gone wrong.. 

 

Luckily I have a screenshot of the initial credit amount of £2191.** which for some reason is no longer being tracked or displayed anywhere in the app but the CX agents acknowledge seeing it on their end!

Best answer by Nukecad

As Blastoise186 says we can't access your account details to see exactly what happened, but between us we are usually good at our best guesses.

The AI appears to have explained the calculation; so I'll take a stab at that £2,191.79 balance figure.

Things can look a little weird at times when information is being updated on "Live billing".
Internal calculations and temporary 'balances' can sometimes show up - things that you wouldn't normally see with traditional once-a-month billing.

The first thing I notice from your screenshots is that the one with that £2,191.79 balance is from the app, it's a 'Live Balance' which changes all the time.

The rest of your screenshots are from your account portal.
The first is a bill for 24th April to 23rd May so a finalised once-a-month bill, like traditional billing

I'm surmising (guessing) that the £2,191.79 was a 'temporary' balance as part of an internal calculation when writing off the undercharging/back-billing.
A balance that you would not normally see on your billing at all. (And you don't see it on your onc-a-month billing).

In other words it wasn't a 'real' balance, just a temporary number from in the middle of a calculation, only needed while working things out.
As such it wouldn't (shouldn’t) normally been shown, but like I say odd looking things can happen with the "Live billing" and you can sometimes you can see transitory things that you wouldn't normally see on your bills.

If you look at the portal and app as closely as we forum volunteers do then you notice a number of such oddities and discrepancies that later change.

Most people aren’t looking at their app or portal that often, and so even though it may show the ocassional transitory oddity they generally pass unnoticed unless you just happen to log in at that time.

PS. If my surmise is correct then that £2,191.79 may not even be recorded anywhere, (other than your screenshot), it was just a temporary step in the middle of a computer calculation.

 

 

11 replies

Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • June 3, 2025

Hi ​@JoL25 ,

Long story short, that Write Off Back-Billing entry is an account credit designed to remove charges from your account and the next bill - this looks correct to me based on the screenshot.

If you want us to check this properly, you’ll need to show us more than just that bit however...


  • Author
  • Carbon Cutter***
  • June 3, 2025

Hey ​@Blastoise186  Thanks for quick response. I have included below:

  • bill from website as off today
  • downloaded bill for same period
  • screenshot from 21st of May showing my balance in credit.
  • screenshot taken today of account to help prove the above screenshot is from my account. As you see the previous billing amounts are the same.

 

Taken on the 21st May 2025 - note the balance. 

 


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • June 3, 2025

We’re only customers ourselves so we can’t access your account. As long as you redact personal info like your name, address, phone number, email address and account number you’ll be ok. We’re not interested in that stuff anyway - we just need to see things that help with the number crunching.

If you’d rather not reveal anything at all, we may not be able to give our thoughts easily, in which case you may want to try https://ovoenergy.com/feedback 


  • Author
  • Carbon Cutter***
  • June 3, 2025

Updated my previous response. Hopefully that helps! Thanks ​@Blastoise186 

 


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • June 3, 2025

Ok, this is what I got so far with the help of Gemini:

Starting Point:

  • Opening Balance (April 24th): -£21.03 (Debit)

Calculations:

  •  Usage Charge: 168.37 kWh x 26.36 pence/kWh = £44.40
  •  Balance after usage: -£21.03 + £44.40 = £65.43 (Debit)
  • Standing Charge: 30 days x 45.73 pence/day = £13.72
  • Balance after standing charge: £65.43 + £13.72 = £79.15 (Debit)
  • VAT (5% of £58.10): £2.91
  • Balance after VAT: £79.15 + £2.91 = £82.06 (Debit)
  • Top-ups: £20 + £10 + £5 = £35 (Credit)
  • Balance after top-ups: £82.06 - £35 = £47.06 (Debit)
  • Cheque Refund: £668.90 (Debit)
  • Balance after refund: £47.06 + £668.90 = £715.96 (Debit)
  • Write Off Back-Billing: £770.92 (Credit)
  • Final Balance: £715.96 - £770.92 = £54.96 (Credit)

Final Result:

  •  The final calculated balance is a credit of £54.96, which is very close to the £54.98 shown on the bill. The 2 pence difference is likely due to rounding.

Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • June 3, 2025

I’m gonna summon ​@Nukecad and ​@Firedog for this…

They’ve got better number crunching than me


  • Author
  • Carbon Cutter***
  • June 3, 2025

Thanks! I guess that part makes so much more sense to me.

Just wondering where the initial credit amount from the 21st May screenshot disappeared to. Wish I’d downloaded the bill with those numbers before they updated to the -£21.03 opening balance from 24th. 
 

Will wait to see input from the tagged persons. Thanks again! 


Nukecad
Plan Zero Hero
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • Answer
  • June 4, 2025

As Blastoise186 says we can't access your account details to see exactly what happened, but between us we are usually good at our best guesses.

The AI appears to have explained the calculation; so I'll take a stab at that £2,191.79 balance figure.

Things can look a little weird at times when information is being updated on "Live billing".
Internal calculations and temporary 'balances' can sometimes show up - things that you wouldn't normally see with traditional once-a-month billing.

The first thing I notice from your screenshots is that the one with that £2,191.79 balance is from the app, it's a 'Live Balance' which changes all the time.

The rest of your screenshots are from your account portal.
The first is a bill for 24th April to 23rd May so a finalised once-a-month bill, like traditional billing

I'm surmising (guessing) that the £2,191.79 was a 'temporary' balance as part of an internal calculation when writing off the undercharging/back-billing.
A balance that you would not normally see on your billing at all. (And you don't see it on your onc-a-month billing).

In other words it wasn't a 'real' balance, just a temporary number from in the middle of a calculation, only needed while working things out.
As such it wouldn't (shouldn’t) normally been shown, but like I say odd looking things can happen with the "Live billing" and you can sometimes you can see transitory things that you wouldn't normally see on your bills.

If you look at the portal and app as closely as we forum volunteers do then you notice a number of such oddities and discrepancies that later change.

Most people aren’t looking at their app or portal that often, and so even though it may show the ocassional transitory oddity they generally pass unnoticed unless you just happen to log in at that time.

PS. If my surmise is correct then that £2,191.79 may not even be recorded anywhere, (other than your screenshot), it was just a temporary step in the middle of a computer calculation.

 

 


  • Author
  • Carbon Cutter***
  • June 4, 2025

Thank you all for your input! I think that’s answered a lot of the confusion I had and in a concise way! ​


Blastoise186
Plan Zero Hero
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • Plan Zero Hero
  • June 4, 2025

No worries, glad we could be of assistance!

If ya need us for anything else, you know where to find us. :D


Chris_OVO
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • June 5, 2025

Hey ​@JoL25,

 

Welcome to the community! 

 

I can see you’ve already had your questions answered but i’ve left an article below with more information on our live billing system. This might be helpful to show how it works for you. 

If you’ve any more questions please reach out and the community will be happy to help!