Ovo - ludicrous increase in direct debit

beefturnmail

Just received an annual review on my energy direct debit from Ovo and it is an absolute joke - they are trying to increase my direct debit from £50 to £98 per month! OK, there have been some substantial price rises since I joined them in December 2010, but based on my usage over the last year for which I have accurate figures the direct debit should be £70. I also currently owe them £45, but even if you factor this in the absolute maximum the dd should be is £75 per month.

I have submitted regular monthly readings (sometimes even more frequent than this) so how have they concocted this ludicrously inflated estimate? Do they factor in a return to the ice age or something? I thought Ovo were a 'better' company than the usual suspects, but I have changed my opinion now!

Luckily, after Ovo's latest price rise I already found I could save a substantial amount by switching to edf (dd set at £65 per month). This should be completed before the next dd to Ovo is due, so I have no need to enter into a debate with them.

Although from other posts on here it looks like I will have a fight on my hands with edf to keep the direct debit at the real level.

MillicentBystander

beefturnmail wrote: »

Just received an annual review on my energy direct debit from Ovo and it is an absolute joke - they are trying to increase my direct debit from £50 to £98 per month! OK, there have been some substantial price rises since I joined them in December 2010, but based on my usage over the last year for which I have accurate figures the direct debit should be £70. I also currently owe them £45, but even if you factor this in the absolute maximum the dd should be is £75 per month.

I have submitted regular monthly readings (sometimes even more frequent than this) so how have they concocted this ludicrously inflated estimate? Do they factor in a return to the ice age or something? I thought Ovo were a 'better' company than the usual suspects, but I have changed my opinion now!

Luckily, after Ovo's latest price rise I already found I could save a substantial amount by switching to edf (dd set at £65 per month). This should be completed before the next dd to Ovo is due, so I have no need to enter into a debate with them.

Although from other posts on here it looks like I will have a fight on my hands with edf to keep the direct debit at the real level.

Easypeasy...just tell them you are a member of MSE and have read all about EDF's DD anomalies (like I advised my SIL to do when she rang them in response to a stupid DD increase) and I absolutely assure you they will ask YOU how much you would like to pay!

McKneff

I never have any trouble changing my DD with EDF, my last statement for the year was £1,250, no credit or debit to carry forward, They wanted to change it to £130 a month, now, when i went to school, £1,200 (ish) divided by 12 was £100. They couldnt understand where the figure had come from and promptly dropped it back to £100 which I was quite happy with.

No problems at all so I really dont think you will have a fight.

jalexa

McKneff wrote: »

No problems at all so I really dont think you will have a fight.

I don't dispute your positive slant. With only one exception I have found the Edf advisers polite and personable and certainly amenable to restoring the previous payment amount.

However I disagree on one point. A new customer, when challenging consumption assumptions regardless of frequency of customers reads, will hear the (trained or scripted?) mantra "we do not have 12 months of readings on file". In these circumstances an undisclosed usage projection is used for the calculation.

In comparison, its easy when you have your first annual statement of usage.

Plushchris

beefturnmail wrote: »

Luckily, after Ovo's latest price rise I already found I could save a substantial amount by switching to edf (dd set at £65 per month). This should be completed before the next dd to Ovo is due, so I have no need to enter into a debate with them.

I doubt that, switching usually takes 6 weeks at best, the chances of you switching over between DD payments is slim to none IME.

beefturnmail

Switch started 5th May, so should be completed by the nest direct debit which is due on the 15th June, No?

Plushchris wrote: »

I doubt that, switching usually takes 6 weeks at best, the chances of you switching over between DD payments is slim to none IME.

jalexa

beefturnmail wrote: »

Switch started 5th May, so should be completed by the nest direct debit which is due on the 15th June, No?

Not necessarily. There are two completely seperate mechanisms at work, the supply agreement and the losing supplier's billing process. The gaining supplier does not request the transfer reading until on or around the transfer date. Only then does the gaining supplier send the transfer reading to the losing supplier. You are still an OVO account holder until the final bill has been issued and settled, possibly weeks after the (last) supply has transferred.

I think I recall that OVO returns balances by credit to the direct debit account. If so it may be beneficial not to cancel the direct debit arrangement. Be alert to what your OVO T&Cs says about unilateral termination of a direct debit arrangement.

I think you need to attempt to get OVO to agree to "suspend" DD collections pending the final bill. I managed that once with an SSE company but that needs a good standard of customer service.

Rupert_Bear

beefturnmail wrote: »

Just received an annual review on my energy direct debit from Ovo and it is an absolute joke - they are trying to increase my direct debit from £50 to £98 per month! OK, there have been some substantial price rises since I joined them in December 2010, but based on my usage over the last year for which I have accurate figures the direct debit should be £70. I also currently owe them £45, but even if you factor this in the absolute maximum the dd should be is £75 per month.

I have submitted regular monthly readings (sometimes even more frequent than this) so how have they concocted this ludicrously inflated estimate? Do they factor in a return to the ice age or something? I thought Ovo were a 'better' company than the usual suspects, but I have changed my opinion now!

Luckily, after Ovo's latest price rise I already found I could save a substantial amount by switching to edf (dd set at £65 per month). This should be completed before the next dd to Ovo is due, so I have no need to enter into a debate with them.

Although from other posts on here it looks like I will have a fight on my hands with edf to keep the direct debit at the real level.

Ovo tried to increase my dd after being with them just two months.
I told them at the time they were making a big mistake. Such was
the mistake by the end of March 2012 I was £420 in credit.

I transferred away from them and wild rabbits would not tempt me back or horses for that matter.

I was originally with Scottish Power for about 4 years and found them brilliant and have now gone back to them.

beefturnmail

Thanks all (and particularly Jalexa). I think I should at least have a transfer date before the 15th June? In which case I will be able to calculate\estimate what my final bill should be and then get Ovo to set the final dd at a more realistic amount - bills are generated on demand about 2-3 days after submitting a meter reat. I will definitely owe them money as I am £45 in debit taking into account usage up tothe beginning of May. Doubt it would be as high as £98 though