Why do they ask for more money when I'm in credit ?

lynns24

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. As advised on my online account page, I joined the online chat I was number 30 in the queue ! but I waited patiently, I finally I got to chat to a 'live agent' who promptly told me the chat isn't the place to discuss dd and account queries !! I was given a telephone number to call which I did, I was in a queue about 40 mins eventually I got to speak to someone who just talked over me constantly and said I had to increase my dd, I explained I couldn't increase it anymore and I have cut my usage dramatically already so how could they possibly know what I will use in the coming months, I'm in credit anyway, I was asked to hold, she came back and advised me to call Stepchange, they are a debt management company, but I told her I'm not in debt im in credit, she put me on hold again, when she returned she just repeated everything she said, so I did the same but this time I asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold again and then after a few minutes the call was terminated !! I was furious so I've emailed them and told them I have cancelled my dd from October, September dd has just been paid. From now on I will pay what I've been paying, £243 pm by standing order, because I want to be in control of what leaves my bank, I will keep a check on my online account and if it does go into arrears, I will contact them, but right now I've had enough.
So my question is 
Is it ok to do this and if not what should I do ? I hope to hear from you soon 
Thank you 

MattMattMattUK

lynns24 said:

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. 

It is normal to be in credit at the end of summer, monthly usage is significantly lower and £355 would be a low credit for this time of year. The Direct Debit is designed to be one twelfth* of your estimated annual usage, so it will reflect predicted usage at future costs. 

lynns24 said:

As advised on my online account page, I joined the online chat I was number 30 in the queue ! but I waited patiently, I finally I got to chat to a 'live agent' who promptly told me the chat isn't the place to discuss dd and account queries !! I was given a telephone number to call which I did, I was in a queue about 40 mins eventually I got to speak to someone who just talked over me constantly 

Customer Service departments are swamped at the moment with people contacting them due to rising costs, it is far from ideal but for the moment it is what it is.

lynns24 said:

and said I had to increase my dd, I explained I couldn't increase it anymore 

They will want the Direct Debit to reflect usage, whether you want it to increase or not is not really relevant, they do notwant you to be in debt with them.

lynns24 said:

and I have cut my usage dramatically already so how could they possibly know what I will use in the coming months, 

Their prediction of your future usage will be based on your historical usage, potentially wit some accounting for last winter being very mild. How much have you cut back quantifiably? Keep in mind that for most people the vast majority of their annual usage occurs in winter.

lynns24 said:

I'm in credit anyway, I was asked to hold, she came back and advised me to call Stepchange, they are a debt management company, but I told her I'm not in debt im in credit, she put me on hold again, when she returned she just repeated everything she said, 

They likely told you to contact Stepchange because you told them you could not pay the amount required.

lynns24 said:

so I did the same but this time I asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold again and then after a few minutes the call was terminated !! 

It could be accidental, it could be deliberate. Either way asking to speak to a manager will change nothing.

lynns24 said:

I was furious 

Choosing to be furious will help no-one.

lynns24 said:

so I've emailed them and told them I have cancelled my dd from October, September dd has just been paid. 

You have probably just increased your costs by 7%, I am not sure of OVO's specific discount but that is the average discount for paying by Direct Debit.

lynns24 said:

From now on I will pay what I've been paying, £243 pm by standing order, because I want to be in control of what leaves my bank, I will keep a check on my online account and if it does go into arrears, I will contact them, but right now I've had enough.

The £243 is unlikely to be adequate. If you go into arrears "contacting" them will not help what you will need to do is pay more or use less.

lynns24 said:

So my question is 
Is it ok to do this and if not what should I do ? I hope to hear from you soon 
Thank you 

Yes it is OK for OVO to do this, they eill be following OFGEM's guidance for setting Direct Debits. From your perspective it is "ok" but it will cost you more in the long run due to the loss of the Direct Debit discount rates. The increase may not have accounted for whatever Truss might announce, but that is an unknown.

What is your annual usage is kWh for one, or both fuels if you have gas as well (these will be on your last bill)? Are you on a fix or SVR? Someone on here can then work out your annual cost based on the current SVR as well as based on the cap and the potential frozen cap.

*edited to fix autocorrect

[Deleted User]

Hi,

by cancelling your DD you will lose the DD discount, and may be on a higher tariff now, if you were on a fix.

You could've gone on to a variable DD where you pay for what you use, though need to be prepared for higher bills in winter.

Edit: Here's a DD THREAD.

TheBanker

If you look at the new MSE guide you can read about how Ovo set the Direct Debit

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-direct-debits/

Ovo reviews direct debits every three months, and will always review them when it has announced new prices. This usually happens a few weeks after Ofgem announces a price cap change, so if you're on a standard tariff, you'll likely see your direct debit rise in the coming weeks.

And Ovo's own website says Ofgem’s price increase will take effect from 1 October 2022. From 5 September to 16 September we’ll contact you to explain these changes and how it impacts your Direct Debit.

So basically they have applied the new price cap to your estimated future usage and decided your current payment won't be enough to cover it. What they won't have done is taken into account any changes the Government might announce, because they haven't been announced yet.

So rather than cancelling the Direct Debit or having an argument, it would probably be best to just wait until we know what the Government are doing. No doubt Ovo and other suppliers will re-calculate Direct Debits again once this has been confirmed.

Also remember that Ovo are going to refund the £66 monthly Government support (£400 in total over six months) to your bank account. So if you have assumed the government help will reduce your DD, it won't. You'll pay the full DD then get £66 back.

[Deleted User]

Feel free to pay by standing order, that’s your choice, but you will lose any direct debit discount and I hope you’ve budgeted for your bill in January being four or five times your bill in June.

ProDave

Change to a decent supplier like Octopus who WILL talk to you and even allow you to change your DD payments on line.

And if you get too much in credit, you can request that some of that credit is returned to you.

wild666

lynns24 said:

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. As advised on my online account page, I joined the online chat I was number 30 in the queue ! but I waited patiently, I finally I got to chat to a 'live agent' who promptly told me the chat isn't the place to discuss dd and account queries !! I was given a telephone number to call which I did, I was in a queue about 40 mins eventually I got to speak to someone who just talked over me constantly and said I had to increase my dd, I explained I couldn't increase it anymore and I have cut my usage dramatically already so how could they possibly know what I will use in the coming months, I'm in credit anyway, I was asked to hold, she came back and advised me to call Stepchange, they are a debt management company, but I told her I'm not in debt im in credit, she put me on hold again, when she returned she just repeated everything she said, so I did the same but this time I asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold again and then after a few minutes the call was terminated !! I was furious so I've emailed them and told them I have cancelled my dd from October, September dd has just been paid. From now on I will pay what I've been paying, £243 pm by standing order, because I want to be in control of what leaves my bank, I will keep a check on my online account and if it does go into arrears, I will contact them, but right now I've had enough.
So my question is 
Is it ok to do this and if not what should I do ? I hope to hear from you soon 
Thank you 

What I would do is calculate the yearly usage divide by 12 and work out the DD at the new rates minus the £67 Oct/Nov payments plus one twelfth of the £355 then add £1 to the next four months. 
If they aren't calculating for the £67 or £66 monthly payments you will be £400 in credit give or take the Jan increase if it happens.
It seems that energy companies aren't taking into account the £400 when they calculate a DD, neither are they taking into account any credit the customer has when they work out a new DD. IMO all this should be taken into account even if they have to make an increaser to the DD in three months, energy companies seem to be predicting energy increases a year ahead  in some cases when they increase DD's.
Come October I expect my monthly bill to be £100 when just 4 years ago it was under £40 per month. With the £400 and £280 credit then I could decrease my monthly DD to around £10 per month for 6 months but I won't as I would rather have some credit in case I need to use more gas than expected this winter.

Mstty

Despite being on a fixed DD with Eon Next since Symbio went boom-shack-a-lack so October 3rd 2021 we will be bang on nothing owed either way come October 3rd 2022.

That's because we know our usage, set ourselves limits and plan ahead.

Everyone should have a record of their usage and settings for their heating in my opinion and then nothing is a surprise (caveat a very cold winter)

wrf12345

If the govn cap comes in today then there will be no need for anyone's DD to increase over the coming months which will possibly send various systems into a tizzy. The systems totally ignore people who drastically reduce their usage and carry on with silly estimates. Ar least with British Gas you can do it on chat and they will give in eventually if you can show lower usage and credit in the account, as per OP. Ovo are ignoring all the Ofgem rules on DD's and usage but Ofgem can;t be bothered to do anything about these things, other than the odd media outburst. Ovo know that the market is largely closed and it is difficult to transfer to another energy co (other than by phone if you are lucky). 

[Deleted User]

wild666 said:

lynns24 said:

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. As advised on my online account page, I joined the online chat I was number 30 in the queue ! but I waited patiently, I finally I got to chat to a 'live agent' who promptly told me the chat isn't the place to discuss dd and account queries !! I was given a telephone number to call which I did, I was in a queue about 40 mins eventually I got to speak to someone who just talked over me constantly and said I had to increase my dd, I explained I couldn't increase it anymore and I have cut my usage dramatically already so how could they possibly know what I will use in the coming months, I'm in credit anyway, I was asked to hold, she came back and advised me to call Stepchange, they are a debt management company, but I told her I'm not in debt im in credit, she put me on hold again, when she returned she just repeated everything she said, so I did the same but this time I asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold again and then after a few minutes the call was terminated !! I was furious so I've emailed them and told them I have cancelled my dd from October, September dd has just been paid. From now on I will pay what I've been paying, £243 pm by standing order, because I want to be in control of what leaves my bank, I will keep a check on my online account and if it does go into arrears, I will contact them, but right now I've had enough.
So my question is 
Is it ok to do this and if not what should I do ? I hope to hear from you soon 
Thank you 

What I would do is calculate the yearly usage divide by 12 and work out the DD at the new rates minus the £67 Oct/Nov payments plus one twelfth of the £355 then add £1 to the next four months. 
If they aren't calculating for the £67 or £66 monthly payments you will be £400 in credit give or take the Jan increase if it happens.
It seems that energy companies aren't taking into account the £400 when they calculate a DD, neither are they taking into account any credit the customer has when they work out a new DD. IMO all this should be taken into account even if they have to make an increaser to the DD in three months, energy companies seem to be predicting energy increases a year ahead  in some cases when they increase DD's.
Come October I expect my monthly bill to be £100 when just 4 years ago it was under £40 per month. With the £400 and £280 credit then I could decrease my monthly DD to around £10 per month for 6 months but I won't as I would rather have some credit in case I need to use more gas than expected this winter.

Most suppliers seem to say that if you are on fixed DD, the £400 will never touch your energy account and will just be pushed straight into your bank.

If your calculations assume that it will end up in your energy credit balance, you will be short.

k_man

MattMattMattUK said:

lynns24 said:

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. 

It is normal to be in credit at the end of summer, monthly usage is significantly lower and £355 would be a low credit for this time of year. The Direct Debit is designed to be one twenty of your estimated annual usage, so it will reflect predicted usage at future costs. 

For clarity (in case twenty confused readers), I think you meant twelfth