OVO Energy

frugalpam2023

Just had this message from OVO Energy via the app 

"Your predicted future balance considers your current balance of

£148.00 and seasonal changes to your energy use. If your balance is

set to be negative, we may change your payments for you to keep

you on track for fO."

Are they allowed to change the amount of my direct debit without my permission??? My current direct debit amount is the one they suggested only a couple of weeks ago. 

MikeJXE

You can believe it. IMO OVO are bad 

Mine was changed from £91 to £153 and there was nothing I could do about it.

Emails phone calls and letters made no impact so I walked and now with Octopus on £100 DD and that was my choice 

MattMattMattUK

frugalpam2023 said:

Just had this message from OVO Energy via the app 

"Your predicted future balance considers your current balance of

£148.00 and seasonal changes to your energy use. If your balance is

set to be negative, we may change your payments for you to keep

you on track for fO."

Are they allowed to change the amount of my direct debit without my permission??? 

Yes, they just need to give you seven days notice. 

frugalpam2023 said:

My current direct debit amount is the one they suggested only a couple of weeks ago. 

They can adjust them to take account of changes in usage.

Note that they have not changed your Direct Debit amount, they have just told you that they may in the future.

pochase

Is your account in debt at the moment? 

If not nothing will happen.

If it is in debt it will depend on the debt. If it is to high to go back to 0 by early summer they might increase your DD.

MikeJXE

pochase said:

Is your account in debt at the moment? 

If not nothing will happen.

If it is in debt it will depend on the debt. If it is too y OVO high to go back to 0 by early summer they might increase your DD.

My OVO account was in credit by £164 when they said my direct debit might go up. 

I emailed them called them wrote to them pointing to my yearly usage and none of that made any difference 

A week later my £91 went  up to £153,, when I left 2 months later in February I had not gone over my original £91 and my last months DD was £5 and I have now had a final bill with a refund. 

If the OP has been warned it might go up then it will.

frugalpam2023

As my account is £148 in credit and the weather is getting milder. I don't see the justification in increasing my direct debit!  Maybe I will just move on from OVO 

pseudodox

Despite my 15 year usage history with SSE the move to OVO in November was going to impose a £220 per month FDD - almost double what I calculated and unaffordable.  With SSE I was on quartely whole bills.  OVO refused to negotiate and when I did lower the DD amount on my account by the limited £22 allowed they put it up again.  So I ditched and switched to EDF.

Now on monthly whole bill DD but with a initial proviso that if I failed to give readings when needed they would take a fixed DD amount of £130 which I agreed with them.  After just 3 months with them they have revised this fallback amount DOWN to £120 which is the amount I tried to agree with OVO.  Doh!  By now I would have paid OVO more than £500 over my actual usage - money which would have had to be drawn from my emergency savings pot.

Troytempest

I was £800 in credit and they put my DD up.

I made formal complaint and they reduced it - apparently all done by computer.
Shambles of a company.

silvercar

Only supplier I know that pays 5% interest on credit balances, that is what is keeping me with them. Otherwise I would have dumped them after refusing to allow me to join the national grid savings scheme with them.

kipperman

silvercar said:

Only supplier I know that pays 5% interest on credit balances, that is what is keeping me with them. Otherwise I would have dumped them after refusing to allow me to join the national grid savings scheme with them.

Same here - although they stopped this for new customers a while back. It's also ( I think) limited to the first £1000 in credit.

pfpf

MikeJXE said:

You can believe it. IMO OVO are bad 

Mine was changed from £91 to £153 and there was nothing I could do about it.

Emails phone calls and letters made no impact so I walked and now with Octopus on £100 DD and that was my choice 

at what stage could you determine your own DD figure? my 1st DD is due on the 28th. can you do it via the app after the 1st DD or does it require a phone call?
thanks.