Ovo Direct Debit hike (They tried)

f114306

Every 3 months Ovo sends me an email saying they are going to massively increase my Direct Debit.

Every 3 months I ring them up and after arguing with them I get them to set my Direct Debit amount to what I want it to be according to my budget.

For years I've run a spreadsheet of Income & Expenditure so I know exactly where I am to the penny at any point in time but for a long time I was paying over the odds on dual fuel every month to the point that I built up a sizeable credit. So I really reviewed all my financial obligations and knocked back my monthly Direct Debit amount to the bare minimum and basically consumed the credit. I'm still in credit now but at nowhere near the amount I used to be.

They don't appear to get the fact that I monitor my energy consumption regularly across the course of each month. If I see an increase in usage I will top up with an ad-hoc payment which is rare even across the Winter months.

I'm not having them hanging on to my money to satisfy their annual calculations.

It's always worth arguing with them whenever they try and do this, it takes patience when you talk to them, they transfer you to various different departments and I have to bite my tongue at times, but never let them bully you into doing something you don't need to do. 

CG

 

Peter999_2

I am with Octopus and they allow "variable direct debits".       I get the bill on the last day of the month and then I pay that exact amount on the 15th of the next month.

I wonder if Ovo allow that?   sounds like it could be good for you as like me you keep a record of every penny you have and this makes it very easy.    It would save you the hassle of this monthly merry go round.

Swipe

Unfortunately, Ovo don't allow variable DD.

rachmac3

I argued with them (ovo) regularly for years then eventually set up standing orders instead so I was in control.
They found other things to be crap about so I ended up taking them to the ombudsman and changing suppliers.

pseudodox

I left OVO 3 years ago because the would not allow MVDD and wanted to set my FDD at a level which in terms of energy consumed would have doubled my well documented usage over the previous 17 years with SSE, from whom I was being "sold" to OVO.  As someone on a low pension only income I would have had to fund the extortionate FDDs from my emergency savings pot.  Don't imagine for a minute OVO would then have been willing to pay the plumbing repair I urgently need or the work on my car.

I moved to EDF who do allow MVDD and billing all works like clockwork.  My consumption is still below half what OVO would have been pocketing in contributions from me in advance.  Like the OP I keep spreadsheets of usage and never get any nasty surprises, as my bills are always within a couple of pence of my own calculations so I know exactly what to plan ahead for.

Scot_39

Ovo like others now have a defined policy for annualised plans to be in credit all year round and a planned target date to move their accounts to it.

Iirc their target date for many customers is now Mar 26, and to be 1 month in credit at that point.

The longer you resist their numbers, the risk the higher the monthly offset to that date will be, to lift a lower minimum balance account - some posters here got c18m notice, others only c9-12m. 

Yes they scrapped their MVDD - just as others dont offer it - as its not an Ofgem mandated payment method. 

And even if was it would probably not be at the same rates as annualised plans as part of the savings of DD vs standard credit are to do with cashflow from being in credit on annualised vs being in debit on MVDD and credit risk.

And arguably those moved to monthly standard credit terms should ideally be paying less than those on the old 3m cycles - as they owe less - in fact about the same as mvdd - and have reduced outstanding balances so lower credit risk.

And the c£10pm savings, £120 pa at cap tdcv for annualised DD not MVDD vs standard credit - in terms of say savings interest lost at today's c4% rates - would need them holding the equivalent of an average balance of £3000 - ignoring any potential tax liability on your savings interest.

matelodave

Instead of whinging about them, why not just walk unless you enjoy the the sport of arguing.

Ildhund

Scot_39 said:

[OVO's] target date for many customers is now Mar 26, and to be 1 month in credit at that point.

Probably not for much longer. They have the past couple of years aimed to change the end-point from 1 October, but missed the planned change date by a few weeks. I expect to see the change from 1 October this year, so from then on, the target will be a credit balance to cover one month's projected usage at 31 March 2027. Incidentally, 'one month's projected usage' is calculated as 1/12 of annual usage, FAC x current unit rate + 365 x current standing charge. No sophisticated weather or oil-price forecasts involved at all.  

Scot_39

So its always 18 m away ?

I somehow thought maybe the idea is get people to the target by Mar - so no more offset needed for the following years.

If you start at 1 month credit - and then pay for exact use - then you would be close - subject to maybe the need to add a 12th of the change to the one month figure in the needed balance between successive Mar targets.

Ildhund

The unexpected change from the 'twelve months hence' end-point for variable tariffees or end of contract for fixers to end-of-winter came soon after the peak of attention on energy debt following the sky-high 2021-23 prices. The first winter's experience showed that it didn't really work; those in debt found that with fewer months left in which to achieve balance, their DDs rose to unbearable levels. Those in credit had their DDs reduced, but then faced a DD leap come March. The system seems to have settled down now, so the levelling-out period for existing customers ranges from 7 months (like now in September) to 18 months from next month, if I've got it right. New customers slot into the scheme at the next start of winter. 

I think the only ones who could have a legitimate grievance are customers with a large credit balance. While the DD will be set to reduce it to the mandatory 1-month's-usage level, it could mean that the credit remains immoderately high for all but the last few months of the period. Those in this situation should perhaps be advised to take a refund.