Meter readings

[Old Grumpy]

Indeed 8o

Really, or are you more a Black Cat?

[oddoneout]

Just had an email from OVO to say they've done their annual direct debit review and my DDs aren't keeping up with my costs so they want to increase the monthly amount. Well, derr, as they say. I could have told them that, and they've only got themselves to blame. If I hadn't been moved by them to monthly DD I would have paid by now, up to date, accurate and in full, as it would be calculated on a submitted quarterly meter reading not their annual estimate. I realise that smoothing payments out in this way - fixed monthly DD - suits many(most) people but I don't like it, I can sort out planning for higher winter bills myself. It raises other issues as well, not least their assumption that I have a smartphone and do all my banking that way, but the thought of trying to wade through customer disservice mazes to get answers(even assuming they are to be had) makes my heart sink. I just want to submit a reading that they actually use(have ignored so far), and have an up to date account, as I hate having debts hanging over me.
Situation not helped by the fact that other "digital is easier" issues with other organisations haven't yet all been resolved - indeed a new one has been added to replace one that was finally sorted...

[JasonPalmer]

A couple we know both work from home and got a big bill, the hidden cost of home working eh

[antongould]

Just had an email from OVO to say they've done their annual direct debit review and my DDs aren't keeping up with my costs so they want to increase the monthly amount. Well, derr, as they say. I could have told them that, and they've only got themselves to blame. If I hadn't been moved by them to monthly DD I would have paid by now, up to date, accurate and in full, as it would be calculated on a submitted quarterly meter reading not their annual estimate. I realise that smoothing payments out in this way - fixed monthly DD - suits many(most) people but I don't like it, I can sort out planning for higher winter bills myself. It raises other issues as well, not least their assumption that I have a smartphone and do all my banking that way, but the thought of trying to wade through customer disservice mazes to get answers(even assuming they are to be had) makes my heart sink. I just want to submit a reading that they actually use(have ignored so far), and have an up to date account, as I hate having debts hanging over me.
Situation not helped by the fact that other "digital is easier" issues with other organisations haven't yet all been resolved - indeed a new one has been added to replace one that was finally sorted...

Shambolic as always ……. as I may have said before OVO must have the functionality and tariff for what is, or possibly was, known in the “trade” as Receipt Of Bill - ROB …. this as we know is used to great effect by Petrushka of this parish.
You should be able to email them - if they accept emails - and request to move to ROB with a monthly or quarterly frequency, whichever you prefer. However I appreciate this is a bit of a bind and shouldn’t be so complicated or stressful …… Good Luck ….

[Petrushka]

Shambolic as always ……. as I may have said before OVO must have the functionality and tariff for what is, or possibly was, known in the “trade” as Receipt Of Bill - ROB …. this as we know is used to great effect by Petrushka of this parish.
You should be able to email them - if they accept emails - and request to move to ROB with a monthly or quarterly frequency, whichever you prefer. However I appreciate this is a bit of a bind and shouldn’t be so complicated or stressful …… Good Luck ….

Direct debit, at least in the energy sector, is a massive con and I'm surprised that the criminality is allowed to carry on. As far as I know, not even Martin Lewis has called them out on it. The energy companies would have you believe that DD works out cheaper but the whole thing is so complicated that it's impossible to verify any such claim. Recent reports have emerged about the energy companies holding on to huge piles of customer's credit while at the same time asking for DD increases. They are nothing but a gang of thieves.

I second Anton's suggestion to cancel the DD, if you can, and go to payment on receipt of bill, which I would further suggest should be monthly. Take back control!!

[smittims]

I opened a new account for a new house and was told my monthly DD payments would be £34 which seemed high to me, but as we had an electric cooker instead of gas I thought it not unlikely, and in any case we'd be closing the account soon as we were having the two houses linked up . But before then I had another letter eling me it would be £91 'to prevent you getting too much in debit or credit' which was absurd as it woud leave me hundreds of pounds in credit . After hours of telephoning (it can take two hours to get through to a human being) I learnt that if I cancelled my DD payments I'd automatically go onto 'monthly cash terms', which involved giving them a reading every month. This worked until we had the two houses joined up and closed the account.

Another fault of DD is that it conceals price rises. Most people forget to look at their payemnts each month and don't notice an increase.

[Serial_Apologist]

Direct debit, at least in the energy sector, is a massive con and I'm surprised that the criminality is allowed to carry on.

After suspiciously for no explicable reason rejecting my debit card, which had been my payment method for several years using the same fully functioning card, the only alternative for council tax payments was to go DD, whereupon without any forewarning they have increased my monthly payments by £20, so this practice appears to be happening in other areas too.

[gradus]

Just had an email from OVO to say they've done their annual direct debit review and my DDs aren't keeping up with my costs so they want to increase the monthly amount. Well, derr, as they say. I could have told them that, and they've only got themselves to blame. If I hadn't been moved by them to monthly DD I would have paid by now, up to date, accurate and in full, as it would be calculated on a submitted quarterly meter reading not their annual estimate. I realise that smoothing payments out in this way - fixed monthly DD - suits many(most) people but I don't like it, I can sort out planning for higher winter bills myself. It raises other issues as well, not least their assumption that I have a smartphone and do all my banking that way, but the thought of trying to wade through customer disservice mazes to get answers(even assuming they are to be had) makes my heart sink. I just want to submit a reading that they actually use(have ignored so far), and have an up to date account, as I hate having debts hanging over me.
Situation not helped by the fact that other "digital is easier" issues with other organisations haven't yet all been resolved - indeed a new one has been added to replace one that was finally sorted...

I've just has an email from Bulb/OVO to the effect that my electricity bill has a substantial credit -it must be the December heatwave. Not so long since they generously awarded me a £4.3k credit. Must buy a lottery ticket.

[french frank]

Yesterday my brother and friend came for coffee so I kindly switched the heating on for them. Last night I saw the reading on my smart meter and am about to lower the temperature so that the heating only comes on if it's CCCCCCOLD, not when I have visitors. I have a three-figure credit which may well keep my next winter's DD lower. I do find the programmer confusing : heating comes ON if the temperature is below xº C, heating goes OFF if temperature is above yº C (but is that the time the heating goes on or off? Oh, my head).

[Frances_iom]

... heating comes ON if the temperature is below xº C, heating goes OFF if temperature is above yº C (but is that the time the heating goes on or off? Oh, my head).

you are obviously out of your comfort zone! - the offer shows hysteresis in the control settings, nothing else ie when it goes below x you get heat which remains on until temp reaches y at which point the heating goes off and remains off until the temperature drops below x - set x and y as far apart as you can bear with y as your max temp ?19 or 20 is usual; possibly as low as 16 is generally bearable

[oddoneout]

Shambolic as always ……. as I may have said before OVO must have the functionality and tariff for what is, or possibly was, known in the “trade” as Receipt Of Bill - ROB …. this as we know is used to great effect by Petrushka of this parish.
You should be able to email them - if they accept emails - and request to move to ROB with a monthly or quarterly frequency, whichever you prefer. However I appreciate this is a bit of a bind and shouldn’t be so complicated or stressful …… Good Luck ….

An initial search didn't reveal an email address - I shall try again in due course, but businesses are increasingly avoiding that option, preferring to shunt you onto call centres - virtual and real. Even if one can be found it doesn't necessarily get you anywhere as they can send out an autoreply, tick the "response made" box for audit purposes and then do nothing. That's not a new gambit, although in the early days it wasn't so much deliberate (as it is now) but not understanding how their shiny new email and messaging system worked(or didn't!), the local council being a notable example many years ago.

[french frank]

you are obviously out of your comfort zone!

Yep.

set x and y as far apart as you can bear with y as your max temp ?19 or 20 is usual; possibly as low as 16 is generally bearable

In my case top is 18º, low is 13º (7º over night). Ideally, it doesn't come on at all. I don't have many visitors

[french frank]

An initial search didn't reveal an email address

hello@ovoenergy.com ? But OVO's customer service rating on Trustpilot is that 91% give it (out of ) so you are not alone.

[oddoneout]

Direct debit, at least in the energy sector, is a massive con and I'm surprised that the criminality is allowed to carry on. As far as I know, not even Martin Lewis has called them out on it. The energy companies would have you believe that DD works out cheaper but the whole thing is so complicated that it's impossible to verify any such claim. Recent reports have emerged about the energy companies holding on to huge piles of customer's credit while at the same time asking for DD increases. They are nothing but a gang of thieves.

I second Anton's suggestion to cancel the DD, if you can, and go to payment on receipt of bill, which I would further suggest should be monthly. Take back control!!

Martin Lewis has been the prime mover in getting people to adopt DD, so he is not necessarily going to "do a PM"[U turn] on the matter. It was something that niggled me about him and his hyperactive approach. Several times on the TV show I watched people being pushed into signing up because it would save them money while ignoring their reservations or perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to do so. Given the current mess the energy business is in from the customer perspective (it's far from a mess for a few people) whatever benefits the DD system had in the past are less obvious now, (apart of course from the companies' point of view, for whom having a constant inflow of money is a big benefit) but trying to make things work better is an uphill and not always successful battle for the individuals affected.

[oddoneout]

you are obviously out of your comfort zone! - the offer shows hysteresis in the control settings, nothing else ie when it goes below x you get heat which remains on until temp reaches y at which point the heating goes off and remains off until the temperature drops below x - set x and y as far apart as you can bear with y as your max temp ?19 or 20 is usual; possibly as low as 16 is generally bearable

The thermostat on the wireless controller programmer I inherited when I moved in only has the one temperature setting option and is one of (the main ?) the reasons that it doesn't work properly with the TRVs. I have reached a sort of workable work around by having it in a very cold room set at 12 or 13 overnight, put up to 14 or 15 during the daytime, which gives a working temp of between 18 and 20 in the room I spend most of my time in. Trying to get the bedroom sufficiently warm when I go to bed (doesn't matter if it cools down once I'm asleep) is often just a lottery.