We’ve been on direct debit with OVO Energy for over a year. Everything was fine until our fixed rate ended — then, without reason, they raised our monthly payment to over £200, even though our actual usage (based on the meter readings we sent) was barely over £100. At the time, we had around £400 in credit that we hadn’t used. We decided to stop the direct debit, since we had no debt, and expected them to deduct future bills from that credit. Instead, despite owing them nothing, my credit score was negatively affected. We even tried paying exactly for the usage each month, but they still insisted on taking the inflated monthly amount they set. In 7 years with British Gas, we never had a single issue like this. Very disappointed with OVO Energy’s approach — especially penalising a customer’s credit score when there is no outstanding balance.