Sorry but that isn’t clear at all.

If his PAYG meter isn’t registered then how is he managing to top it up?

Or is the ‘fault’ the fact that he can’t top it up because it isn’t registered?

neighbour has been topping up using his original card, but last time he topped up it registered the amount then came up with a message “call help” on the small screen. he was on the phone for 2 and a half hours yesterday to ovo before finally being told he could not register with them, but he thought his account had moved along with his electric account when ovo took over sse.

He has tried contacting the council, a few other gas companies but he has been told he is not registered with any of them.

The message “call help” has been displayed for around 3 weeks and he is worried as he is 71, his wife late 60s and has terminal cancer, he really is worried about keeping the house warm for her.

I see.

If he is using a card to top up his gas meter them what company does it say on that card?

If it’s SSE then this sounds like some kind of error and you have to wonder just where the money he has been paying for the top ups has been going.

Suggest to him that he tries putting his postcode in this to see what information it can give him: https://findmysupplier.energy/

If there is a gas meter registered at his address then it should show a result similar to this:
 

Hey ​@Stewby,

Have you managed to use the link that ​@Nukecad shared above to check the supplier? 

Typically a “call help” message is a notification that something could be wrong with the meter. Depending who the supplier is an emergency appointment could be arranged the same day to fix whatever is causing the issues. Please keep us updated.

I tried the link that nukecad gave, but putting in the postcode, his house number never came up, the other 3 numbers in the block and the rest of the street came up but not his, this is really strange.

​@Stewby that does sound strange! Can you try putting the postcode in https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode to see if the address appears different in the Royal Mail system? 

I’ll send you a private message to see if there’s anything more I can do to help. 

​@Stewby,

It sounds as if the gas supply may not actually be supplied by anyone. This is rare, but I’ve seen it before. Sometimes, a gas supply and meter may not be logged on the gas National Database (Xoserve), and must be added. I would advise that you tell your neighbour to get in touch with the company that manages the gas supply in their local area. For example, this could be SGN or GTC. if the meter isn’t on supply with a supplier then they’ll hopefully be able to come out and change it, as well as adding it to the National Database.

https://www.xoserve.com/help-centre/supply-points-metering/m-number-creation/

I’d also recommend that your neighbour (if they’re with OVO for electricity), send a picture of their gas meter showing the meter serial number into our Support Team - they’ll be able to cross reference the Meter Serial Number against Xoserve to see who is the supplier, if anyone. If there is no supplier than they’ll need to contact the companies I’ve mentioned above.

Ok, I will go and let them know, thankyou for your help.

No problem, and feel free to private message me for any help with this if needed, I’m in the office until 4pm.

Whilst I can see a credit meter perhaps ‘falling off’ the register, or for a new property never being put on it, it seems a stranger situation for a PAYG mater.

Plus it would still beg the question of where any top-up money has been going if there is no supplier to send it on to?

Also in question would be what tariff has been being used by the meter?

If Paypoint/Payzone/whoever have been taking money and topping up a card then how have they been able to do that without any supplier being involved.

Has the top-up money just been disappearing into a black hole at the payment processor?
Or has it been being passed on to a supplier who has never questioned what account it’s for?

Problem has been solved, the street we live in has a new name since being rebuilt 20 years ago. 

Neighbour stayed in street before this and house number was changed when refurbishment was finished to tie in with the new name.

Long and short is electric was changed after house number change but gas wasn’t.

Sorry for gaps between replies but hard to get a hold of neighbours as they are both deaf.

Thank you all for your help and guidance, big thumbs up for the forum.

Odd things happen at times.

Is OVO, or anyone else now admitting ownweship of the meter if/when they use the old address?

Now that they know what the problem is then it can be corrected on the National Register, but I believe that it normally needs a supplier to request that a correction is made.

Hey ​@Stewby 

I’m sorry to hear about this, it sounds like a very stressful situation. 

Your neighbors need to firstly find out who their supplier is:
 

If they contact OVO or you private message me their meter serial number I can look it up on the national database. They’ll then need to contact that supplier & get the address updated on the national database. I’d strongly advise your neighbors go onto pay monthly if there are vulnerabilities in the property. 

If their supply does turn out to be with OVO our PAYG topic hub might be helpful:
 

• Pay As You Go - Topic Hub & How to get in touch Hub

How to get in contact about my OVO Pay As You Go account
 

• The best way to get in touch with us is via chat here. Just click the green chat icon on the bottom right of your screen. We’re here to help anytime from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.
• Or call us on 0330 175 9669 - Opening hours: Mon-Thu 8am to 8pm, Friday 8am to 6pm, Sat-Sun 8am to 5pm.