Debt not reducing on traditional PAYG meter

Hey ​@nick_3345 

It sounds like there might not be a repayment plan set up via the meter, I would imagine due to the ongoing case but without access to accounts here at the Forum we can’t be entirely sure. 

I would recommend checking in with the Support Team who’d be able to see if there was one and if there’s an issue if one is in place. 

As to how a debt can be accrued on a Pay As you Go meter, there are a number of ways that can occur such as emergency credit or standing charges, not topping up enough after going out of credit can lead to these not being paid in full and so a debt can build up this way, along with other reasons.

The following Forum topics may be helpful here, but the Support Team should be able to find where this came from so I hope the case you’ve raised is resolved soon:

Let us know how you get on.

It is remarkably easy, it seems, for traditional PAYG meters to rack up debt over a considerable period. In theory, all PAYG customers should receive a yearly statement of account showing their top-ups, usage and standing charge costs. I say “in theory” because I have known, at least, one person who has never received one since the time that her credit meter was swapped for a PAYG one about 10 years ago. (She is not an OVO customer) So, how can you incur debt on a PAYG meter? 

Traditional PAYG meters only connect with your energy company when you take your key/card to an outlet to top up. This is the ONLY way that they can communicate. When prices/standing charges change (as they did on July 1st), your meter will continue to apply the old charges until your next top-up. (Sometimes, it takes more than one top-up to get the new charges applied to your meter). This means that it is possible to be in debt. We now have a situation where prices change every three months, so this cycle of possible debt can continue for years. 

Almost all energy companies have been very poor at communicating this with their customers. I believe that they should advise their customers to make a small top-up as soon as possible after a price change and then check that the new charges have been applied to their meter. (They should be advised that this can take more than one top-up, so they may have to repeat these small top-ups.)

So, for the next price change in October, you should make a small value top-up on October 1st and then check by putting the key/card back into your meter that the new prices are correct. If they a not, further small value top-ups should be made  on subsequent days until the meter correctly registers the changes. This should help to ensure that you are being charged correctly. 

Additionally, you should request from OVO a breakdown of how and when they believe that this debt has occurred. This should give you a list of all of your top-ups going back to when you first became an OVO customer (it may no longer be possible to go back to when you were an SSE customer or, even, a Boost customer). You should be able to do this by contacting the Support Team.