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Updated on 12/11/24 by Shads_OVO

 

Help and Support

 

 

I can’t afford to top up or pay for my energy. What can I do?

 

There are steps you can take if you’re not able to pay for your energy: 

  • You can activate the emergency credit on your meter. 

  • If your emergency credit runs out, get in touch via one of the ways below. We can take you through the different options, for example borrowing credit that you can pay back over time. 

You can always talk to us if you’re worried or struggling to pay for your energy. We’ve supported lots of people in similar situations and we can help you, too. Chat with us here. Just click the blue chat icon at the bottom right of your screen. Or call us on 0330 175 9669.

 

Not sure how to activate the emergency credit on your smart meter? Check out our topic hub with guides on how to do this for your meter type:

 

 

How will I pay my debt back on a meter in Pay As You Go mode?

 

We’ll put the debt onto your meter and set the amount you pay back at an affordable daily rate. This is called your daily repayment rate. We’ll base it on what you have already told us about you and your home.

 

Once we’ve loaded the debt to your meter, your daily charges will be calculated by:

  • The amount of energy you’ve used

  • Our daily standing charge

  • The daily debt repayment rate

  • Any top-ups you make will be added to your meter balance. 

 

Please make sure your meter has enough credit on it to cover standing charges and debt repayments, even while you’re away and not using energy. Or, you might come back to find your credit has run out and your supply has stopped working. You can avoid this by getting our OVO Energy Top-up app (you can download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play) and opting into low balance notifications to avoid running out of credit, even when you’re not home.

 

How to get in touch 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.

 

If there’s an emergency with your meter

 

You can chat with us here. Just click the blue chat icon at the bottom right of your screen. Or call the OVO PAYG Team on 0330 175 9669 – we can help.

 

If you’re not sure Pay As You Go is right for you, and are interested in switching to pay monthly you can contact the Pay As You Go Support Team

 

If you or anyone in your household is vulnerable, or just needs a little extra assistance at a difficult time in your lives, our Priority Services Register is a free support service you might find useful.

 

Got a question about your Pay As You Go energy use, top-ups, keys, cards, or anything else? Why not see if you can find the answers in our dedicated PAYG Forum category.

There are also tons of helpful resources and information available on our OVO Help pages.  

Struggling with your energy bills? Our Support Package might be helpful to you.

Hey @vasirpvl,

 

I’m sorry to hear this,

 

The PAYG app wouldn’t show you the gas usage or bills. Unfortunately, you won’t have this facility. However, as you have a gas only pay monthly account you should still get monthly statements for your usage emailed to you and can pay via direct debit or manual payments. You’ll have to pay for both gas and electricity separately. 

 

Which payment methods does OVO PAYM accept?

 

At OVO, paying your bills can be done in lots of ways, so you can always pick the one that works best for you.

  • Pay by Direct Debit: This is the easiest way to budget your payments as everything is done automatically – month after month after month.

  • Make a card payment: You can do this in your online account or by calling us on 0330 303 5063 Monday to Friday from 9am till 5pm. We accept all major credit and debit cards (except for American Express).

  • Pay by cheque: Scroll down to find out more about how this works. 

  • Make a bank transfer to our bank account: There’s more info on this as you read through this guide.

 

Our Support team’s web messaging and WhatsApp opening hours are:

  • 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday 

  • 9am - 2pm on Saturdays

You can see all open contact channels via our Help Centre

 

If you don’t have a smart meter for gas, or it doesn’t communicate with OVO due to the distance you’ll need to submit one manually with our support team. 

 

For your pay as you go meter for electricity, this topic hub might be helpful:

 

 


Hey @Gary H,

 

Welcome to the OVO Online Community, 

 

You’re quite right, as the App only updates at midnight it’s best to use the IHD to check for an up to date balance. If the balance isn’t updating, it may be an app fault or a smart meter communication issue. If you top up and your credit runs out faster than expected, there may be a ‘back screen’ debt that is being taken from the credit balance. 

 

Useful links:

 

OVO Help Pay As You Go

 

For OVO Pay As You Go customers with a smart meter, here’s the online top up portal page

 

Got a question about your Pay As You Go energy use, top-ups, keys, cards, or anything else? Why not see if you can find the answers in our dedicated PAYG Forum category.

 

If you think there’s an issue with your account, the support team are best placed to assist. 

 

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 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 2pm on Saturday.
  • Or call us on 0330 175 9669 during the same times.

If you’re with Boost

 

 

 


Hi,

Thank you for your reply. 

The situation is different. I have proof that what I am saying is right. Up to 16th of December I was send monthly bills for both electricity and gas. However, the bills have included payments done by me by PAYG method. I have such bills from 17th of August up to 16th of December. All this time I paid PAYG and the bills shown that, with consumption and value for both  electricity and gas. From 16th of December I got no more bills and access to the OVO Energy App was restricted, only having access to the Top Up app.

So, in my opinion I think there is something wrong at your end and is time for OVO to own it.

Kind regards


You should still be able to set up an Online Account with your pay monthly account which will have the same functionality as the App. 

 

Then have a separate App for the your pay as you go supply. 

 

Unfortunately, OVO don’t have the functionality for customers with two different supplies to have two separate Apps currently. 

 

Hope this helps @vasirpvl 


I tried, it doesn’t work. 

 

However you didn’t address the main fact, and that is I paid for electricity and gas by PAYG even the gas apparently is pay monthly.

As said I have 4 months of bills from you certifying this aspect.

I am kindly advising to verify the info, so we don’t get further with this unnecessarily, as I will use all means available to me, including court action, to prove I paid .

Also you can send me a link or email address or something where to send you the bills with proof of payment. This will be very much appreciated.

 

Kind regards


Hey @vasirpvl,

 

We don’t typically send bills for PAYG, are you able to advise how you paid? What makes you feel that the PAYG top up payments were going towards the electricity and gas? 

 

Are you able to send a screenshot of the statement so I can take a look at the payments? Please don’t include any personal information. I think with a bit more information we should be able to get to the bottom of this.

 

If you want to send proof of payment to the support team you can contact our PAYM support team:

 

Our Support team’s web messaging and WhatsApp opening hours are:

  • 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday 

  • 9am - 2pm on Saturdays

You can see all open contact channels via our Help Centre

 

Or our PAYG support team:

 

  • 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 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 2pm on Saturday.
  • Or call us on 0330 175 9669 during the same times.

 

If you’re with Boost


My uncle is a 67 yr old pensioner with stage 2 pancreatic cancer and for 2 days ovo have left him without gas as they said they would give him emergency credit and then it didn’t work and then said they would send out an engineer who didn’t arrive.Can anybody help. 


Hello,

Please try to set more descriptive thread titles - “Please help” or “Help please” tells us nothing useful and is more likely to result in some of us not even opening the thread at all.

I have flagged this thread for priority review by the Forum Moderators. They will respond in the morning.

This is considered a self-disconnect, which is not the fault of the supplier i.e. if you don’t pay for the gas upfront, you can’t be sold any gas because there’s no money in the pot to buy the gas with. OVO hasn’t left your uncle without gas, technically he left himself without gas by not purchasing any. I appreciate circumstances aren’t always that simple, but it is worth saying that 99.9% of self-disconnects are caused because you didn’t feed the meter. And if memory serves, over 99% of PAYG disconnects are caused by self-disconnects.

With that being said, I would STRONGLY recommend you set your uncle up on the Priority Services Register and consider switching to Pay Monthly. OVO has a duty of care - and I’m 100% certain they will say the exact same thing as me - Pay As You Go is not suitable in these circumstances.


I’m so sorry to hear about your uncle’s situation, @Patrick Ingram.

 

As Blastoise mentions, and assuming there’s no fault or issue topping up, adding credit to the meter is the best way to reconnect the gas supply. If they’ve got a smart meter, see these videos for what to do to re-enable it after topping up:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nonetheless if OVO have promised an engineer visit (it sounds like the meter isn’t a smart meter and the appointment is a ‘wind on’ when the engineer adds credit manually), and they didn’t show up, your uncle will be owed £30 compensation for a missed appointment. Your uncle can arrange this, and work out the best way of reconnecting the supply, via our Support team. For prepayment customers they’re open for emergencies 8am to 8pm. 

 

As Blastoise mentions, the Priority Services Register is recommended for your uncle, and perhaps a move to a non-prepayment plan and meter type is best suited to your uncle. 


Hi I need help opening the valve on my new smart sciflo gas meter the gas credit ran out while I was out so I topped it up and it went into emergency but I am unable to open the valve to let the gas out to go through I’ve had this problem before and the company sent me a email with a step by step guild on how to open the valve but it’s not work and I don’t know what to do I have two small children and we have no hot water or gas 

 


Hi @katieroseox ,

PLEASE try to create more descriptive thread titles in future. “HELP ;(“ means nothing to us and may result in you receiving no responses or significantly slower responses.

This video should help you. You MUST ensure the meter has a positive balance first however.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF1DQHw5ulE


 Hi @katieroseox,

 

I’m sorry to hear this.

 

If you’re still off supply, please reach out to our PAYG support team on 0330 175 9669 (Mon-Fri: 08:00-20:00,
Sat, Sun & Bank Holidays: 9:00 to 17:00) or the Boost team on 0330 102 7517 (Mon-Fri: 08:00-18:00, Sat: 09:00-17:00). You’d also have the option to switch to Pay Monthly if this is more suitable for you, the support team would be able to take you through this process if requested. 

 

 

Below are some F.A.Q’s about being off supply with a PAYG meter -

 

Smell gas or think you have a gas leak?

 

Call the 24-hour National Gas Emergency service on 0800 111 999

  • Do open doors and windows to let the gas out

  • Do check your gas appliances are switched off

  • Do turn your gas off at the isolation switch (if you know where it is)

  • Do wait outside your home, and let your neighbours know#

  • Don't use any electrical switches, and don't switch lights on or off

  • Don't smoke, light a match, or use any other kind of naked flame

  • Don't go back into your home until you've got the all-clear

 

Signs of a gas leak

  • Strong smell of gas in your home

  • The pilot light on your boiler frequently blows out

  • Pilot light or gas rings on your cooker are orange or yellow, rather than crisp blue

  • Soot or scorched areas on the exterior of appliances

  • More condensation than usual on windows

 

As you’ve mentioned having small children at the property, you may be eligible for the Priority Services Register which is a free support service for members in vulnerable situations. - https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/article/priority-services-register.


Hi All,

has anyone else had issues with OVO been completely useless when it comes to leaving?

i recently moved home and closed down  my electric pay as you go account (key)

i then received a final bill, which im told was because it was recalculated when they took over SSE last year.

spoke to literally 15 people as the phone lines kept diverting me every 5 minutes, was assigned a complaint handler who simply hasnt bothered ringing me.

i cannot get it through to ovo i paid for electric on a key for 10 years, never once received a bill.

was assured it would be looked at, now interestinglu ive received a second bill today for A HIGHER amount after i left the property?

can anyone advise if they have had this issue? i cant even pay it and then try refund OVO are that bad when you phone them and i dont want debt collectors on the door for something i dont believe i owe!

cheers


Note this has now finally been resolved by the complaints department.


Hi @headers1983 

 

Sorry to hear you were having some issues with that, but I’m glad you’ve now got that sorted.

 

Thanks for coming back to us with that update. If you’ve ever got any questions or issues in future, always feel free to pop back to the Forum.🙂


My smart meter is still registering Emergency Credit, after I topped it by £40. How can I correct this? The meter is so complicated to navigate, that I can not locate any help on it.

 


Hi @Cross-Ovo ,

We need to see photos of the meter first please. We can only provide accurate advice if we know what you’ve got.


I tried 4 times to add a photo of my meter reading, when i made my post but it obviously didn’t happen. This is my 5th attempt. This is terrible as its now only allowing me to load 1 picture, of Emergency Credit

 

 

 

 

 


That is not the meter. Please post photos of the meter rather than the IHD.


It appears that your website has problems recognising photo file formats, which is possibly why I am having trouble uploading photos of my meter readings.

I put £40 credit on my meter on 23rd March 2024, as clearly shown on this meter reading.

 


The new electric meters do not show the Emergency Credit, nor Top ups made. The so called Smart Meters do. Honestly I wish that I had not changed over to Smart Meters, as the old system was far more efficient. And I did not get charged an electric tariff to run the Smart Meter.

 


You’ll find a menu on both the meter and IHD to enter a UTRN Code - this will force the credit through. Press A on the meter to clear that message, then press A a few times until you hit the screen “Enter Top Up Code”. Once you see that, hold A to access it.

Follow the instructions on-screen to enter the code. Press A to get the digit you want - it’ll cycle around if you miss it - and B to move to the next slot. Once you’ve entered the entire code, hold B to confirm.

If accepted, the top-up will be applied immediately. The code will be on the receipt you received when you purchased the credit.

Also, you do NOT pay for electricity used by the meter. That comes under Standing Charges  as a Technical Loss and its own power is taken from before the point of measurement. Whether it uses 0.1kWh/day or 1,000kWh/day, the cost for the day is the same. This is the same as any other electric meter ever.


I have a Landis and Gear E06 top up metre. It is turned on and I currently have £8 loaded up on the metre. However, the gas itself remains off. When I try to press the black B button in order to bring up the "turn on gas" command nothing happens but a beep sound. I have played around with the red button, but this does not work either. I have alot of dishes to do!


Hi @Tomgas ,

Sounds to me like the meter is dead and needs replacing. Please reach out to Support via https://ovoenergy.com/help and they’ll arrange an emergency engineer.

With Boost? It’s 0330 102 7517 or https://boostpower.co.uk 


The metre is on though, like I can scroll through readings and EMCr stuff with the A button, however the typical guide I keep seeing wherein you press the B button, does not seem to work. Is there a chance there's a different kind of button combination that I need to input?


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