Traditional PAYG meter with blank screen

Hello Blastoise186,

Thanks ever so much for your reply. 

I’ve been basically pulling my hair out for the last day and a half. The idea of going out of electricity at night was doing my head in. 

And no, I won’t go power hungry ah ah. I’m actually very moderate with my expenditures anyway.

Thanks very much, you’ve helped me a lot. Cheers!

No worries, that’s what we’re here for! :D

Each of the volunteers here has specialities that they’re really good at. Mine is focused on metering related stuff and some of the tech that’s used by suppliers. Likewise, there’s others here who are very focused on new technologies that help you save energy.

If you ever need us again, feel free to stop by!

Hey Blastoise, just one more thing please.

Would you recommend me to go for a smart meter? They offered me one some time ago, but I thought it might be more expensive and said no.

What do you think? I mean, I did notice an increase in the price in the last few months, but I’m still not sure about the smart meter thing.

Thanks.

It’s definitely worth considering. I’m on OVO Pay Monthly myself so I can only give my experience from that side of the coin, but there’s benefits either way whether you’re PAYG or PAYM.

If you’re on PAYG, perhaps the biggest benefit is the ability to top-up from almost anywhere in the UK without needing to go to a shop - but you can still top-up in shops if you want to, giving you more options than you’d have on Traditional PAYG. The prices are the same regardless of Traditional/Smart. Being on PAYG means having a Smart Meter won’t cause your costs to increase or decrease because you’re always being billed to “actual” readings regardless of the meter type.

You’ll also avoid having to use Free Vend Mode, as Smart Meters are more capable at recovering from power cuts than Traditional PAYG Meters are.

The other big one is having an extra way to check your credit without having to go to the meter itself - the IHD you get with it shows you the balance in real-time.

Thanks mate. 

I will consider all of that. It’s even possible that on Friday, when the engineers come, they’ll  have to replace my meter for a smart one anyway, because it got damaged by the power cut. They did tell me that was a possibility over the phone.

Thanks very much! :D

And that’s exactly why Free Vend Mode exists! :P

It’s a fail-safe type safety feature designed to protect you from situations that are impossible to recover from, especially going off-supply and being completely unable to top-up because the motherboard or a critical component got fried, and credit being consumed incorrectly if the calibration goes out of line - both situations mean the meter cannot be trusted until an engineer has checked it again.

Yesterday someone came to install a smart meter but refused saying the wooden back board was not secure. Even so, the power had been cut and the meter had been worked on. After the old meter had been replaced and the engineer left , etc I noticed the meter screen was blank with no red light. I tried pressing the button and inserting the key but to no avail. I informed the Boost call centre but they refused to send anyone out until the credit expires, although initially they said they would book a maintenance visit. Surely it is better to avoid a complete power loss (and all the massive inconvenience this gives to the household) and install a new meter? This week I was on leave, their expectations are that I will take time off to their convenience or phone while at work - no understanding whatsoever of real life. Is this the correct procedure?

Hi @Sarah268 ,

Please try the Live Chat at https://boostpower.co.uk/help for this. They should get you sorted.

If that fails, please stop by again.

Thanks, I will try

Sorry to hear this, it sounds very stressful.

If you go off supply @Sarah268, Boost will need to book an emergency appointment.

If you’re with Boost

• Find answers or chat with Boost at boostpower.co.uk/help
• Or call them on 0330 102 7517.

This topic may be helpful:

Topping up for the first time?

To register your new electricity key or gas card, put it into the correct meter for at least a minute. The electricity meter will show a message to let you know it's registered, and the gas meter will beep.

My key/card isn’t working – what should I do?

We recommend taking the key/card out of the meter and wiping the chip with a clean, dry cloth. If you re-insert it in the meter and it still doesn’t work, please get in touch with us and we can send you a replacement.

Is your meter showing an ‘error code’ when you insert your key/card? Was there an error code when the shop assistant popped your key or card in a PayPoint terminal? If so, note the error code down and compare it to the list of codes we’ve listed in our guide on error codes here. That’ll help us work out how to fix the issue quicker when you contact our Support team (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, and 9am to 5pm on weekends).

Hello can anybody help please I had a power cut on my street the power is back on but my key meter now has a blank screen and I'm not sure how much credit I have left on there or when I'm going to run out has anybody had this happen to them?

Hi @Seanmcdonagh ,

It’s gone into Free Vend Mode and you currently have temporary unlimited credit. Please call OVO ASAP to get this sorted but you won’t be cut-off in the meantime. You’ll need to pay this back later.

Thanks for your reply,so if I go over what credit I had left would I just have to top it up to put it in credit or can I top it up as normal with the key in the meantime?

You can top-up the key in the meantime - just make sure not to lose it as you won’t be able to transfer to the meter until after the engineer visit!

Whatever credit you use for now will be applied as a debt on the meter later. You will NOT be cut-off in the meantime.

So will the engineer put in the same meter again as I don't want a smart meter?

The existing one will stay, yes. It’ll just be rebooted so that it works again.

Why is it you don’t want a Smart Meter though?

UPDATE 09/10/24

Turns out the stance has changed since I last looked at it. Traditional Prepay Meters that go into Free Vend Mode are no longer reset or rebooted - they’re now replaced by default with Smart Meters.

Hi @Seanmcdonagh,

I’m sorry to hear that this has happened. 

Our forum volunteer has already given some good advice here. Did you manage to get in touch with the Support team to get this sorted?

These threads might also be useful:

there was a power cut last night, and now my meter screen is blank, Google says to call, i tired got an automated service and got told to try speak to someone online, the chat bot was useless 

Is this a PAYG meter? Do you still have power?

Sometimes following a power cut PAYG meters can’t restart themselves and so have a blank screen but they will go into a ‘Free Vend’ mode.

That means that they will continue to supply energy until they can be reset, that usage will still have to be paid for later of course, but you won’t suddenly run out of credit and lose power.

That gives you plenty of time to contact support on Monday and arrange for the meter to be reset, (it usually takes an engineer visit to reset it).

If you have no power or want a quicker contact then try the Social Media team (Facebook, X, or Instagram) who work weekends and should still be open,
See the green ‘Emergency contact’ banner at the top of the page, or click this link:

Hey @Stevenmilligan 

Sorry to hear about this, I’m glad one of our volunteers Nukecad has already stopped by with some really helpful advice.

If you’re still having trouble please do let us know, answering Nukecad’s questions would also be really helpful if you’re still having issues.

If so, you’ll be able to contact the Support Team about this, let us know how you’re getting on.

I’ve also got a blank screen traditional pre pay meter following a power cut a few days ago.    I believe the meter is now in “free vend” mode.   My concern is that I had approximately £70 of credit on it.    Will this credit continue being used and will the engineer know what credit is left on it? Hopefully my meter can be reset but if it gets replaced will the credit be transferred to the new meter?  
thanks in advance. 

Hi ​@Sean123 ,

At this point it’s more likely that the Meter will just be replaced with a Smart Meter. Your credit will be recovered either way, but some of it will be taken to pay for what you use in the meantime.

Thanks for your fast reply.   Do I have to have a smart meter?   I don’t have confidence in ovo due to having had a lot of problems with ovo when I moved in 5 years ago, and want to keep things as simple as possible.   

The legacy Traditional PAYG Meters are slowly being phased out across the market. Word on the street is that upgrades are now favoured over resets regardless of supplier, not least because it eliminates this Free Vend Mode issue.

Which reminds me… Probably also worth noting that the supporting infrastructure that runs Trad PAYG is also getting pretty old and there’s a desire from the industry to slowly wind it down and sunset it.

I doubt there’ll be any future investment in it when Smart Meters can replace it. Arguably, it’s best interest stuff to migrate just for that reason alone tbh.