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Good Afternoon.

We recently had a power cut in our building. Shortly after that, when we got electricity back, i realized my meter had a blank screen and I could not see how much credit I had left.

I contacted OVO assistance to book an engineer to come fix it, which they did, but I was worried that I could run out of credit before they come (almost a week later). They told me I should not be worried because when that happens the meter basically starts working as a billing meter, so there’s no possibility of me running out of electricity in the meantime.

Could someone confirm if this is really the case? I really don’t want to call 105 in the evening and wait in the dark for three or more hours waiting for help to come.

Thanks very much.

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.

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