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.
Just a heads up, I’m one of the Forum Volunteers here, rather than an OVO employee.
I can confirm that what you’ve been told is correct. The meter will have gone into Free Vend Mode as a result of the power cut. Obviously, you won’t be charged any usage for the time the power was out, since you can’t have used anything during that time. Oh, and you won’t be charged a fee for the engineer visit either as it’s not your fault.
However, to avoid disruption in case of a fault, Free Vend Mode triggers in these situations. You’ll still need to pay back what you used later, but you will not be disconnected in the meantime. You basically have unlimited credit until the meter is reset by an engineer. Try not to go too power hungry in the meantime though as the meter is still tracking your usage!
You can pay back the usage via future top-ups after the reset. It might be worth upgrading to Smart Meters though to avoid this situation. :)
We’ve got some similar topics which may also be helpful here:
How to get in contact about my OVO Pay As You Go account
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firstly thank you for your comment and yes Blastoise186 was very kind in giving me the information and put my mind at ease I have spoke too a colleague yesterday and I am booked in for an appointment on the 23rd for a new meter I also received a message from another colleague (Shaun)this morning just too confirm my appointment and gave me information if the electricity runs out in the mean time so all good 🤞🏻🤣thank you both very much 😊🍺
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