Traditional PAYG meter with blank screen

Thank you so much. I had read a similar thread but posted due to advice from the ovo agent. I do hope the 'free vend' is in operation as would save some inconvenience.  This is reassuring,  thanks again.

Long story short, it used to be possible to just reset these meters and pull them out of Free Vend Mode.

These days however, they just get replaced with Smart Meters - it’s better for everyone anyway.

Welcome to the Forum ​@Nicolaaa, and thanks to all who’ve given great advice on this post.

​@Nicolaaa if you do go off supply before the appointment date, please contact our Support Team straight away and we’ll get an engineer out to you within 3 to 4 hours to get the meter changed as an emergency.

If there are any vulnerabilities / disabilities within your property, I’d recommend signing up to the Priority Services Register. This is a free service with multiple benefits, including being contacted by the network operator to alert you of incoming powercuts where possible. Theyll also look to get your property back on supply with priority if there’s an outage.

You can find out more, and sign up, here.

Thanks

Who is responsible for informing customers they have been left on free vend for 6 years? I thought after seeking legal advise it’s the supplier’s responsibility, is that right? 

Hi ​@Limits ,

This… Is a tricky one…

Please bear with us. I need to discuss this with the other forum volunteers for a bit.

Hang in there - we’ll be back on this soon.

Whilst topping up on a pay as you go meter, and not knowing it’s on free vend mode then landed with a large debt 9 years later ? Who is responsible? 

​@Limits just a couple of questions that might help us understand better what is/has been happening here.

I ask because what you describe doesn’t sound like what is generaly meant by “Free Vend mode”.
So your issue may be something different, there does seem to be a lot more to this than you have told us so far.
ie. You seem to be saying that you had 6-years of Free Vend, that you got billed for 3-years later?

1. Was the display on your meter blank?
2. If the display was blank then how were you managing to top up?

And just in case:

6 years, (or is it 9 years?), is a long time not to notice if you are in Free Vend mode.

However do you have any way of showing at least some of the topups being made?
eg, shop receipts, bank records if you paid by card, etc.

BTW. I am in no way doubting you here.
I myself was not billed at all for electricity for a number of years, but that wasn’t a PAYG meter, and it wasn’t OVO. It was only after I moved and left that supplier they then decided to bill. It took me another 3 years with the Ombudsman to get that sorted out.

​@Limits we’ll await your answers to ​@Nukecad’s questions before offering further advice.

To confirm, you’ll need to speak to our Support Team to get this resolved. 

If you’ve been topping up then there should hopefully be a record of your top ups held in the third party platform that manages traditional PAYG meters. Our Support Team should hopefully be able to see this information.

I have a traditional PAYG meter that has never been a problem before, even with brief power cuts. However, earlier this week, there was a longer power outage in my area and it came back on after about 10 minutes. I didn’t check the meter, as I was rushing out the door to head off to work. When I went to check the amount on the meter, with the intention of topping it up shortly, I found the screen was blank and from other conversations, it appears that my meter has gone into ‘vend mode’, as I still have power. As it is a Sunday, I shall have to wait until business hours to contact someone, but in the meantime, does this happen a lot with PAYG meters? I also read that today (21st June, 2026) there was a scheduled outage so I wouldn’t have been able to top up today anyway. Is it possible that the meter could reset itself, or would an engineer need to come and look at the meter? Thanks   

Howdy ​@NessaS123 ,

Gonna have to be a Rip N’ Replace job I’m afraid - these units are no longer reset when they hit Free Vend Mode because they become a pain when it happens again and causes yet another engineer visit. It’s a safety feature to prevent faults from nuking the supply, so you have “unlimited” juice until it’s fixed - however it’ll also rack up a debt that needs to be repaid later so please don’t use too much just because you can.

Happens to the Traditional PAYG Meters a lot more than I’d like to admit… Another reason to get rid of those old dinosaurs...

The scheduled outage today is unrelated - that’s for Smart Meters.

Hey ​@NessaS123 

Blastoise186 already left some advice on this one, if you’ve not had a chance to check it out and follow that please check out the topics below and contact the Support Team to get the meter exchanged:

Do let us know how you get on.

HI. Thanks for your advice. I have contacted the Support Team who will be in touch within a couple of days. I have a nagging suspicion they may suggest getting a smart meter, as I know the old key meters will one day become a thing of the past as technology moves forward. For now, I’m not using the electricity excessively. Only what I need.