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Smart meter exchange- Now PAYG?

  • 26 August 2023
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Please could somebody provide advice.

We were recently informed that our smart meter was faulty and not sending any readings and so an engineer came and replaced it earlier this week (Tuesday).
 

We are on a direct debit and pay every month and have been for 2 years since moving in.

 

My IHD is showing a “prepay balance” tab and says “£5.34 in debt, non-disconnect in use”…

 

we are not PAYG so why is this showing? 
 

Also, about 2 hours after the engineer left on Tuesday, our electricity turned off. It came back on after we pressed one of the buttons on the meter but should I be concerned?

 

I contacted OVO on Tuesday who said “the engineer who installed your new meter spoke to us earlier so it’s all fine”….

 

what does that even mean?

 

thank you in advance 

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Best answer by Tim_OVO 28 August 2023, 17:03

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Hi @Nath_2389 and thanks for posting about this one. 

 

Smart meters can show slightly odd things just after they’re fitted. It takes up to 6 weeks from the smart meter fitting date for your account to be updated and a connection set up with all the right details being sent to and from the meter. With that in mind, it might be worth monitoring things for the time being. 

 

That said if the meter is in fact in a prepayment setting, we will need to update it, which can be done remotely. How to check does depend on the meter type (feel free to send us a picture), but here’s a guide to help.

 

If the In Home Display (IHD) is consistently showing ‘prepay balance’ and a negative balance, with ‘non-disconnect’, there’s a chance this meter is in prepayment setting. That non disconnecting setting will end tomorrow (it’s on today as it’s a bank holiday Monday) and the supply might be disconnected with more than -£5 balance. So have a look on the meter screen itself for clues about its setting. Does the meter itself show a negative prepayment balance just like the IHD? Does it mention emergency credit? If in doubt contact our Support team before 5pm today. 

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