What is Smart Pay As You Go?

Smart Pay As You Go is a way of paying for energy in advance by using a smart meter. You'll pay for your energy as you use it by visiting a PayPoint outlet and topping up the meter. With Smart Pay As You Go, you won't receive monthly bills or pay by Direct Debit. The meter keeps a record of your credit, and the balance reduces as you use energy. A very important thing to note is that if the balance on the meter reaches zero, your energy supply will be stopped until you top up again. If you're thinking about paying for your energy in this way, consider this carefully.


Smart meters come with an in-home display (IHD) so you can monitor your balance in real time to best plan for your next top-up. Some people find that Smart Pay As You Go gives them more control over their spending on energy, particularly if they have trouble with other payment methods such as Direct Debit. It can also help with repaying any outstanding debt, but there are other options available if you are having difficulties keeping up with your bill that may be more suitable for you, such as payment plans or seeking help with your budget.

How do I top up my meter?

You will receive a barcode for each smart prepayment meter you have. To add credit to your meter simply take your barcode to your nearest PayPoint. You can find your nearest PayPoint. You can find your nearest PayPoint here: https://consumer.paypoint.com/. Most of the time, the top-up will be added to your meter automatically but it’s important to keep hold of your receipt until you get home and can check your meter has successfully updated. If the credit has been delayed, you can add it yourself by keying in the 20-digit code into your IHD or directly onto your meter. You will find this code printed on the receipt.

I’ve lost my barcode, what should I do?

Please contact our Customer Services Team to request a new barcode and they’ll be happy to send you a replacement.

How do I find a PayPoint venue?

You can find your nearest PayPoint venue by going online here: https://consumer.paypoint.com/.

My top-up hasn’t appeared on my meter, what should I do?

If your top-up hasn’t reached your meter, you’ll need to enter your UTRN (unique 20-digit code) into the meter to manually update the top up. You can find your UTRN on the bottom of your top-up receipt or if you added credit to your meter by calling our Customer Services Team, they’ll be able to provide you with this information. If your receipt doesn’t have a UTRN it’s likely that the top-up hasn’t been successful. Please speak to the cashier at the PayPoint terminal you visited who will be able to help you.

To enter your top-up manually, follow the steps below:

EDMI 

· Select the ‘top up’ menu

· Use the left/right buttons to scroll through digits 0-9 and press ‘ok’ to select a number

· If you need to change a number, press return to delete the currently selected digit

· Once you have entered the last digit of your UTRN the screen will display ‘WAIT’ for up to 10 seconds

· If the UTRN is valid the screen will display ‘DONE’

· If for whatever reason the UTRN has not been accepted, the screen will show ‘FAIL’ and you will be prompted to re-enter your UTRN.

L&G 

· Press the A button to access the add credit screen

· Press the B button to enter your UTRN

· Press A to move through the digits 0-9 and B to select the number

· Hold the B button down for a few seconds to confirm your UTRN

· If the UTRN is valid the screen will display ‘Invalid re-enter code’ and you will be redirected to the screen to re-enter your code

What happens if I run out of credit and can’t get to a shop to top up?

If you’re running low on credit during So Energy working hours you can call our Customer Services team to top up your meter over the phone. If you’re unable to call us or visit a shop your meter will have £10 available for emergencies (emergency credit) which will be paid back the next time you top up.

You won’t be disconnected if you run out of credit during our friendly hours, 4 PM to 10 AM Monday to Friday, weekends and bank holidays. This gives you an opportunity to top up once our phone lines are open again or you can visit a shop but please remember that you will still be charged for the energy you used during the friendly period and this will be taken from your next top-up payment.

What is emergency credit?

When you’re running low on credit and not able to top up your meter, your meter will have £10 available for you to borrow to help ensure you’re not disconnected. Emergency credit will need to be paid back so when you next top up you’ll need to ensure you cover the cost of the credit you’ve used plus the top-up amount you want to add to your meter.

If your balance has fallen below £5 the emergency credit facility will become available.

EDMI 

To activate the emergency credit, use the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the menu until you see the emergency credit – ‘EMGCY CREDIT’ - and press and hold the return button.

If emergency credit isn’t available the IHD will show ‘NO CREDIT’.

L&G 

· Press the A button to wake up the meter

· Next, press the A button to display the emergency credit acceptance screen. You should see ‘Accept EmCr’ if there is emergency credit available to use

· To accept the emergency credit press B

Getting back on supply

If you run out of credit and your supply goes off, you need to restart the supply on your meter. First, top up your meter so the balance is above zero, or accept emergency credit if it is available. Next, restart the supply. For your electricity meter, this can be done via your IHD or on the meter by following the on-screen instructions.
The gas supply must be restarted from the meter itself. Follow the on-screen instructions to restart your supply. Ensure that all your gas appliances are switched off, otherwise, the meter may stop your supply again for safety reasons.

Do I need to send you a meter reading?

You won’t need to submit meter readings if you’re on our Smart Pay As You Go tariff. Your meter will automatically provide us with a reading, however, you can always submit more readings. You can read more about So Energy and smart meters here.

What will happen to the debt on my account?

Account debt will be transferred to your meter(s) and reclaimed at a rate agreed with you. Your meter will reclaim a small portion of the debt every night from your credit, so your credit will deplete in a predictable way. If you have debt to pay please remember that you’ll need to cover debt and ongoing usage when topping up your meter.

You can always make a larger, one-off payment by contacting our Customer Services Team on 0330 111 5050.