[Mcm]

Thank you yes that’s the number. Rang it 20 times. It rings through but cuts off after three rings.

[Mcm]

Thank you I was told eon edf or Npower cards would be okay. The shop only had Npower cards but it seems to be the codes that were invalid rather than the card itself.

[Mcm]

@retrotecchie thank you but I’m a bit confused. I only got possession of the property today and I’ve never had a prepaid meter before x

[retrotecchie]

@Mcm

Npower cards probably won't work if the meter has been 'adopted' by E.On Next. You need to call the emergency number to get a new card sent out for you.

0808 501 5088

[Mcm]

Exactly what’s happened to me today. I’ve been on the phone for around 3 hours, sent on a wild goose chase to over 6 shops, on messenger chat for 2 hours and not resolved with temperatures of minus 5 at the moment. I wouldn’t choose to have a prepayment meter but it’s what was there. I can’t imagine what someone without access to a car or the Internet or the language skills to spend the day on the phone would have done.

[retrotecchie]

@Mcm

I feel your pain. I moved into an all electric flat once, middle of January and snow on the ground to find a key meter with no key, no power and no heating. Took me three days to get a key, and when I put it in the meter, it told me there was over £600 of debt on it.

Fortunately, this just took a phone call to Southern Electric who swapped my meter for a new one next day. A proper meter, not a prepay one.

As a new resident at the property, you have every right to just ask them for a normal meter, once you get your card working. They might whine about it but you should stand your ground.

[Mcm]

Yes that’s me. I was told the previous tenant was in debt. It’s proven impossible to get gas today. This is honestly a scandal - I’m desperately worried that the pipes will freeze tonight. Lots of apologies but no one can help me. If I had elderly or young kids it would be life threatening. As it is I’m not going to sleep due to the worry - it is minus 5 degrees now. I would happily pay but the system is ridiculously slow and complicated. How a vulnerable person would have even got this far I’ve no idea. In this day and age having to have a physical key and go to a shop is ridiculous. Why not do all this remotely? It’s ludicrous

[Mcm]

First thing I asked today was please can I have a normal meter. The answer was ‘yes and no’.
apparently yes ‘in principle you can have one’ BUT no ‘we don’t have any in stock’.

[retrotecchie]

@Mcm

Exactly the point of smart meters. With smart pay as you go, you can top up using a computer or your mobile, plus they can be zeroed remotely and the tariff set correctly.

Unfortunately, you have an old fashioned key/card non smart meter. The card or key needs to be coded to the meter itself...you can't just use any old one, and E.On would have needed to give you a second code to allow the meter debt to be removed. If the shop said the codes were invalid, then unless you get working codes or a new card sent out already programmed, hopefully with some credit for your inconvenience, you are pretty much gasless for the moment, I'm afraid.

[retrotecchie]

@Mcm

No one has stock of conventional credit meters anymore because they stopped making them. OFGEM rules see? All new or replacement meters must be smart ones.

You could request a smart PAYG or a smart credit meter. You just can't have an old fashioned 'proper meter' anymore.

No help to you right now, of course, but OFGEM being a government agency didn't ever give any consideration to situations like yours. My only suggestion would be to scrounge up an oil fired radiator or similar for now, just to try and keep warm, and keep a tab on your electricity usage to demand compensation. Start a complaint trail too, so you have records of the whole sorry mess.

www.eonnext.com/unhappy