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I had a smart meter fitted today but can't top up on Smart PAYG and had credit on the old meters?

  • 7 December 2020
  • 27 replies
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C

Been trying to get through to customer services for 40 minutes. Had a smart meter fitted today I've had winter fuel & old top ups to the sum of 152 pounds removed. I've tried to top up with the app it's not going into my account but 5  X £ 10 top ups showing in the bank as pending. To add insult to injury I was called by one of your agents from Glasgow who hung up as quickly as I'd said hello. So I'm now staring at a smart meter that's telling me I'm on emergency credit while the sum of £210 pounds is floating round in cyberspace ... What a good start Boost are off to !!

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Best answer by Tim_Boost 8 December 2020, 15:30

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Tim_Boost
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Not a good experience here, @CalT 

 

As the meters will be set up on Smart PAYG, you should be able to top up using the top up cards provided at a PayPoint. 

 

The app will be set up in the coming days, and the credit from your old meters will be transferred over within the next 5 working days. 

 

If you can’t top up with cards (or you don’t have them), and you’re in emergency credit, please call us ASAP: 0330 102 7517

V
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I have had a Smart meter installed today and all has gone well with it (except the IHD doesn’t work because the meter is out of range in a communal cupboard, but I don’t mind that too much). The problem really is that when I went to my local PayPoint to put on some credit, the card was not recognised there. I have enough emergency credit to last overnight and maybe the next day but then I’m screwed. What do I do?

Tim_Boost
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Hi @Voodoo and welcome to Boost Smart PAYG!

 

Can you see this topic ‘best answer’ above for info on what happens after the smart meter is fitted? 

 

If those top up cards don’t allow a top up at a PayPoint, please call us to make sure the card numbers are registered to your account correctly: 0330 102 7517. 

 

Don’t forget your meters won’t disconnect when our phone lines are closed. 

S
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How do I know if my new smart meter is registered and i can put some money on it, I have used all the emergecy credit and now running on the friendly tariff but want to be able to top up before we get cut off. I can't get through on the phones to speak to anyone. The £130.00 I topped up with last week is still showing as pending in my bank and I was told by boost this was because they could not see the new meter. I don't want to add more until I know it will go through.

 

Tim_Boost
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Hi @Splash12 and thanks for posting. I totally get why you don’t want to top up again till you’re sure this is going onto the meter. Check out the best answer (at the top) which I’ll copy here:

 

As the meters will be set up on Smart PAYG, you should be able to top up using the top up cards provided at a PayPoint. 

 

The app will be set up in the coming days, and the credit from your old meters will be transferred over within the next 5 working days. 

 

If you can’t top up with cards (or you don’t have them), and you’re in emergency credit, please call us ASAP: 0330 102 7517

 

Have you tried logging into to the Smart PAYG app? The browser version is here. 

 

M
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The arrogance of Boost to make you wait 3 to 5 days to get your own money/credit back from your old meters when upgrading to smart ones. I was told by the engineer 24 hrs if i had known it was that long i would of slung him out. I feel like i have had my pockets dipped by the engineer. If i can go out and top up with my card then surely boost can re-credit my account?

Jess_Boost
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When you get Smart Meters installed, we need to update your meter details and wait for the engineer to let us know the balance remaining on your old meter before it can be added on to your new Smart Meters. This can take up to 5 days (but may be quicker than this). Don’t worry this credit hasn’t disappeared, we’ll make sure it’s all moved over - it just won’t happen instantly.


As you’ll get new top-up cards you can start topping up the new meters straight away - but there is also £5 emergency credit on each meter to give you a chance to sort that top-up out. If you’re worried about running out of credit and aren’t able to top-up before the 5 days are up - contact our support team on 0330 102 7517 (0117 370 1041 from a mobile) who may be able to offer some extra financial support to make sure you’re covered.

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M
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Hi Jess, i have spoken to your customer services and they have informed me my cards ect will not work until Monday and my meters will be re-credited with my existing credit/money when updated, but in the mean time i wont run out of power or gas?

You seem to be telling me something different?

I’m a new customer to boost of 3wks and i’m struggling to find anything positive about the company, everyone seems to be reading from a different hymn sheets. All i’m asking for is accurate and honest information.

 who’s right you or customer services?

Regards

Martin

F
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After 8yrs of no trouble the last two months have been a nightmare, I was swapped over 2 months ago to Payg Smart and carried on topping up my account as always, I was completely unaware that when the changeover happened my meter disconnected from my app, so last week my electric turned off at 1am. After pressing some buttons on the meter the emergency electric came on although I had over £100 on my app. After struggling with customer services they just said it was a glitch and all sorted, then this week at 1am again the electric went off. And as I'm on a breathing machine (copd) at night I need electric. I couldn't do anything as there is no emergency number to call, so I had to sit and wait until 8am for the rubbish customer service to open. I was then told that my meter was not connecting with them and has been off there end since the switch over which was two months ago and i needed a new meter, 4hrs later a lovely gentleman came around and fitted a new meter and he put me on emergency credit and told me leave it a few hours and ring up to get my last 2months of credit put on. So for the umpteenth time I rang up and after going through everything again I was told it'll take 3-5 days to credit my account, so now I'm still on emergency credit which will run out soon, and waiting for what's owed to me in credit. I'm not holding my breath, and don't get me started on that stupid ihd thing, that's another essay. Can't wait to find another supplier. 

F
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Hi @Voodoo and welcome to Boost Smart PAYG!

 

Can you see this topic ‘best answer’ above for info on what happens after the smart meter is fitted? 

 

If those top up cards don’t allow a top up at a PayPoint, please call us to make sure the card numbers are registered to your account correctly: 0330 102 7517. 

 

Don’t forget your meters won’t disconnect when our phone lines are closed. 

Yeah they do, mine has turned off twice at 1am, plus I have plenty of credit. 

Jess_Boost
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I have spoken to your customer services and they have informed me my cards ect will not work until Monday and my meters will be re-credited with my existing credit/money when updated, but in the mean time i wont run out of power or gas?

You seem to be telling me something different?

 

Sorry for the confusion there, @m cashin.

 

If your Smart meters were installed as part of an emergency booking (so an engineer attended on the same day) things are a little different - you’ll have extra emergency credit added to the meters as it does take a few days until you can use your cards to top-up. Worth bearing in mind that smart meters have a ‘friendly credit’ (non-disconnect setting) for most of the weekend (the periods when our phone lines are closed, more info on friendly credit periods here), until 10am on Monday, and from Monday to Friday, from 6pm till 9am the next day.

 

Hope this helped clear things up and you see your original credit transferred soon. 

 

 

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Jess_Boost
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 After struggling with customer services they just said it was a glitch and all sorted, then this week at 1am again the electric went off. And as I'm on a breathing machine (copd) at night I need electric. 

 

This is really concerning to hear and is certainly not what should happen, @FedUpWithBoost. Smart meters should be in a non-disconnect setting from 8pm - 8am and throughout most of the weekend to make sure you don’t go off supply when you’re not able to give us a call. More info on when you have friendly credit here. This would indicate a faulty or non-communicating meter which I’m glad to hear we’ve replaced.

 

Having a medical dependency on your electricity means you’re eligible for our Priority Services Register - if you haven’t already, let our Support team know about your mains-powered medical equipment as a prepayment account might not be the best arrangement in this case. Give us a call on 0330 102 7517 to discuss the option of changing to a Pay monthly account which would guarantee a constant supply of electricity. 

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N
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Hello I had my smart meter fitted yesterday an I tried to top up but it said it failed an. I wouldn’t be charged, I assumed this happened as the credit hasn’t transferred yet. I tried again to day an it was accepted I checked my back an both payments where taken and neither have gone in to my meter will this eventually show or have I lost my money. 
 

thank you 

aidy3663
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You'll get it back in your account in s couple of days at most. It sounds like your acc numbers aren't right. If the meter is communicating with the in home display correctly then go into settings on it and make a note of the account numbers for each, you can then add them manually in your app and top ups will go through

Jess_Boost
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Hi @Nomie and welcome to the Boost online community.

 

Great to hear about your new smart meters - let’s see if w can get to the bottom of the top-up issue.

 

Were you given new cards or top-up card numbers during the installation? Or have you been able to find these using your In Home Display (IHD) as @aidy3663 suggested. Checking that the correct Payment Allocation Numbers (PAN) have been added to the app on the ‘manage accounts’ section could be the key to getting the issue sorted.

 

If you don’t know your PAN numbers or can’t see how to update these on your app, reach out to our Support Team on 0330 102 7517. There’s more advice on getting the most out of PAYG Smart on this great guide. :slight_smile:

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N
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Hello yes I have my new boost card an had to go to shop to top up again as the first two haven’t gone on the meter and I was on the friendly credit due to this. But I have had to two lots of ten pound taken out of my bank that didn’t go on my meter one in wich i received an email to confirm my top up but an even after typing the code in to the smart meter it said it was rejected will I be able to get this money back as I’ve paid 35 now an only received 15 of it as credit 

 An I double checked the PAN number on the app an it is correct to what is in my card 

thank you 

Jess_Boost
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Oh that does sound really frustrating, @Nomie and I’m wondering if the PAN numbers haven’t been correctly linked the the meters themselves. 

 

There’s some great advice on this thread if this is the case - 

 

Top-ups may display as ‘pending payment’ on the app if a payment fails due to an issue, such as our systems not communicating with PayPoint properly, or the PAN not being linked correctly to the a meter.

 

When this happens no funds are taken - you should be informed that the payment has failed and that we suggest you check your bank account. The top up amount should be available in your bank account within five days, but it’s usually a lot quicker! Payments that fail are also shown as 'vend fail' in the PayPoint online portal. 

 

So with that in mind, I’d recommend you get in touch with our Support team, to make sure there’s no issue with your PAN card number and your account: 0330 102 7517 (0117 370 1041 from a mobile).

 

Have you checked whether the top-up amounts have returned to your bank account yet? Keep us updated if you manage to get the issue sorted. It’ll be really helpful to others with a similar problem in future. :thumbsup:

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A
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I recently got a payg smart meter installed, and we're currently running on emergency, we had about £130 spread across gas and electric, but now due to being stuck in emergency we've less than £4.

So, my question, how long is this credit transfer going to take? Because I can't afford to top-up till Saturday and I doubt four quid is going to last that long

Jess_Boost
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Great question, @Anodine.

 

I’ve actually moved it across to another similar thread as the best answer above covers how long it usually takes for your credit to be transferred following a smart meter installation:

 

 

The app will be set up in the coming days, and the credit from your old meters will be transferred over within the next 5 working days. 

 

If you can’t top up with cards (or you don’t have them), and you’re in emergency credit, please call us ASAP: 0330 102 7517

 

If you’re concerned that you won’t be able to top-up before the credit balance is transferred, reach out to the Support Team, who’ll be best placed to help. 

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A
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Hello.

We recently moved from traditional payg to smart meters.

After much kerfuffle I managed to get the electric credit reinstated, but have not had the gas credit reinstated. Now this traditional payg meter was with boost from 2016, and I know engineer that installed them took meter readings. So what is the hold up I wonder?

A
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Their was £91 something on it at the time of removal. I can't really afford to lose that. And I was assured by boost CS that it would get sorted out.

Oh, one last question. Do the top-up cards work with payzone stores? We recently lost out closest paypoint who switched to payzone, so I'd like to be sure before I top-up

Jess_Boost
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Hi again @Anodine!

 

Glad to hear you’ve now managed to get your electric credit moved onto your new smart meters. As you’ve mentioned you’ve yet to see the gas balance transferred, it’s worth checking the ‘Best Answer’ advice above:

 

 

the credit from your old meters will be transferred over within the next 5 working days. 

 

If it’s been more than 5 days and you’re still waiting on that important gas credit, give the team a call (0117 332 3728 - lines open 8am - 8pm, Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm, Weekends) or reach out via webchat (link found via the yellow speech bubble on our Homepage) to find out what’s behind the delay.

 

As before if topping up in person, you’ll need to find a local Paypoint as our top-up cards aren’t supported by Payzone. It’s worth mentioning that you’ll also be able to top-up using the Boost app - making top-ups even more convenient. Find out more about this process on our Boost app FAQs.

 

Hope this helps. :slight_smile:

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A
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@Jess_Boost 

Thanks jess your the best!

They did say it'll be on Tuesday latest so if its not I'll phone Wednesday.

And thanks for clearing up the paypoint/payzone thing, I was a bit confused about that

A
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Title says it all really.

Was promised it would be sorted Tuesday latest and it wasn't.

Phoned the cs line to be greeted by some nonsense message about power crisis or something?

Talked, if you can call it that, to webteam who said they'll remind whoever does refunds it needs refunding.

Had no gas since the 13th. Have an elderly and vulnerable gentleman, and a lady with many health issues to look after

To say I'm frustrated is an understatement.

Jess_Boost
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It’s so disappointing to hear that you’re still waiting on getting your original gas credit transferred onto the new smart meter, @Anodine - that’s understandably frustrating and like you said, should have been sorted by now.

 

As you mention you’re now off-supply it might be worth giving the team a call on this one. Our lines are still open on 0117 332 3728, 8am - 8pm, Monday - Friday and 9am - 5pm on weekends. The message you’ve heard just gives some extra info on the current energy market situation.

 

I’m really hoping the team can get this sorted and your supply back up and running as soon as possible for you. 

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