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We're changing PAYG+ to PAYG Smart - FAQs here!

  • 18 September 2020
  • 271 replies
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We're changing PAYG+ to PAYG Smart - FAQs here!
Tim_Boost
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Userlevel 6
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Updated on 12/04/21: The app now features the ability to view your balances. Further info on this here. For some customers, the balance feature won’t show on the Smart PAYG app till up to 3 days after the latest version of the app has been installed.


How PAYG Smart will work

 

  • Top up anywhere, anytime - in the new app or at PayPoint shops as usual
  • Enjoy some breathing space - get £5 emergency credit straight from each of your meters, or call us if you need more
  • Always be in the know - if you've got an In-Home Display, this can tell you how much energy you're using and alert you when you're low on credit (find out about In-Home Displays)
  • And if you run out of credit on weekdays between 4pm and 10am, or anytime on weekends and bank holidays - we'll make sure you don't lose power

What's different on PAYG Smart

 

  • You'll get a new Boost app - we'll tell you all about it in a few weeks and give you a link to download it
  • You can't track your energy use in the new app - but you can do it with the help of your In-Home Display (if you have one)
  • £30 Emergency Boost won't be available in the new app - but you can activate £5 straight from each of your meters, or simply call us if you need more
  • Our text, email, and app credit alerts will stop - but an In-Home Display can tell you when you're running low If you don't have an In-Home Display and want to get one, we'll be sending more info about how to do this, when we move you to PAYG Smart.  We'll tell you all about these changes in more detail below.

 

How will I know when I move to PAYG Smart?

 

You'll get an email or letter reminder at least 5 days before the move, and another (with a link to download the new Boost app) when your brand-new plan kicks in.

 

There’s more info on our website here

 

FAQs


Why can’t I have PAYG+?
We’re in the process of changing our smart products. This means that we aren’t currently setting anybody up on PAYG+, as we’ll shortly be transitioning over to a new app. 

Why does my app say that my account is inactive?
This means that you’ve been changed from PAYG+ to PAYG Smart - you should have received a communication regarding this. 

Can I still get a smart meter?
Yes, smart meter bookings are still available, and you’ll be able to see your balance on your meter or your In-Home Display (IHD).

When will the new app be available?
We don’t have a confirmed date yet, but we’ll be contacting our customers to let them know once it’s available to them and how they can access it.

How can I top up if I can’t use the app?
You can still top up at an in-store PayPoint using the payment cards provided. The top ups will automatically reach your meter, but it’s a good idea to keep receipts just in case. 

Will I still be able to apply for the Warm Home Discount?
Yes, it’ll be exactly the same as before. You’ll be able to apply and, if you get it, we’ll add it to your electricity meter. More info on our FAQs here

How can I view my balance without the app?
On PAYG Smart you will be able to view your Gas and Electricity balances on either your In Home Display (IHD) or via the display on your Gas or Electricity meter.

I don’t have an IHD - how can I get one?
Reach out to us to request this here

271 replies

M
Rank
Userlevel 1

This is probably why my boost app hasnt updated for 13 days now apart from the daily standing charge.

Can you tell me, once the new app is available will the credit balance automatically switch over to the new app?

 

 

Alice_Boost
Rank
Userlevel 1

Hey @MikeYorks there should be no change to that feature, the usage will still be updated once a day. I’d message the team to run through a smart meter health check, which will get to the bottom of the communication issue you’re having here- facebook.com/boostpoweruk.

 

Thanks

P
Rank
Userlevel 4

I’ve had no problems with boost for the past 2+ years. Now you’re ‘upgrading’ it, but whats really happening is we’re losing functionality. I liked the rolling top-up feature. Set it and forget it. Now I’m going to have to manually top up every week instead. Also the energy usage on the IHD is less helpful than the app usage reporting feature. I was hoping for increased information in the app, like day/night energy usage. Now I find its all going away? 

Eva_Boost
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Userlevel 4
Badge +1

We appreciate your feedback, @Patrick Wills, we’ll pass it onto the team! :)

N
Rank
Userlevel 4

I am very annoyed at Boost, received an email from them telling me that they are making some changes some of which I have listed. My thoughts are after the **


 You’ll get a new Boost app - we’ll tell you all about it in a few weeks and give you a link to download it  ** great I can't wait!

 You can’t track your energy use in the new app - but you can do it by looking at your meter or your IHD  ** the IHD (In Home Display) is a pain to use at times.

£30 Emergency Boost won’t be available in the new app - but you can activate £5 straight from each of your meters, or simply call us if you need more  ** wonderful, more time in a queue. 

Our text, email, and app credit alerts will stop - but an IHD can tell you when you’re running low   ** if you forget to check the IHD you will find out when you lose power.

 You’ll need to top up your gas and electricity meters separately - they won’t automatically share your credit anymore.   ** let us make life even more difficult for you by making you track 2 balances and top up twice.

Winter Wallet is coming to an end. If you’ve got savings in yours, they’re still safe and sound: we’ll pop them into your account as credit. ** being able to save money ready for winter helped a lot.

** In my view they have taken a very useable service and looked into how to make it harder for everyone.  If you are on a low income then having one top-up to cover both meters is easier as you won't run out of electricity and have a big credit on the gas or vice versa.  

If you are elderly or disabled then stopping text and email in preference to the IHD could be troublesome.  With text and email you can set the font size to make it easier to read, the IHD has no way (that I can find) to change the font size.

I
Rank
Userlevel 4

I top up via the app atm as well as check my balance and it just works. It is the only reason I moved to ovo and by default to boost and now your taking the functionality out of the accounts and taking a step back to the year 2000. I know I am now going to leave simply because what was a dream system to use is going to become unuseable and complicated. I usually get the warm home discount but I am leaving even at the risk of losing that.

 

P
Rank
Userlevel 4

Guys this is a total regression on features, you're making your stance in the market less appealing. There's no real explanation as to why you're doing this too, you can only assume you're going to try and repackage and sell these features back to us with a + upgrade or something along them lines.

If you value your business and customers you'd stop this regression, it will only be inevitable that you'll hemorrhage customers due to this focus.

Do the right thing and leave things as they are, and build on the features you have, not take them away and try and sell them back.

C
Rank
Userlevel 4

I also don’t a agree with boost changeing how prepayment customers to top up etc 

H
Rank
Userlevel 4

I've had to register to post how unhappy I am about this "improvement" You're taking away all the really useful facilities of the payg+ app and replacing it with a substandard version!

I can already top up anywhere, top up BOTH accounts at the same time and check my usage very easily. I also use the winter wallet every year, another great idea, now gone! If you do carry on with this change then I will have no option than to take my business elsewhere!

F
Rank
Userlevel 3

Looks like I will be leaving don't like the changes that are coming will vote with my feet take my business elsewhere

A
Rank
Userlevel 4

I suppose the good times wouldn’t last forever its a shame but this is the beginning of the end for BOOST, everything that made the service different and better has been stripped. I will be searching for a new supplier tonight and doubt I will be the only one. Trust has also been lost as you have presented a de-evolution of your services as a great thing for us how? Can someone from BOOST please break down how this is better for ANYONE. It’s not better, with the current app I can clearly see how much gas I am using and its cost, how much electricity I am using, and its cost. All from one single account how does having that split benefit me. The £30 breathing space gave me a great deal of wiggle room throughout the month £5 on 2 separate meters will affect this and I now expect to have multiple cut off throughout the month, the reason I moved to BOOST was to eliminate this as it was a problem with previous suppliers and you have now switched to the model that has caused us all so many problems. 

You were a good company and you will be missed but we all see how companies like BOOST have been coming and going in recent years. I’ll not be waiting for the inevitable failure and closure of BOOST it happened before and I was shipped back to a supplier I had left as the new supplier closed.

 

Anyone moderating these forums I’d run back to your bosses as quick as you can and tell them there is 0% support for this change and feel free to refer to your clients as rats (deserting a sinking ship)  

*UPDATE #1 - 5 mins later: OCTOPUS ENERGY is the front runner for me at the moment.

See how easy it is. BIG BIG MISTAKE BOOST

*UPDATE #2 - 15 mins later I’m switched as of OCT 10th. Fixed-price £90 a month (in winter I was putting over £250 a month in summer about £80 - £100) and there is extras for my disabled child.

BOOST was right this is the best thing they could have done….FOR ME not them!! 

P
Rank
Userlevel 4

Yep looks like it's time to move on boys and girls, when I've got some free time this weekend I'm off. Feel sorry for the general employees of boost however, get your CVs ready you'll be needing it shortly.

C
Rank
Userlevel 4

I will be also looking to move when I find someone to go to . how are you meant to check your meters when you are on holiday or in hospital and will also miss the winter wallet 

 

 

E
Rank
Userlevel 3

Why would you do this? You’re turning into the exact companies that I left to come to you! 
 

I loved that whilst I was overseas I could check my balance and top up if I was running low, or if I got a text alert just put some credit on, not have to physically press the button to put the emergency credit on, not easily done from 5500 miles away! Then coming home to defrosted freezer and flooded a kitchen because of it!    

This never happened with Boost, this is why you were different and why I recommended you to everyone I spoke to but now I’m going to look elsewhere as I can’t see how the new Boost is going to be better for me when it’s pretty much the same as the company I was with before!

Tim_Boost
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Userlevel 6
Badge +2

Thanks for reaching out here to let us know your thoughts on this change. It’s really good feedback, and I’m keen to understand it better so we have this insight and can use it to better shape PAYG Smart. 

 

Our moderators will be checking these comments to answer any specific technical questions you have. But for now, @Emm_jay76 @Craig5201 @MikeYorks @adipauleng @Paceee @ferret76 @Happyhaddock @Ian_C @Namirred @Patrick Wills can you tell me the feature you’ll miss most from PAYG+ and why? 

 

There’s no doubt that the new Smart PAYG is a more simple proposition, with a clear per-meter balance and easy to use layout. So help us to understand what bits of the old you will miss. And also please come back to use in October to let us know how you find the new app!

I
Rank
Userlevel 4

It is as people have already said, Being able to view the balance in the app of the combined fuels instead of having to look at the meters which for most people are under sinks or tucked away making them difficult to read. The smart meter in home display is really aweful and to be honest I unplugged mine a long time ago.

Like I said in my post, I came to OvO because they did the top up via a app and that it was one payment fits all and that I could see everything in the app.

You say the new system is simpler so what is simpler than opening a app and seeing that I need to top up and topping up right there and then ? Is going to look at the ihd and working out how much I need to put on both fuels ? then opening the app and topping up. So in the end we have to open the app anyway so why not just leave it as it is.

H
Rank
Userlevel 4

For me it's being able to check my balance/usage for both accounts,and top up from from anywhere, especially while on holiday! I also use the winter wallet each year as it makes budgeting for winter so much easier.

I really hope you do take our comments on board and stop these backwards changes. I'm sure you have no wish to alienate and lose your customer base, especially in these uncertain times.

P
Rank
Userlevel 4

Thanks for reaching out here to let us know your thoughts on this change. It’s really good feedback, and I’m keen to understand it better so we have this insight and can use it to better shape PAYG Smart. 

 

Our moderators will be checking these comments to answer any specific technical questions you have. But for now, @Emm_jay76 @Craig5201 @MikeYorks @adipauleng @Paceee @ferret76 @Happyhaddock @Ian_C @Namirred @Patrick Wills can you tell me the feature you’ll miss most from PAYG+ and why? 

 

There’s no doubt that the new Smart PAYG is a more simple proposition, with a clear per-meter balance and easy to use layout. So help us to understand what bits of the old you will miss. And also please come back to use in October to let us know how you find the new app!

For me the most important feature is the rolling top-up. I don’t have to check my balance to see when i need to put more money on. I use the winter wallet to save extra through the summer so when the heating needs to go on, I’ve got that reserve in place to cover the more expensive winter months without changing my rolling top up amount. I also put my IHD away last year because I never used it and it was awkward and uninformative to use. I open the app and I can see how much I’ve spent by day, week or month. I switched to a smart meter so I wouldn’t have to drive 20 minutes into town just to top up my power. What you’re doing is taking away all the features we like and use the most and trying to persuade us we’re getting a better deal? I’ve been on the fence for a while about getting a credit meter installed and paying monthly. I’ve only stayed so far because a weekly payment is easier. The convenience kept me here despite the savings i could make with a credit meter. Now thats going away I’ve got no reason not to change.

What should be happening is a new app that gives more detail into our energy use, day/night usage, charts and analytic information. It doesn't even need to be a new app, just improve the current one. Whoever came up with this idea  needs to have a long think about what effect this is going to have on the customers, and the business when we leave.

C
Rank
Userlevel 4

For me it’s 

 

1. balance To be able to see it when ever we want

  1. wallet  as we don’t have to remember which meter to top up on ( that’s why I join up to ovo/ boost )
  1. Extra emergency credit as we don’t have to call up and ask . If the app did all we need then staff can help more people instead of sorting extra credit out 
C
Rank
Userlevel 4

I forgot about the winter wallet I also love to save thought summer 

J
Rank
Userlevel 3

For all the changes you are making to the system is utter rubbish. For me it was so easy to open the app add money and also save in the winter wallet so come the winter time I dont have to worry about topping up for a while. The ease of just opening the app up and seeing how much you got left and if your close to an empty balance the texts the emails was great. 

With what your doing now will make it alot harder as I don't have an ihd unit never have done and to now needing one of these and also spilling the payments down to the middle to top each meter is appalling. 

 

As a company your suppose to move forward not backwards. If I wanted to spilt my payments down the middle I would of stayed with a key meter and now with a smart meter. Seems like boost has taken 3 steps back in listening to there customers and making things harder at the same time. 

H
Rank
Userlevel 4

Can I ask if there's a charge for an IHD meter, I've never had one.

Amy_Boost
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Userlevel 3
Badge +1

There’s no charge, @Happyhaddock, please pop the team a message on Facebook, we’ll get one ordered for you.

Thanks!

Here to offer Top (up) advice!
C
Rank
Userlevel 4

Mine IHD broken ages ago and you wanted me to £65 looks like I’m going to be stuck now if I choose to stay 

Amy_Boost
Rank
Userlevel 3
Badge +1

That’s odd to hear, @Craig5201, we don’t charge for IHD’s, pop the team a message on Facebook, we’ll check this out! 

Thanks.

Here to offer Top (up) advice!

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