More control, less surprises

Transcription

1 More control, less surprises Your handy guide to using your pay as you go electricity meter

2 Pay as you go. Take control. Having a pay as you go meter is a great way to help you budget and keep on top of how much electricity you re using. You only pay for what you use and you don t need to worry about getting behind with payments. Top 10 tips 1. Only use your Economy Energy key 2. Top up your credit regularly, even over the summer months 3. Only use emergency credit in an emergency 4. Check your meter regularly 5. Keep receipts for your own records 6. Keep your key in a safe place 7. Let us know when you move home 8. Have a pen and paper if you contact us 9. Be near your meter when you contact us 10. Check our website for handy energy saving advice

3 First things first Before you top up The first thing you need to do is activate your new key. It s really easy. Simply pop the key into your meter and leave it in for 60 seconds whilst it updates your meter. Important If you don t leave the key in for a full 60 seconds your meter won t recognise your key. This means you won t be able to use any of the electricity you buy with it. We re here to help call am 7:30pm Mon to Fri and 8am 5:30pm Sat

4 Topping up Where to top up? You can top up your new electricity key from thousands of outlets across the country. You can buy credit from any retailer displaying the PayPoint symbol, at a Payzone outlet or at your local Post Office. Petrol Station Newsagent Supermarket

5 Topping up How much to top up? Top up tips The good thing about having a pay as you go meter is that you control what you spend. You can top up whenever you like, and hopefully now that you re with Economy Energy you won t have to top up quite so often. You can buy any amount of credit in whole pounds up to a maximum of 49 per transaction. You can have up to 255 credit on your meter. When you top up and transfer the credit to your meter it ll gradually go down. This is because you ll pay a daily standing charge (if applicable) and a unit rate for the amount of electricity you use. Depending on your tariff you my have a daily fixed charge that goes towards the cost of supplying services to your home. It includes the cost of the pipes and power lines, and maintenance of your meters. A unit rate is what we charge for each unit of energy (kilowatt-hour) you use. The more electricity you use, the more units you ll use and the faster your credit will go down. We re here to help call am 7:30pm Mon to Fri and 8am 5:30pm Sat

6 After topping up Transfer the credit to your meter Insert the key and the meter display will show TOKEN ACCEPTED. The meter display will change to show how much credit has been transferred from your key. The meter display amount will reduce as electricity is used.

7 Emergency credit...that s friendly Sometimes things don t go to plan If you can t get to your local outlet to top up and you need electricity, you can get up to 5 of emergency credit. To activate your emergency credit, insert your key in the meter when the credit is below 1 then press the blue button to accept the borrowed credit when prompted. We don t add additional charges for using emergency credit but daily standing charges may apply. After you ve used up your emergency credit, you ll need to pay it back as well as pay for the electricity you re using. To see how much you owe, just check the B screen. We never want you to be left without power. If you run out of electricity credit after 3pm weekdays, your electricity will not go off until 9am the next day. If you run out after 3pm Friday, your electricity will not go off until 9am Monday, or a Tuesday if it s a Bank Holiday. We re here to help call am 7:30pm Mon to Fri and 8am 5:30pm Sat

8 Money worries? Don t wait, pick up the phone We re all human and sometimes talking about money troubles can be the first step towards sorting things out. If you re struggling financially and falling behind with other household bills, we ve partnered with StepChange Debt Charity who may be able to help. Expert personal advice is available on freephone (Mon to Fri 8am - 8pm and Saturday 8am - 4pm), or online at Make your top ups last longer Everyday things like turning the telly off at the wall make a big difference to your electricity usage. Visit economyenergy.co.uk/tips for lots of free energy saving advice that ll help your top ups last longer.

9 Using the LCD screens You might find these useful To flick between screens keep pressing the BLUE button. You ll need your key for certain screens. Screen Information A or 1 The amount of credit available. E or 3 F or 4 The total amount of credit the meter has received since it was last reset by an engineer. The amount of standing charge and debt (if applicable) that your meter collects each week. H or 5 Your meter reading. LCD display Blue display button Meter reading Key slot I or 6 Your unit rate. Your key must be inserted to see the following display: R or 7 The amount of emergency credit your meter will give you, if you need to use it. Meter Serial Number (MSN) B or 2 The amount you need to put into the meter before it returns to normal. We re here to help call am 7:30pm Mon to Fri and 8am 5:30pm Sat

10 Something wrong? Problem Possible cause Things to check What to do about it Credit not accepted at top up outlet. Check receipt for Credit Failed. Return to the same outlet with your key & receipt the outlet will load the credit onto the device. Credit not transferring onto meter, or Error message shown on display. Or meter states key is not accepted. Key needs cleaning. Clean key of dirt/dust. Wipe the key with a dry cloth and re-insert. Key has been damaged. Call us to arrange to get a replacement key from participating outlets. Key inserted incorrectly. Check that you aren t inserting the key the wrong way round. Re-insert the key in the correct way. Key meter is beeping or display shows E. Meter is running out of credit. When transferring credit from key to meter, if the meter beeps 5 times, this indicates that the transfer has failed. If the display shows TOKEN ACCEPTED but no value is displayed it means there is no credit on the key. If an ERROR message is displayed on your meter, please call us.

11 Problem Possible cause Things to check What to do about it Meter has run out of credit. You must buy credit from your local outlet immediately. Or use the emergency credit facility. Power cut. Check if your neighbours still have electricity. If they don t have electricity call your local distributor or look in the Phone Directory for their number. Loss of supply. Fuses blown or main switch failure. Check your own fuses and trip switch. If appliances are still not working you ll need to contact an electrician. Meter is running out of credit. Check the B screen on your meter for the minimum top up amount. We recommend you top up at least 15 to pay back the emergency credit and have credit available for electricity. Key has been lost. Call us to get a replacement key. The key costs 7 to replace which will come off your balance at 1 per week. We re here to help call am 7:30pm Mon to Fri and 8am 5:30pm Sat

12 Oops. Lost your key? Less talk, more action These things do happen. Don t panic. If you lose your key please call us on as soon as you can. We ll normally pop a replacement in the post, but please let us know if you need one quicker. The key costs 7 to replace which will come off your balance at 1 per week. Please contact the electricity helpline available 24/7 by dialling 105. They will connect you to your local network operator. These guys look after all the cables that connect your neighbourhood to the electricity grid. If you are on the Priority Service Register please call and your case will be treated as urgent. economyenergy.co.uk Economy Energy Friars House Manor House Drive Coventry CV1 2TE