More control,
less surprises
Your handy guide to using your
‘pay as you go’ gas meter
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 gas
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
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Only use your Economy Energy card
Top up your credit regularly, even over the summer months
Only use emergency credit in an emergency
Check your meter regularly
Keep receipts for your own records
Keep your card in a safe place
Let us know when you move home
Have a pen and paper if you contact us
Be near your meter when you contact us
Check our website for handy energy saving advice
A
B
First things first
Before you top up
The first thing you need to do is activate your new card.
It’s really easy. Simply pop the card into your meter and leave
it in for 60 seconds whilst it updates your meter.
1
INSERT
CARD
2
PRESS BUTTON A
Important
If you don’t leave the card in for a full 60 seconds your meter
won’t recognise your card. This means you won’t be able
to use any of the gas you buy with it.
We’re here to help – call 0333 103 9053 |
8am – 8pm Mon to Fri and 8am – 6pm Sat
Topping up
Where to top up?
You can top up your new gas card from
thousands of outlets across the country.
You can buy credit from any retail outlet displaying
the PayPoint symbol. For details of your nearest
outlet visit paypoint.co.uk or give us a call.
Petrol Station
Newsagent
Supermarket
Topping up
How much to top up?
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 £249 credit on your meter.
Top up tips
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 gas you use.
We’re here to help – call 0333 103 9053 |
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 you use your gas appliances, the more units
you’ll use and the faster your credit will go down.
8am – 8pm Mon to Fri and 8am – 6pm Sat
A
B
After topping up
Transfer the credit to your meter
Put your card into the meter. Wait 60 seconds.
Your credit will show on the screen.
Remove your card.
1
INSERT
CARD
2
PRESS BUTTON A
If you’re topping up after having run out of gas,
for your safety, the meter may ask you to
check that all gas appliances are off.
If they are, press and hold RED BUTTON A.
This will turn your gas supply back on.
Emergency credit
Sometimes things don’t go to plan
If you can’t get to your local outlet to top up and you need
How to use emergency credit
Put your card in the meter then:
gas immediately, you can get up to £5 of emergency credit
1. Check all your gas appliances are switched off.
in the summer and £10 in the winter (October – March).
2. You’ll see a message: ‘PRESS BUTTON A to accept
We don’t charge for using the emergency credit (standing
charges may still apply). After you’ve used up your emergency
3. Press the RED BUTTON A
credit, you’ll need to pay it back as well as pay for the gas
you’re using.
To see how much you owe, just check the ‘OWED screen’.
You won’t be able to use emergency credit again until it’s
paid back.
We’re here to help – call 0333 103 9053 |
the emergency credit’.
and your emergency
credit is ready to use.
A
4. To see how much credit you need to pay back (emergency
credit and standing charges) press Button A twice.
8am – 8pm Mon to Fri and 8am – 6pm Sat
Money worries?
Don’t wait, pick up the phone
Make your top ups last longer
We’re all human and sometimes talking about
money troubles can be the first step towards
sorting things out.
Everyday things – like controlling
your heating properly – make a
big difference to your gas usage.
If you’re struggling financially and falling behind with
other household bills, we’ve partnered with StepChange
DebtCharity who may be able to help.
Visit economyenergy.co.uk/tips
for lots of free energy saving
advice that’ll help your top
ups last longer.
Expert personal advice is available on freephone
0800 138 1111 (Mon to Fri 8am – 8pm and Saturday
8am – 4pm), or online at www.stepchange.org
Using the LCD screens
You might find these useful
To flick between screens keep pressing BUTTON A.
You might need to insert your gas card.
Gas safety
information
Red ‘display
button A’
(you can
see meter
information
on here by
pressing ‘A’)
Meter reading
LCD screen
(you can
see your
credit and
view display
screens
from here)
Card slot
Screen
Information
00
How much credit you last put on the meter
01
Last amount of credit taken for any debt
02
Last amount of purchased credit taken to repay emergency credit
03
Last amount given for gas
10 /17
Your unit rate /daily standing charge
22
Amount of emergency credit you’ll be offered
25
The minimum debt repayment you’ll pay in a week
26
The maximum debt repayment you’ll pay in a week
27
The amount owed to supplier through charges (e.g. lost card)
Owed
Press A Button (red) twice to see how much credit you need to pay
back (emergency credit used and standing charges accrued). This
will reduce if you add enough credit to your meter
Meter Serial
Number (MSN)
We’re here to help – call 0333 103 9053 |
8am – 8pm Mon to Fri and 8am – 6pm Sat
Something wrong?
Problem
Possible cause
Things to check
What to do about it
‘Card not accepted’ message
appearing on your meter
when card inserted.
There may be dust on the card.
Have a look around for other gas
cards you might have and insert
these one by one until the error
does not show anymore.
You can top up on the card that works and we will refund you
for any lost top ups.
There is a fault with your card. Call us.
If you continue seeing the same message, you need
a replacement card.
You might be topping up on the
wrong card.
Display screen does not
change when card
inserted into the meter.
Your card may be faulty.
Insert your card in the meter the
opposite way round from usual. If
the display does not change then
you have a meter fault.
‘Card fail’ message
appearing on your meter.
There may be dust on the
card, or your card has been
placed into the meter slot the
wrong way round.
Wipe the card with a dry cloth
and try again. Ensure card is
being inserted into the meter
correctly.
Problem
Possible cause
Things to check
What to do about it
Replacement card required.
Lost, stolen or faulty card.
If you’ve lost your card we
recommend that you look for
it once more before taking any
action as there may be a charge
for a replacement card.
If you still can’t find your card, you’ll need to get a
replacement card. You can do this by calling us.
Blank screen.
A screen saver is on your meter
which will make the screen go
blank when not in use to save your
battery.
Press RED BUTTON A or insert your
card to reactivate the screen.
If the screen does not reactivate and you have no gas, your
battery may be flat. Call us.
Blank screen. Meter has
turned off.
Meter has run out of
emergency credit.
Dashes on screen or
meter displays ‘CALL HELP’.
We’re here to help – call 0333 103 9053 |
Ensure all appliances are switched off. We recommend you
top up at least £15 to pay back the emergency credit and
have credit available for gas. Once you have topped up,
insert the card and follow the on screen instructions.
Call us.
8am – 8pm Mon to Fri and 8am – 6pm Sat
Oops. Lost your card?
These things do happen.
Don’t panic. If you lose your card please call
us on 0333 103 9053 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 card costs £7 to replace which will come
off your balance at £1 per week.
economyenergy.co.uk
Economy Energy
If you smell gas and
think there’s a problem
call National Grid on
0800 111 999 without delay.
Friars House Manor House Drive Coventry CV1 2TE