Get help with your Smart Pay As You Go meter.

Get the right advice for your meter.
If you want advice on a particular Smart Pay As You Go meter or you need help identifying yours, we've got you covered.
Explore helpful videos about Smart Pay As You Go meters.
Get help with your emergency credit or if you've been disconnected.
How can I activate my emergency credit?
If your balance falls below £2 and you can’t top up your meter straight away, you can activate your emergency credit - £10 for electricity and £10 for gas. Once the emergency credit is used up, your supply will disconnect unless you top up.
See how to activate your emergency credit for your particular meter.
What are friendly hours?
Our friendly hours are times that your meter won’t disconnect (even if you run out of credit). These are Monday to Friday 4pm - 10am, weekends and UK bank holidays.
Next time you top up you’ll need to pay for any energy you use during those times, plus emergency credit, any overdue repayment plan payments and the daily standing charge.
How to get back on supply after your meter has been disconnected.
If you’ve been disconnected, your smart in-home display will show you how much you need to top up.
Once you’re back in credit, to get your supply back on you’ll need to follow the instructions depending on your meter type.
Get your top up questions answered.
How can I top up online?
You can top up by credit/debit card using the mobile, tablet and desktop-friendly versions of our website or by using our app.
How and where can I top up at the shop?
You can top up at Payzone and PayPoint outlets, as well as the Post Office. Just show your personal barcode(s) and the payment will be made directly to your meter.
You can find your barcode in your online account or, we may have sent you a copy in the post. You might want to print these out or save them on your phone so you've always got them handy.
I need to enter a valid amount when I'm topping up. What does this mean?
You can top up with a minimum of £1 and a maximum of £80 per meter when using a credit/debit card. This limit is lower when topping up by cash at £49.
When topping up by cash you can only top up in whole pounds (eg. £10), however topping up online lets you top up any amount (eg. £10.11).
You won't be able to top up if it takes you over your £500 limit per meter. If it’s going to take you over your limit, we'll let you know on screen and you'll be able to enter a smaller amount.
How can I get support if I'm struggling to pay?
If you’re struggling to pay for your energy we have a range of payment support and independent advice available - from grants funded by the E.ON Next Energy Fund to free, personalised and impartial debt support from StepChange. For mental health support visit our charity partner Mind. Or get in touch and we’ll do all we can to help.
We can set up a long term, affordable repayment plan and we might also be able to offer you extra credit (you'll still need to pay this back but we won’t charge you any extra for this).
Can I change from Smart Pay As You Go to a smart credit?
Yes, to talk to us about changing the mode of your meter, just email us at hi@eonnext.com or just give us a call on 0808 501 5200.
If you switch to a credit meter you'll pay for your energy monthly by Direct Debit or we'll send you a bill (which you’ll need to pay in 7 days). We'll need to either change your meter or, if possible, switch it remotely to credit mode. You'll need to pass a credit check and be up to date with your payments. If so, we’ll offer this within a reasonable time frame.
If your circumstances mean that Smart PAYG is not safe or practical, it's really important that you talk to us so we can help.
Frequently asked questions about balance and meters.
What type of meter do I have?
It's worth checking what meter type you have as some of our instructions below are dependent on whether you have an earlier SMETS1 smart meter or a newer SMETS2 smart meter. They can also change depending on your meter manufacturer, eg: L&G or EDMI.
How do you collect my standing charge?
We take your daily standing charge from the credit that's on your meter. This happens around midnight.
What to do if a payment hasn't reached your meter straight away and we've sent you a code.
If your payment hasn’t reached your meter, you can easily top up using the 20 digit top up code (sometimes referred to as a UTRN) that we'll send to you with your payment confirmation.
How do I check my balance?
You can check your balance on your meter or your in-home display. See our guides for how to check the balance on your particular meter. Your online account will show what your balance was at midnight.
How can I check how much energy I'm using?
If you think you are using more energy that you should be on your Smart Pay As You Go meter, you can switch your In Home Display to a weekly or monthly usage view so you can track how much energy you’re using per week or month.
My smart in-home display isn't working?
First, turn it off, take it near your meter and then turn it on again. After a few minutes, once the date and time are showing, it should be working again. If not, get in touch and we'll see what we can do to help.
What will happen to my Smart Pay As You Go account if I change supplier?
If you switch both your gas and electricity to a new supplier, we’ll switch both of your Pay As You Go meters over to standard credit meters and then send you a final bill. This final bill will cover any energy used up to when you start with your new supplier.
If there’s anything to pay, you’ll need to pay this in full or get in touch with us to set up an affordable arrangement. If your bill shows a credit, we’ll automatically add this to your account.
Around the time of you leaving us to joining your new supplier, you’ll lose some of the smart functionality of your Smart Pay As You Go meter.
What happens when my debt is paid off?
When you’ve finished paying your debt, we’ll stop collecting your repayments from your meter automatically.
If having a prepayment or SPAYG meter doesn’t work for you, we may be able to offer a different option, such as a Direct Debit. To change your meter we’d need to run a credit check and potentially take a security deposit - but don’t worry, we’ll go over this with you.
You can check your balance and your debt amount anytime on your meter.
How to check your SPAYG meter.
There are many different types of SPAYG meters - pop over to how to check your SPAYG meter to get your info.
How to check your prepayment meter.
For gas:
Press and hold the red button 'A' until you hear a beep or the display on the meter changes.
Now press the red button 'A' again until you get to screen 27.
Screen 27 will show you the total debt balance left to pay.
For electricity:
Insert your electricity key into the meter.
Press the blue button until you see the letter 'S' which will show you the outstanding balance on your meter.
How do price changes work?
If your prices need to change we’ll let you know and we’ll send your new prices to your meter. If for some reason this doesn’t work we’ll investigate and fix this in a reasonable timescale.
What information appears on my electricity and gas statement?
We’ll send you a yearly statement with the following important information:
Your previous balance - is the balance from your last statement.
Energy use and costs - shows how much energy you've used and any standing charges and how these are worked out. (If you've switched tariffs, you'll see separate calculations based on the different energy prices).
Payments - how much you’ve topped up, plus any additional support payments such as temporary credit and government scheme payments (like the Warm Home Discount).
Balance - this should match up with the balance on your meter on the date this statement charges you up until. It's important to know, this amount is not a request for payment.
For answers to questions such as what is a standing charge, please head to our billing pages where you can find more information.
More useful information about smart meters.
Are smart meters good for the environment?
Have a read through our blog post to discover how you can switch to a smart meter and do your bit for the environment.

Saving power, pennies and the planet.
Check out our energy efficiency page for our latest energy saving tricks and tips.
Still need to get in touch with us?
We've got a number of ways you can get in touch with us through our community forum, WhatsApp or by email and phone.
Contact us by social media.
You can contact us by email or WhatsApp to get a response within hours. We're here to help you 8am - 10pm, 7 days a week. We’ve got all hands on deck and fingers on keyboards to answer questions or concerns as quickly as possible.
Contact us by email.
Drop us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can:
Home related emails: hi@eonnext.com
Business related emails: hellobusiness@eonnext.com
Contact us by phone.
If you prefer giving us a ring, know that our lines are open 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday, 9am - 4pm Friday.
Speech or hearing impaired customers can put 18001 in front of our phone number to use text relay at no extra cost. You can find out more on the Relay UK website.
Home related calls: 0808 501 5200
Business related calls: 0808 501 5699
We're always still here for you after 5pm or over the weekend if you have an emergency with your prepayment or credit meter. You can either call 0808 501 5088, or you can email us or get in touch on our Social Media channels.
Why not head over to our community forum?
Chat with other customers just like you to get some hot tips and the latest news.





