Your Rights as a Prepayment Meter Customer in the UK — What Your Supplier Doesn’t Always Tell You

If you’re on a prepayment meter, you have strong legal rights that your energy supplier is obligated to uphold. Most people don’t know what these rights are — and some suppliers count on that.

This guide sets out exactly what you’re entitled to, in plain English. Keep it somewhere handy.

The most important thing to know first

Being on a prepayment meter does not mean you have fewer rights than a credit meter customer. In many ways, Ofgem’s rules give prepayment customers extra protections — precisely because self-disconnection (running out of credit) is recognised as a serious harm.

You have rights. Use them.

Your right to not be left without energy

This is the big one.

Your supplier cannot simply let you run out of energy and leave you without help. Under Ofgem’s rules, suppliers must take all reasonable steps to prevent self-disconnection — where a customer runs out of credit and loses their supply.

In practice this means:

You must be offered emergency credit when your balance runs low
You must have access to friendly credit hours — periods where your supply won’t cut off even if emergency credit is exhausted (typically evenings, weekends and bank holidays)
If you contact your supplier and tell them you are without energy, they must help you — including adding emergency credit remotely to a smart meter or providing a top up voucher

If your supplier refuses to help when you are without energy, this is a serious breach of their licence conditions. Report it to Ofgem.

Your right to affordable debt repayment

If you owe money to your supplier — whether from emergency credit use, a catch-up bill, or debt from a previous supplier — they cannot demand you repay it all at once if you can’t afford to.

Your supplier must:

Offer you a repayment plan that takes your financial situation into account
Set repayment at a level you can realistically afford
Review the repayment rate if your circumstances change

Ofgem’s rules say repayment deductions from your top ups should leave you with enough credit to actually use energy — not just repay debt. If your top ups are being swallowed entirely by debt repayment and you’re struggling to heat your home, tell your supplier this is happening.

Your right to a face-to-face visit if you’re struggling

If you tell your supplier you are in financial difficulty and struggling to top up, they are required to offer you a visit from a member of staff or a debt advice service. You don’t have to deal with this on the phone alone if you don’t want to.

Your right to the Priority Services Register

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free scheme run by energy suppliers and network operators. It gives extra support to customers who need it — including:

Older people (typically 65 and over)
People with a disability or long-term health condition
People with young children
People who are temporarily in a vulnerable situation (recovering from illness, recent bereavement, etc.)

Being on the PSR means:

Your supplier must make extra effort to contact you before any supply interruption
You get priority support during power cuts
You can nominate someone else to receive your bills or correspondence
Some suppliers offer additional services like free meter reads if you can’t access your meter safely

To get on the PSR, simply call your supplier and ask. It takes minutes and costs nothing. If you think you might qualify, register — there’s no downside.

Your right to the Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount is a one-off annual payment of £150 taken off your energy bill (or added to your prepayment meter) to help with heating costs.

You may qualify if:

You receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or
You’re on a low income and meet your supplier’s eligibility criteria

Eligibility and application processes vary by supplier. Some customers are added automatically. Others need to apply. Check your supplier’s website or call them to find out if you qualify — many people who are entitled to it never claim it.

Your right to switch supplier

Being on a prepayment meter does not stop you switching to a cheaper supplier. You have the same right to switch as any other customer.

However — if you are in debt to your current supplier of more than £500, they may be able to block your switch until the debt is cleared or a repayment plan is agreed. This is called a debt block. If this is happening to you, contact Citizens Advice for free guidance on how to resolve it.

Your right to move to a credit meter

You have the right to request a move from a prepayment meter to a credit meter. Your supplier cannot unreasonably refuse this.

They may carry out a credit check and may charge an installation fee in some circumstances — but if you have a legitimate reason for the request, they must consider it properly.

If you were moved onto a prepayment meter to repay a debt without your proper consent, this may have been done incorrectly. Contact Citizens Advice or the Energy Ombudsman if you believe this happened to you.

Your right to accurate billing

Your supplier must bill you based on accurate readings wherever possible. If your smart meter is not sending readings and you are being estimated, you have the right to:

Submit your own readings and have them accepted
Request that your supplier investigate why your smart meter is not sending readings
Have any catch-up bills reviewed if they are based on inaccurate estimates

If you have been significantly overcharged due to estimated billing, you are entitled to a correction and potentially a refund.

Your right to make a complaint — and have it resolved

If something has gone wrong and your supplier isn’t fixing it, you have a clear path to resolution:

Step 1 — Formal complaint to your supplier Always start here. Put your complaint in writing (email is fine) and ask for a complaint reference number. Your supplier has 8 weeks to resolve your complaint.

Step 2 — The Energy Ombudsman If 8 weeks pass without a satisfactory resolution — or if your supplier sends you a deadlock letter — you can escalate to the Energy Ombudsman for free. The Ombudsman is independent and can order your supplier to fix the problem, apologise, and pay you compensation.

You do not need a lawyer. You do not need to pay anything. This service exists for exactly this situation.

Step 3 — Ofgem For serious or widespread issues — particularly if your supplier is repeatedly breaching their licence conditions — you can report them to Ofgem. Ofgem cannot resolve individual complaints but they do act on patterns of behaviour.

What to say when you call your supplier

Suppliers respond faster when you use the right language. Here are the phrases that get results:

“I want to raise a formal complaint” — this triggers a regulated process with a deadline
“My meter has not been commissioned on your system” — use this if top ups aren’t working after a switch
“I am self-disconnected and need emergency credit” — makes clear you are without energy right now
“I am requesting a repayment plan under Ofgem’s guidelines” — shows you know your rights
“Please give me a complaint reference number” — always get this before you hang up
“I would like to be added to the Priority Services Register” — simple and effective

Keep a record of everything

Every time you contact your supplier, write down:

The date and time
The name of the person you spoke to
What they said and what they promised
Any reference numbers given

This record is invaluable if you need to escalate to the Ombudsman. The Smart Meter Problem Tracker on this site is designed to help you do exactly this.

Where to get free help

Citizens Advice — free, independent advice on energy rights and debt Energy Ombudsman — free dispute resolution if your supplier won’t fix the problem National Debtline — free advice if energy debt is part of a wider financial problemOfgem — the regulator, for reporting serious breaches

Still having problems with your smart meter?

If your PAYG smart meter isn’t working properly — top ups not going through, emergency credit not activating, meter gone dumb after switching — use the Smart Meter Health Check to find out what’s wrong and what to do next.

If your problem is ongoing, log it in the Problem Tracker so you have a proper record.

[🔍 Run the Health Check →]

[🚨 Log My Problem →]

This guide reflects Ofgem’s rules and general supplier obligations as of 2026. Individual supplier terms may vary. For advice specific to your situation, contact Citizens Advice.