We hate goodbyes, but if you want to leave Octopus, all you need to do is sign up with another supplier. We’ll send you a final statement and close up your account.

If your top up meter is in credit, we’ll refund you

If your meter is in credit, we’ll send your refund 3 to 5 working days after we send your final bill. We'll get in touch requesting your bank details so we can send the refund to your bank account.

If your account is in debt, we may transfer the debt to your new supplier

Account debt is sometimes called ‘gas debt’ or ‘electricity debt’ (if your meter isn't a smart meter, it could also be called ‘meter debt’). Usually, you would repay part of this debt each time you top up.

If you have account debt when you leave Octopus, we may transfer it to your new supplier. If we do, they’ll set up a repayment plan with you.

If you have a smart meter, you can see your account debt by 

If you have a traditional electricity meter:

Don’t forget to use your new supplier’s key or card

Once your new supplier has sent your new key or card, don’t forget to use them to top up.

It's a good idea to keep your gas card from Octopus, though. If you lose your new gas card and you’re running out of credit, you can use your Octopus card while you wait for a new one to arrive.

You won’t be able to use your Octopus electricity key again once you've switched.

Leaving Octopus if you have a prepay meter

 The first time you use your prepay key or card

If you're unable to top up your meter for a long period of time, your meter will build up standing charge debt. Standing charge is the cost of keeping you connected to the network. The fee is taken from your meter every day, even if you're not using gas or electricity.

So if you top up your meter after a long period of time, and your credit doesn't last as long as you were expecting, some of it may have been taken to repay standing charge debt.

You can look up the cost of your daily standing charge at 

Topping up after a long period of time

Your meter might be sleeping! Press one of the buttons on the meter to see if it wakes up.

If you have a prepayment meter and the screen shows the word "OFF", then you will need to reconnect that meter before you can use electricity or gas.

Why is my meter screen blank?

, where you can see common troubleshooting advice, use our IHD helper service, and request help from our team.

Why is the screen of my In-Home Display (IHD) blank?

If you would like to switch from prepayment to credit please get in touch with us so we can discuss the best option for your situation.

If I'm on prepayment can I go back onto a credit meter?

This depends on the type of prepayment meter you have.

How can I tell if I'm using prepayment emergency credit?

You can reconnect your supply via your In-Home Display (IHD, the small screen included with a smart meter install), and also on the meter itself.

Reconnecting supply via your In-Home Display (IHD)

Note: you can only reconnect your electricity meter from your IHD. You can only arm your gas meter, but you will still need to physically press buttons on the gas meter for your supply to reactivate. 

How do I reconnect my smart prepayment (PAYG) meter after being disconnected?

If you lose your card, please contact us on 0808 164 1088  or email us at 

Once you have a new card, if you find the old one it will no longer work.

In the meantime, if you have a smart prepayment meter you still top up using the Octopus app, your online account, or using the top-up number (PAN) which you can find on your online account, and any top up email we have sent you.

What should I do if I lose my prepayment top up card?

Yes! We currently support both smart and traditional prepayment meters for electricity and gas.

Do you support prepayment meters?

that Octopus have installed or can operate, you can use your online account or the phone app to make top ups. You can also call or email us to request a top up.

The most you can top up online or through the app is £81 per transaction.

You can also top up smart prepayment meters at any PayPoint vendor. Find your nearest one here: 

The most you can top up at a PayPoint vendor is £75 per transaction at PayPoint.

You can make multiple transactions if you'd like to top up more.

 you will need to take your electricity key or gas card to any Paypoint or Payzone store to top them up:

Please keep the receipt from the top up until the credit has been transferred to the meter.

The most you can top up is £75 per transaction (from the 23rd Sept 2022).

There is a hard limit of £255 total credit on an 

. If you try and top up above that limit, the top up won't be added to your meter.

Where can I top up my prepayment meter?

Where can I top up my meter?

If you top up and not all the credit has gone onto your prepayment meter, some may have gone towards paying off debt you have with us.

We'll usually take around £3.50 a week (per fuel) towards debt repayment, but you can let us know if you want to pay a different amount.

If you have used Emergency or Friendly Hours credit this will need to be paid back before more credit is added to your account. This is not normally more than £10.

We will always talk to you about what you can afford before we start taking anything.

Your meters have lots of information about your top ups and debt.

To check for a debt balance on your electricity meter, pop your key in the slot and press the blue button until it cycles to a screen marked 'S'. This amount is total debt.

To check on your gas, hold down the red button until you hear a beep, and then press it until the screen shows '27'. The figure on this screen shows any additional repayment balance added by your supplier. There is also a screen that says OWED. This will show if you have used your emergency credit or built up standing charges if your meter hasn't been topped up in a while.

If you need any help in working out your balances or would like to discuss how you make repayments, 

Where has my prepayment top up gone?

Where has my top up gone?

Traditional prepayment meters are programmed by the key or card that you use to top up. This means that if you top up using a key or card from a previous supplier, you'll still be paying their unit rates and standing charges.

You'll also miss out on other important things too, like our 

If your old key or card expires, you also risk losing power.

If you've switched to us, but have not received a top key or card for your prepayment meter, or your existing key/card has stopped working, just 

What happens if I top up using another supplier's key or card?

checking our "Where has my top up gone" FAQ here

If the credit you've topped up hasn't appeared on your meter, your key / card may be damaged or faulty.

 and we will be able to send you a new one.

What if my top up didn’t work or I have lost my key or card?

Our prepayment tariff prices will vary depending on your location. Please email 

How much is your Prepayment tariff?

We are able to support certain types of smart prepayment meter, and are continually working on adding more models to our list.

If you are interested in switching to smart prepayment, please let us know by 

If you have a meter we are not currently able to support, you will need your current supplier to switch it to credit mode, then you can switch to us and go back into prepayment mode once your switch has completed. A switch generally takes around 3 - 5 working days.

Can I still sign up with you if I have a smart prepayment meter?

If you are struggling with the charges on your meter, or topping up, 

 and one of our friendly team members will see what we can do to help.

Click here for more information on how we can help

 along with details to contact independent experts if you need extra support. 

There's also lots of useful information available on 

I can’t afford to pay off the debt on my meter, what can I do?

You need to pay for the energy you use, but if there is debt on your meter which is not yours we will be able to help. Please send the following information to hello@octopus.energy.

There is debt on my meter that is not mine, can you wipe it?

Why is there debt from a previous tenant on my meter?

When your meter is running low on credit, you are able to access emergency credit all year round.

is available on both your smart gas and / or electricity meter.

, you can activate emergency credit on your In-Home Display (the little screen which shows you information about your meter).

Want to know how to check if your smart prepayment meter is using emergency credit? We've 

If the meter screen is off, press either button once to wake it up. The screen will show a message about activating emergency credit.

Press either button once to activate emergency credit.

Important: If your supply is already off, make sure any electrical appliances are switched off before 

is available on a non-smart electricity meter.

, once you are down to the last £1 of your electricity credit, or £2 of your gas credit, you just need to insert your electricity key or gas card to activate the emergency credit.

Please be aware that any emergency credit you use will be taken off your balance the next time you top up.

emergency credit runs out and you can’t afford to top up

 then please contact us as soon as possible so we can help.

You can email us via emergencies@octopus.energy, or call us on 0808 164 1088. Our phone lines are open 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am - 4pm on a Friday.

We may be able to provide you with additional support to get back on supply. You will need to pay back any borrowed credit, but we can spread the cost so you’re only ever paying what you can afford.

What is emergency credit?

What is Emergency Credit?

Friendly credit hours are a feature on prepayment electricity meters that let customers keep using electricity, even after you run out of credit (or emergency credit) during evenings, weekends or Bank Holidays.

Our friendly credit hours depend on whether you have a traditional (non-smart) or smart prepayment meter.

If you run out of credit during these times, the supply won't shut off

. Instead, the cost of any energy you use will be added onto your meter as debt, and will then be deducted the next time you top-up.

You'll move automatically onto 'friendly credit' if you hit £0 on your meter.

Why are there no 'friendly credit' hours industry-wide for traditional prepayment gas meters?

A traditional (non-smart) gas meter will turn off if it reaches £0 at any time. Don't worry, we provide 

 so you have time to top up without your gas switching off.

For traditional (non-smart) meters, once you are down to the last £1 of your electricity credit or £2 of your gas credit, you just need to insert your electricity key or gas card to activate the emergency credit.

Please be aware that the emergency credit will be taken in full next time you top up.

I'm in a friendly credit period, but my meter has switched off?

here's what to do when you've got no gas or electricity

Prepayment

Including any questions you have about your old supplier.

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