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Original poster

Prepay electricity disaster - would appreciate advice

26 replies

MollyCrumble · 17/03/2018 22:12

Posted in AIBU for attention, sorry.

My son is a young vulnerable adults with ASD living independently. His electricity is down to single figure pennies and he's lost his prepay key. The local shop has replacement top up keys but you need a code from the supplier (Scottish Power) and they're shut until 8am Monday.

He doesn't have anyone local to go to stay with. Will his electricity cut out when the money's gone - different Internet sources say it will or it won't. He's used the emergency credit. We've ring social services and the housing association to no avail.

Any advice? Many thanks

OP posts:
Angie169 · 17/03/2018 22:16

Do Scottish Power have a emergency number ? although strictly speaking this would not be classed as a emergency you may be able to get though to someone that can advise you

Ditzyitzy · 17/03/2018 22:17

Nearly all pre-pay energy providers won’t shut the supply after between night and morning, it clicks over the emergency and he will owe them.

NewYearNewMe18 · 17/03/2018 22:17

Just googled this from their site - FAQs

posted by Gordon | 2 months ago
Re: Prepayment key
Hi @xx if you have credit on your electricity meter before the call centre closes on a Saturday then your electricity meter will stay on until the call centre re-opens on the Monday morning. Did you find this was the case? To order a new key you have either do this via your online account or call our customer service team on 0800 027 0072.

Nannyloubie · 17/03/2018 22:18

if we run out the emergency credit after 6pm it doesn’t actually go out until the next morning at 9.30ish and if it that happens on a Saturday if doesn’t go out until the Monday morning, would nvr cut out on a Sunday, we are with Scottish gas though

Original poster
MollyCrumble · 17/03/2018 22:18

Thanks Angie I rang the emergency number and the lady was very nice but it's a national call centre for all power suppliers that deals with power outages etc- no one actually available for Scottish Power until Monday.

OP posts:
Welldoneme · 17/03/2018 22:19

Don’t wish to sound harsh, but what do you think SS and the housing people can do?

LayerShortOfALasagne · 17/03/2018 22:19

I’m sure as he’s young and fit despite his asd he’ll be fine until Monday - even if he has to spend tomorrow in bed keeping warm! What’s he going to do long term though? Was he aware of the emergency credit? If so why didn’t he top it up? Lots more info needed!

Angie169 · 17/03/2018 22:19

oh and yes the power would go off , it does with mine and I am on prepay

Original poster
MollyCrumble · 17/03/2018 22:22

Oh gosh, thanks to all who've said it will stay on - that's reassuring. He's had a terrible day thanks to an incident of disability related verbal abuse and the thought of him being in the dark and cold without being able to charge his phone was worrying me.

OP posts:
NewYearNewMe18 · 17/03/2018 22:22

Lots more info needed! You don't need any more info at all - the OP isn't asking you to judge her ASD son and how he ran out of credit , shes asking how to resolve the situation

FluffyWuffy100 · 17/03/2018 22:23

Even if it does cut off its hardly an emergency - wrap up warm and sit in bed or on the sofa under a duvet.

TooManyPaws · 17/03/2018 22:24

Does he have a social worker? He may be officially classed as a Vulnerable Person due to his disability. Have you contacted your local council to report an Adult Concern? There will be a Duty Social Worker 24/7 who may be able to pass him on for other assistance if he doesn't fit the exact definition of Vulnerable Person at particular risk.

To be honest, Scottish Power should have an emergency number somewhere.

Can you afford to pay for him to go to somewhere like a Travel Lodge for a couple of nights as a last resort?

Angie169 · 17/03/2018 22:24

Mine goes off regardless to the time or day if I do not have enough credit , even if i have emergency credit available .

Original poster
MollyCrumble · 17/03/2018 22:27

As far as I know he was planning to top it up today but due to being distressed about the verbal abuse didn't get around to it until this evening when he realised he couldn't find the key. If it had been before 6pm we could have got the code from the power company but alas it wasn't.

He is usually much better organised than this - certainly it's never happened before but his support worker has not been this week because Social Services have abruptly cancelled the contract with the service provider.

OP posts:
TooManyPaws · 17/03/2018 22:27

Just read your update of the abuse - this is something that should be reported as Adult Support and Protection to the council as he is a vulnerable person at risk of abuse.

Best of luck.

LemonadePockets · 17/03/2018 22:32

Hi! Does he have an online account with his electric company? He can obtain the code online rather than wait until Monday. Here’s the link -

community.scottishpower.co.uk/t5/Pay-as-you-go/Prepayment-Questions/ta-p/69#threefaq

MyFavouriteChameleon · 17/03/2018 22:34

Was he aware of the emergency credit? If so why didn’t he top it up? Lots more info needed!
As has been said, this wasn't what the OP was asking advice on, but also, she stated in the OP that he had lost the key...so thats probably why he hasn't been able to top it up.
I hope you find Scottish power helpful OP, I have to say that when I dealt with them a few years back that were truly awful to he hold of, and also sent me huge bills, despite the house having only a prepayment meter (so all electricity had to have been paid for). I got them cancelled eventually, but they said this happened 'all the time'. Maybe keep and eye out for him receiving any bills as well as what is paid by prepayment?

Original poster
MollyCrumble · 17/03/2018 22:41

Thanks everyone - I will get him to find me his account details tomorrow when he has some light. He used the phone in his local shop to ring me as his phone is dead and I advised him to get a takeaway and then go home to bed and stay warm (his heating is electric as well). He is being quite stoic about it, thank goodness.

DP spoke to the duty social worker who wasn't very helpful, unfortunately. We rang the housing association 24 hour helpline as they house mostly vulnerable people and we thought they might be able to advise.

Thanks for the help and support.

OP posts:
WhoWants2Know · 17/03/2018 22:58

This won't necessarily help you now, but might be useful in the future. I also lost my key once and had to get a new one. Later, when I found the original key, I then had 2 tied to my account. One is in my wallet for topping up and the other is locked away in case the other is lost. When you speak to his providers, you can ask them to authorise 2 keys and keep one at your house for emergencies in the future.

IClavdivs · 17/03/2018 23:02

MollyCrumble: without being able to charge his phone was worrying me

This is off topic, but have you considered buying him a power bank? It would at least remove that worry.

I was recently stuck without a charger for a couple of days, and realised how inconvenient it would be if there was a power blackout lasting more than 24 hours. I bought a fairly powerful one because I have an ereader (which I can't manage without), laptop and iPad as well as my phone and it cost me the equivalent of 25GBP. Out of curiosity, I charged three of the items from it and it seemed to have barely touched the reserved power.

I saw a cheaper one, probably more suitable for just a phone, for the equivalent of 6GBP.

GrooovyLass · 17/03/2018 23:20

His electric won't go off till Monday morning, it's called friendly non-disconnect.

BeeFarseer · 17/03/2018 23:31

It's not a solution in the short term, but long term, can you get his meter changed? I was stuck with pre-pay for a long time and changed providers a few times to try and get a normal meter, but it was finally changed when I needed to keep insulin in the fridge as British Gas decided that meant they couldn't leave me at risk of being cut off.

Never mind all the other reasons I needed a normal meter (DC with ASD, mobility issues meaning getting the meter topped up was almost impossible), having insulin in the fridge was the thing that swung it.

I'm sure you've considered it, but I think it's a handy thing to know, if you're struggling to get the pre-pay removed.

Original poster
MollyCrumble · 18/03/2018 16:27

Just wanted to say thanks again to all the helpful comments last night.

My son's electricity DID go off, but this morning I was able to go to him and register his account online, and then access the special code for the new key to be attached to his account. It was a bit a bit of a runaround finding a shop that actually had a replacement key in stock, but it's all sorted now. Thanks again Gin

OP posts:
SauvignonBlanche · 18/03/2018 16:36

Glad he's OK. Smile
People who don't understand ASD won't get how something out of the ordinary can be very distressing.

Socksey · 18/03/2018 16:56

Not for right now.... but I have my prepay with Utilita and as well as a key I also can top up online or with an app.... so I never need to go and get credit or even remember my code etc.... it just does it automatically.... even from a distance...
Possibly helpful for the future....
Hope he's ok for now x

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