Prepayment Meter Has Credit but No Gas: What to Check and Who to Call

If your gas prepayment meter shows credit but the boiler, hob and fire have all gone out, the first thing to rule out is a leak. If you can smell gas, or hear hissing near an appliance or the meter, ring the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 straight away. It is free and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week¹. Textphone users can call 0800 371 787².

If there is no smell, the usual causes are more ordinary. On a Pay as You Go gas meter, a "no gas" situation may be because the regulator at the meter has tripped, which is common if you have recently topped up after low credit or had the gas off for some time³. On a British Gas prepayment gas card meter showing "off", the maker's own steps begin with making sure there is credit on the meter or card, and end with pressing the red A button until the meter shows "HOLD for gas"⁴.

Work through the checks in order: confirm the credit has actually reached the meter, look at what the display says, try the maker's restart sequence for your meter, and stop at the gas emergency line if anything suggests a leak or a fault you cannot clear. If the supply has already stopped, your supplier has to send someone to repair or replace the meter⁵.

First checks when the meter shows credit but no gas comes through

Start with the meter itself, not the boiler. A prepayment meter can hold credit and still refuse to pass gas, and the display usually tells you which of a few situations you are in.

Check that the credit is really on the meter. If you do not have a smart meter, you buy credit at a top-up point with your card or key, and it only lands on the meter when the card or key goes in⁶. A top-up bought but not yet inserted will show on your receipt, not on the meter. On a Pay as You Go gas meter, error 04 means you have too much credit on the meter, and the advice is to let the credit run down before topping up again³.

Then check the standing charge. You need credit on your prepayment meter to pay the standing charge, even on days when you do not use any gas or electricity⁶. A meter sitting close to zero can therefore run out of headroom before you have used anything, which is why a small top-up sometimes does not restore supply.

Finally, look at the display and any buttons. On a British Gas prepayment gas card meter showing "off", the maker's sequence is to confirm credit is available, then press the red A button, at which point the meter shows "HOLD for gas"⁴. Button layouts vary between makes and models, so use your own supplier's instructions for your meter rather than another household's.

If the meter is fine and the credit is there, the problem may be downstream: a tripped regulator at the meter, a boiler that has locked out, or a supply interruption affecting the street. Our guide to what to do when the mains supply goes off covers the wider checks, and prepayment meters: losing supply, emergency credit and restarting goes further into credit and cut-off.

Restarting the supply after the meter has cut off

Once a prepayment meter has cut the gas off, getting it back is usually a sequence rather than a single action, and the order matters for safety.

Before anything is turned back on, make sure all the gas appliances in the property, including the boiler, cooker and gas fires, are turned off⁷. If several burners or a boiler were left calling for gas when the supply stopped, restoring it with everything open is how you get a house full of unburnt gas. Turn the appliance controls off first, then restore at the meter.

On a keypad meter, if friendly or emergency credit has been activated, the meter will come back on after resetting if the supply was interrupted due to a meter overload, even with no credit⁸. That is a specific case: an overload trip, not a simple run-out. If you have run out of credit entirely, the meter needs credit before it will pass gas again.

Where a network operator has restored gas after an interruption, the same principle applies in reverse: appliances off, then supply on. If you have had work done or a meter replaced, ask the engineer to show you the restart sequence for your meter before they leave.

When the display shows an error or a valve fault

A meter display that is blank, or that shows a message such as "error", "call help" or "battery", probably means a fault with the meter⁵. That is your signal to stop pressing buttons and ring your supplier.

On a British Gas prepayment gas card meter with a blank screen, the maker says to push the A button; if nothing happens, the meter may be faulty⁴. If those steps do nothing, the fault is with the equipment, not with your credit.

For a Pay as You Go gas meter showing "Card Fail 35", the guidance is to make sure the card strip and chip are clean, to insert the card with the chip facing up, and to contact your gas supplier if the problem persists³. A dirty or wrongly inserted card is a common and easily fixed cause; a card that is clean, correctly inserted and still failing is a supplier call.

A smart meter that will not take a top-up by app, website, in-home display or telephone is also not working properly, and if you prepay you should contact your supplier as soon as possible, because you might be left with no energy¹¹. The same applies if your bills are estimated because the supplier is not getting readings¹¹.

Where to stop and call the gas emergency line

There is a clear line between a meter problem and a gas emergency, and it is drawn by your nose and ears rather than your credit balance.

Ring 0800 111 999 immediately if you smell gas or suspect a leak². Look out for the smell of gas, a distinctive sulphur-like odour, or hissing sounds near gas appliances or gas meters¹². The line is free and staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week¹. If you have no gas supply, turn it off at the emergency control valve near your gas meter if possible, unless the meter is in a cellar or basement¹³.

While you wait, open doors and windows¹⁴. If you can safely reach it, turn the gas supply off at the emergency control valve near your meter, unless the meter is located in a cellar or basement¹³. Do not turn it back on yourself afterwards¹⁰. If you have no gas after a flood, or you smell gas or have poor pressure, the free national gas emergency line will advise whether they will attend or redirect you to your supplier or a Gas Safe registered engineer¹⁰.

Our guide to the National Gas Emergency Service explains what happens when you ring and who attends. If you have already turned the gas off and want it back on, see getting your supply back on after an outage.

Getting help from your energy supplier

Your supplier is the right call for everything short of a leak: credit that will not load, a meter that will not reset, a display fault, or a supply that has stopped. If your electricity or gas has already stopped, your supplier has to send someone to repair or replace your meter⁵.

If you are running out of gas and electricity, your supplier provides an emergency credit facility which you can access through the meter, and suppliers are required in certain situations to offer additional credit, including emergency credit, friendly-hours credit and additional support credit¹⁵. Ask specifically what you are entitled to; the facility is not always obvious from the meter alone.

If you are disabled or have a health condition, say so. You should not move to prepayment if running out of credit and having no gas or electricity would cause you a serious problem because you are disabled or have a health condition⁶. If you are already on a prepayment meter and your circumstances change, tell your supplier.

Ask to join the Priority Services Register. Our guide to extra support from networks and suppliers sets out the wider help available.

Keeping warm while the gas is off

A gas outage in cold weather is a heating problem before it is anything else, and the safe options are limited.

Layer clothing and blankets, and keep to one room where you can stay warm. If you use gas heating, check whether it will still function without electricity¹⁷; many systems need power for the pump and controls, so a gas boiler may not help in a power cut even with gas flowing. Never bring a camping stove, barbecue or generator indoors, because of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is colourless and has no smell, which is why alarms matter¹⁸.

If you have no gas and no alternative heat, and you are older, disabled or medically dependent, tell your supplier and your local council. Our guides to heating and cooking without mains power or gas and extra help in an emergency cover the practical options and who to ask.