₦airaland Forum

She should return the metre ASAP!

VeeVeeMyLuv:
A corrupt man told you guys to jump into fire. And you obliged .no b juju b that?

Nigerians NTTOORRR....

As if, you're better than those ,you constantly criticize.bunch of hypocrites

chicfarmer:
That thing no be new meter.

How does one even use electricity without buying credits in the meter? This doesn't makes any sense.

franvincoop:
Whether old or new, can there be debts on a prepaid meter?

Yes. My second hand meter had a debit balance on it which I paid off. The person disclosed it to me before I bought it sha.

brain54:
:::


Debt on a prepaid meter?


Strange things are really happening. End times things!

A prepaid meter should not have a single penny in debt. It simply cannot in principle.

But if it is a converted postpaid meter then like anything used or as we say in this country second hand you buy 'as it is', warts and all. No complaints.

Mrexcell:
How does one even use electricity without buying credits in the meter? This doesn't makes any sense.

I've already responded. If you dey owe NEPA before you buy meter dem go load am for your meter. As you buy units, some fraction is consistently deducted until the debit balance is paid down.

Glimpsetv:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHy8KoAa0QE?si=rcqrpfIK-AD-DERt

take them to court and teach them a proper lesson and Sue the company for sending a fraud to install Ur meter,
I wish say na me, I go just Hammer

Reference:
A prepaid meter should not have a single penny in debt. It simply cannot in principle.

But if it is a converted postpaid meter then like anything used or as we say in this country second hand you buy 'as it is', warts and all. No complaints.

Under normal circumstances

These guys installed brand new free meter for people in December by January February they manufactured humongous debts running into millions on the meter!!

Amovingman:
She owes that amount when using postpaid but Nigerian now do everything for content monetization

Even new buildings are owning debt on prepaid meter. How come nah

Who will pay the previous debt on the meter?

Anything for content.

And the person in charge of that particular meter now no go like Tinubu.....
Tinubu brought in new meters to distribute to Nigerian houses for free, but look at what they resulted to.

She's sharing the meter with someone.

Na so nepa take fire burn my shop n I lost about 35m. Afternoon rebuilding, I just 100percent enter solar.
For the past 1yr I no know watin be light bill

Which is tokum..

It's token nh ( as in. Toh-kin.

brain54:
:::


Debt on a prepaid meter?


Strange things are really happening. End times things!

If you are owing some debt prior to installation of prepaid meter. Once you get prepaid meter, the DISCO will migrate your debt to the prepaid meter

AngelSlay:
If this account is true, it's honestly heartbreaking and unacceptable.

Imagine doing the right thing by getting a prepaid meter so you can pay for only what you consume, only to discover it's registered in someone else's name and saddled with a ₦406,000 debt that isn't yours.

No customer should be held responsible for another person's liability because of an administrative error or alleged misconduct. That's not just unfair—it undermines public confidence in essential services.

Rather than telling her "there's nothing you can do," the distribution company should thoroughly investigate how the meter was registered, determine who authorized it, and rectify the records if the facts support her claim.

This is also a reminder to Nigerians: whenever you're getting a prepaid meter installed, insist on verifying that the account is registered in your name, keep copies of all application documents, and confirm the account details before activating it.

Hopefully, the company investigates this promptly and ensures that no innocent customer is forced to pay a debt they did not incur. Accountability and proper customer service are the least consumers deserve.

Forget about accountability. If you don't use hard hand in these officials, them go use you take play.

In my own case, I visited PHCN office everyday, spending transport, burning fuel, rescheduling tasks and going strained. I did this for eight months!

You heard that right: EIGHT MONTHS!

I was so tired, angry and exhausted. I then brought out my last card: involving the law enforcement agencies.

I looked at it as abuse of power but if I had continued wasting scarce resources every week to rectify my prepaid meter, the solution will still not come.

Called my DSS friends, spent funds I shouldn't. They came and pick two officials, took them to their office, interrogated them. They came the next day to fix it.

See, some Nigerians, especially civil service workers need hard settings before they can do the right thing.

Mine is over ₦360,000.
Ironically, the NEPA agent in Jos who installed my meter last year, when they were going street to street replacing postpaid meters, told me the outstanding bill on it was less than ₦100,000. He said it was almost the same as buying a brand-new meter. I paid ₦30,000 and got the meter, which even came with 50 units.
Long story short, I decided to clear the bill. I asked my brother's neighbour, who works with NEPA, to check the balance for me, and that's when I realized the bill had climbed to over ₦360,000.
I contacted the installer, and he told me to pay him ₦20,000 to bypass the meter. He claimed NEPA wouldn't catch me and said many people in my area were already doing it. The penalty for being caught bypassing a meter is over ₦50,000, while a new meter costs over ₦100,000.
I'm tempted to do it, save some money for about six months.

unyimecc:
Mine is over ₦360,000.
Ironically, the NEPA agent in Jos who installed my meter last year, when they were going street to street replacing postpaid meters, told me the outstanding bill on it was less than ₦100,000. He said it was almost the same as buying a brand-new meter. I paid ₦30,000 and got the meter, which even came with 50 units.
Long story short, I decided to clear the bill. I asked my brother's neighbour, who works with NEPA, to check the balance for me, and that's when I realized the bill had climbed to over ₦360,000.
I contacted the installer, and he told me to pay him ₦20,000 to bypass the meter. He claimed NEPA wouldn't catch me and said many people in my area were already doing it. The penalty for being caught bypassing a meter is over ₦50,000, while a new meter costs over ₦100,000.
I'm tempted to do it, save some money for about six months.

Please don't. I know it's easy to look at it as a way to save yourself money, but there is always a payback one way or the other.

As for those many people in the area already doing it, I hope none of them criticises government or complains about corruption, because they are part and parcel of it. And as for the installer bypassing meter, his own recompense will come in due time.

Kingluqman:
She's not lying..


There was a time I had issue with my prepaid meter, it was not supplying light and there was enough units on it. So IBDEC staffs later told me the only solution is to work on it.

They did came to my house and uncoupled it, did their job and mount it on the wall again.


So the staffs that came to my house told me that I should make sure I keep recharging on it. The guy said if the unit finish, I will still have light but i will have negative balance on the meter.


So, if to sey I wicked like the former occupant of that lady's apartment now, I go just dey use light dey go without recharging, for the next occupant of my apartment to pay


It's just pure wickedness from either the landlord or who left the apartment 💯

But, is a prepaid meter supposed to function that way?

She should send her complaint to NERC and FCCPC.

I had the same issue: I paid about 160k for the meter, and I was told that I can't buy less than 40k tokens on it because I will have to pay off some debt on every first recharge in a month until I clear the debt.. It's insane

Blessedarethepe:
But, is a prepaid meter supposed to function that way?

"Prepaid" the answer is NO!!

They gave me 2 option then;
1. To get a new prepaid meter (this option was a NO for me because of duration of getting the new one)

2. Was the option I stated

There are different brands of prepaid meter this, the one am using is "Mojec" or so, and they said they've encountered such before

Rebuke:
She said the name on the meter is not her name. Obviously, there's something fishy... it's the same content every Nigerian now does that has exposed many rots going on in the country, I think that's the good side of the content.

You're wasting time addressing a bulaba bandit

jojothaiv:
I'm glad you point that part out because I don't understand how the person you quote arrive at that his conclusion.

Expect the strangest of things from bulaba bandits

brain54:
:::


Debt on a prepaid meter?


Strange things are really happening. End times things!

Very possible when you have debt 9n your estimated billing account.

bnovative:
No power distribution company install prepared meter in a compound that is owing. Don't be quick to think you know more than the victim.
I've used prepared meter since 2016 and and in 2019, phed claimed I owed 96k and they will have to take half of the subscription I made. That was how they removed 96k over a period of time.
2025 phed alleged I owed 72k. I called their port Harcourt office to register my complain and they promised to resolve the issue.
By March 2026, phed inform me that my residence come under band A.
This is an area that has never seen 7 hours of uninterrupted power supply.
We wrote a complaint and till now they are still charging exorbitant rate in subscription.
We are dealing with a fraudulent situation orchestrated by power company.

You dey reply phcn officials ?
Bunch of unrepentant thieves

I see things like this and really smh
These people swim in profits minus the bribes and bypass they do in the field
That sector was undergoing an overhaul under barth nnaji but corruption forced him out
Today Abia is off the national grid
Smh

The 360k debt is not mine too

yewit37486:
Please don't. I know it's easy to look at it as a way to save yourself money, but there is always a payback one way or the other.

As for those many people in the area already doing it, I hope none of them criticises government or complains about corruption, because they are part and parcel of it. And as for the installer bypassing meter, his own recompense will come in due time.

Amovingman:
She owes that amount when using postpaid but Nigerian now do everything for content monetization

Okay you didn’t read the part that her name wasn’t even used in registering the meter but that of the agent?

Ademighty01:
Sue them to Court straight .

No, sue them to market.

brain54:
:::

Debt on a prepaid meter?

Strange things are really happening. End times things!

E dey happen o!

If it's an old house, it already had an account. The new meter will be programmed to have the previous account. If there was debt on that account before, it gets transferred to the new meter, since the account never changed.

Maybe the people living in that house have been settling disconnectors for years instead of just paying the bills.

I bought a prepaid meter in my home. It was a new building. No precious account. There was free credit on it that lasted for some weeks.

It may aanot be the DISCO trying to scam the lady. She should investigate the history of the account.

Dis phcn re something else same thing happens to me to at my mum's resident at sango ota by ibdec they brought another person meter ND they insist we should pay on it