Find prepayment customers off supply or going without

Fields

• Channel (app chat, webchat, email, social, call transcript)
• The whole contact

Questions

1. Is the contact about a prepayment meter, its credit or topping it up? Yes / No

   Read the contact. Yes: The contact is about a prepayment meter, its credit, emergency or friendly credit, topping up, or debt taken through the meter. No: The contact is about something else, such as a bill for a credit meter, a move or a power cut, with no prepayment meter involved.

2. What is the prepayment contact mainly about? Choice

   Read the contact. Pick the issue the customer most needs dealt with.

   • Top-up not on the meter The customer paid for a top-up but the credit has not reached the meter, or the meter rejects the code.
   • Cannot get to a top-up The customer has the money but cannot top up: a lost card or key, the app or the shop not working, or they cannot get out.
   • Help with credit The customer asks for emergency, friendly or extra support credit, or for help because they cannot afford to top up.
   • Debt taken through the meter The customer questions debt or standing charges being taken from their top-ups.
   • Meter fault The meter display is blank, the meter will not work, or it is not sending readings.
   • Move off prepayment The customer wants to change to a credit meter or pay in another way.
   • Not a prepayment matter The contact is not about a prepayment meter.

3. Does the customer say the home has no gas or electricity now because the prepayment meter has no credit or will not take it? Yes / No

   Read the contact and the off supply definition in the context. Judge the situation when the customer got in touch, even if it is put right later in the contact. Yes: The customer says the gas or the electricity is off now because of the meter or its credit. No: The customer still has supply, only mentions a past episode, or describes a power cut on the network.

4. Does the customer say their credit or emergency credit is about to run out? Yes / No

   Read the contact. Yes: The customer still has supply but says the credit or emergency credit will run out soon, such as today, tonight or before they can top up. No: The customer says nothing of the kind, or is already off supply.

5. Does the customer say they are going without gas or electricity because they cannot afford to top up? Yes / No

   Read the contact and the self-disconnecting definition in the context. Count "I'll just have to go without till payday", "we've been off since Friday, no money till Tuesday", or letting the meter run out on purpose because of cost. Yes: The customer says they are, or will be, without gas or electricity because they cannot afford to top up. No: The customer says nothing of the kind, or is off supply for another reason, such as a failed top-up.

6. Does the customer say they are cutting back on heating, hot water, cooking or lighting to make their credit last? Yes / No

   Read the contact and the self-rationing definition in the context. Going without because the supply is already off belongs to the off supply and self-disconnecting questions, not this one. Yes: The customer says they are cutting back on energy they still have, to make the credit last. No: The customer says nothing of the kind, or is going without only because the supply is off.

7. Does the customer say someone in the household relies on equipment or medicine that needs power, water or a phone line? Yes / No

   Count oxygen, a ventilator, home dialysis, a feeding pump, a nebuliser, a stair lift, a powered bed or chair, medicine that must be kept cold, and a telecare alarm or pendant that needs the phone line or broadband, however the customer names it ("the machine for her breathing"). Yes: The customer says someone in the household relies on such equipment or medicine. No: No such equipment or medicine is mentioned.

8. Does the customer mention circumstances that may mean they need extra support? Yes / No

   Use the extra support paragraph in the context. Count only what the contact says about the customer or someone in their household. Do not infer anything from tone, writing style or spelling. Yes: The contact mentions health problems, disability, bereavement, old age, a baby or young child, money trouble, a language or literacy barrier, or similar circumstances. No: The contact mentions none of these.

9. How soon should a person pick up this prepayment contact? Choice

   Judge the contact as a whole against Thornbury's policy in the context. The answer is a suggestion for the queue; a person decides what help to give. When more than one option fits, pick the first in the list.

   • Act now The home is off supply, or will be tonight: a person who can add credit picks it up within the hour.
   • Support call today The customer is self-disconnecting or self-rationing, or credit will run out in the next few days: a support call today.
   • Metering queue A meter, top-up or debt problem while the customer still has supply and credit: the metering team.
   • Normal queue Not a prepayment matter, or a question with nothing urgent: the normal queue.

Lens columns

is_prepay_contact, is_prepay_contact_probability, issue, issue_probability, off_supply_now, off_supply_now_probability, credit_running_out, credit_running_out_probability, self_disconnecting, self_disconnecting_probability, self_rationing, self_rationing_probability, medical_equipment, medical_equipment_probability, vulnerability_signal, vulnerability_signal_probability, route, route_probability