A third of energy vouchers sent to prepayment customers haven't been claimed - here's how to get your money

The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is a £400 discount due to all UK households. In England, Scotland and Wales it's being paid in monthly instalments from October 2022 until March 2023. But a report published today reveals that a third of the monthly vouchers sent to prepayment customers have not yet been redeemed.

We’re concerned that hundreds of thousands of people with traditional prepayment energy meters are missing out on this vital support this winter.

Customers in England, Scotland and Wales who pay by direct debit or through a smart prepayment meter will have their accounts automatically credited with the extra £66 or £67 each month. Most energy companies are adding this to your energy credit account, and lowering your direct debit payments as a result. A small number of suppliers are returning the money to customers’ bank accounts instead. 

But customers with traditional prepayment meters receive vouchers that need to be redeemed at particular top-up points. A report published by the government on 20 December 2022 revealed that 34% of the vouchers delivered in October and November 2022 still haven’t been redeemed. That equates to nearly 1.4 million vouchers, each for £66, that haven't been claimed – amounting to just over £91.4 million. December's vouchers are still being sent out. 

We are campaigning for businesses to better help consumers grappling with the impact of the cost of living crisis. We are calling on energy suppliers to ensure customers on prepayment meters are able to access this government support, and prioritise them in their smart meter roll-outs where appropriate. This would enable them to receive financial support automatically to their meters in future, without the need for vouchers.

The process for redeeming your vouchers is slightly different depending on your energy company. Below, we outline how you'll get the EBSS if you are a pay-as-you-go customer with one of the bigger energy suppliers.

Get help with your household bills with our latest cost of living advice and tips.

How the EBSS energy bill discount is given to customers

The EBSS is being paid in instalments. You should have received £66 in October and November 2022, and will be getting £67 in December 2022 as well as January, February and March 2023. You don't need to apply to receive this payment.

• If you have a traditional prepayment meter, you’ll get the discount either as redeemable vouchers (sent by SMS text, email or post) or as an automatic credit when you top up at a top up point. 
• If you have a smart prepayment meter, the money will be credited directly to your smart prepayment meter in the first week of each month.
• If you pay for electricity by direct debit the money will either be automatically credited to your energy account (in which case your monthly direct debit amount would be reduced), or returned to your bank account each month following your direct debit payment. 
• If you pay by standard credit or payment card, your discount will be automatically applied as a credit to your account in the first week of each month. The credit will appear as it would if you had made a payment.

Customers in Northern Ireland will get a one-off payment of £600 sent to them in January 2023. This is to cover the £400 energy bill support, as well as an additional £200 to help pay for higher costs of heating oil, as many NI homes are not on the gas mains grid. GB customers who aren't on it either will also receive £200. 

Find out more about: how you'll get cost of living payments in Northern Ireland and off-grid homes

How energy suppliers are sending energy discount vouchers to prepayment customers

Customers on traditional prepayment meters have to wait to receive vouchers sent by their supplier, and then take action to redeem them. We know that there have been delays and barriers at both stages of the process.

Government data published in December shows that hundreds of thousands of people with traditional prepayment energy meters had not redeemed the first two payments of the £400 rebate, due in October and November. 

This may be owing to difficulties receiving or redeeming the vouchers, or because customers aren't aware of the scheme.

The table below shows how the biggest energy suppliers are getting the Energy Bills Support Scheme to their traditional prepayment meter customers.

If you're a traditional pay-as-you-go customer but you don't see your electricity provider below, contact yours to find out more about how you'll be getting your discount.

For all prepayment customers regardless of your supplier: 

• You have 90 days to redeem each voucher from the date it was issued.
• You will need to show photo ID to redeem the voucher. Accepted forms of ID are: a UK driving licence; a current passport; a bank statement; a council tax bill; proof of benefits or a utility bill.

The information in the table was accurate when we requested it from energy companies in late November 2022. It may since have changed - for the most up to date information about how to claim your discount, visit your energy provider's website or contact them directly.

What to do if you haven’t received your energy support yet

If you’re on a traditional (ie not smart) prepayment meter and haven’t received your vouchers, or you're unsure how to redeem them, get in touch with your energy supplier for more information. It should have contacted you before 1 October 2022 about how you’ll get your money.

If you aren’t sure if your supplier has your correct contact details, get in touch with them and check. This is importantc, because otherwise they won’t be able to tell you how to access the support. 

As long as you have an electricity supply, you don’t need to apply for the EBSS. We know that there are some scams going around in which scammers pretend to be your energy supplier or the energy watchdog Ofgem and ask you to sign up for the energy discount and ask for personal information or bank details. If you get any communication that asks you to input personal or bank information, this is a scam.

Find out more about how to get your money back after a scam.

Consumer groups urge energy companies to take immediate action

We think it's hugely concerning that the redemption rate for prepayment meter vouchers is so low. 

Today, Which? has written an open letter to the CEOs of all energy companies operating in England, Scotland and Wales demanding immediate action to get the EBSS support to those that need it.

It's co-signed by representatives from Age UK, Citizens Advice, National Energy Action and Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert. 

Together, we're calling on energy companies to: 

1. Publish the voucher redemption rates for traditional prepayment customers, per delivery method, on a monthly basis. This will allow us to understand which methods (for example post, email and SMS texts) are most effective at reaching customers;
2. Urgently investigate why redemption rates have so far been low among traditional prepayment customers;
3. Address any issues swiftly and adapt delivery approaches to the most effective delivery method as shown by the data, where the current method is not working well for customers, keeping customers fully informed of any changes;
4. Step up efforts to raise customer awareness of the scheme.

Find out more about our cost of living campaign.