Prepayment meter households urged to get energy support vouchers before deadline

Households with traditional prepayment meters have been urged to avoid missing out on £400 of help with their bills by June 30, with £130 million still available to be claimed.

The Claim Your Energy Voucher Day is a final push to encourage the remaining households to claim their vouchers before the scheme ends in a month.

All households were eligible for the Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme, which paid £400 in six instalments of £66 or £67 over the winter.

Prepayment customers – often some of the most vulnerable – were paid in vouchers and millions remain unclaimed.

Some customers did not get them while others have struggled to redeem them.

Customers need to visit a post office or PayPoint with their Energy Bills Support vouchers and identification before June 30.

Any lost, missing or expired vouchers can be reissued as long as they are redeemed by June 30.

Those on a traditional prepayment meter who have not received the vouchers, are unsure of how to redeem them or need a voucher to be reissued should contact their supplier.

The number of vouchers cashed in has reached an all-time high of 83%, with prepayment meter users so far claiming nearly £650 million under the scheme, the latest figures show.

For the sixth month running, London had the lowest redemption rate, with more than 650,000 vouchers still unused at the end of March, the numbers, published earlier this month, show.

About 25% of vouchers in both Scotland and the south-east of England are also yet to be claimed.

Energy minister Amanda Solloway said: “We’ve made huge strides in getting nearly £650 million from our Energy Bills Support Scheme out to prepayment meter customers, often in the homes that need it most.

“Today we are redoubling our efforts to reach anyone who still hasn’t claimed this help and it’s fantastic to see so many join our final push to spread the word.

“Tell friends and family or anyone on a traditional prepayment meter to use their vouchers for up to £400 off bills before June 30; there is still £130 million out there to claim.”

Adam Scorer, chief executive at National Energy Action, said: “We urge anyone who hasn’t yet claimed their vouchers to do so before the June 30 deadline and if you have friends and family that may not have used their vouchers, spread the word.

“It may be the support that keeps their lights on, their oven cooking, their hot showers running, through the summer. It’s vital money at a time when it’s never been needed more.”

Matthew Cole, head of Fuel Bank Foundation, a national charity providing emergency fuel vouchers to prepayment meter customers, said: “We’re really concerned that hundreds of thousands of people with traditional prepayment meters are going to miss out on this vital financial support.

“As part of our own campaigning on this issue, we found that other reasons why vouchers haven’t been redeemed included not receiving them, due to incorrect details or the person having moved house and their records haven’t been updated, or they lost or deleted the voucher.

“However, whatever the reason, we want to reassure people that if they haven’t claimed their voucher, there is still time to do so.”

Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck said firms have put “huge amounts of time and resource” into helping customers claim their vouchers, including sending postcards in case people were avoiding opening their mail.

Ms Pinchbeck said: “It’s really important that traditional prepayment customers who haven’t yet claimed their vouchers check their mail and the expiry dates on any vouchers they have. The most recent batch will expire at the end of June so there is still time and people should make use of the range of contact methods available, including web forms, to get in touch if they have any problems.”

Households using prepayment meters who use alternative fuels such as LPG, heating oil or biomass as the main way they heat their homes also have until June 30 to use their vouchers worth up to £200 in energy bills support.

Customers will have received these vouchers in the post from their supplier and should contact them if they have any questions.