Caithnessians urged to take action on unclaimed prepayment meter energy vouchers
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Caithness consumers with prepayment meters have been advised to contact their energy supplier if they have missing or unredeemed rebate vouchers as a deadline passes.
Advice Direct Scotland (ADS), which runs the national energy advice service energyadvice.scot, urged households to take action even if their vouchers have expired.
Households with traditional prepayment meters should have received five of six vouchers under the UK Government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme.
The prepayment vouchers are only valid for 90 days. December’s vouchers must be claimed by Wednesday, March 8. Vouchers worth £67 were also sent out by post to prepayment meter customers from the start of this month, as the final instalment of the Support Scheme.
Some consumers may have received an SMS text or email, depending on their supplier.
If a voucher does expire, customers can ask for it to be reissued. Suppliers should contact consumers if vouchers are not redeemed.
Recent figures show almost a third of Scottish households with prepayment meters have not redeemed their vouchers issued between October and December, meaning as much as £54 million of support has been unclaimed.
Most households will have £400 automatically taken off their electricity bills in six instalments across the winter, or will have the money added to their accounts.
However, those on traditional prepayment meters need the vouchers to get the discount.
Households with smart prepayment meters will be credited directly in the first week of each month.
Some suppliers allow customers to transfer Support Scheme payments from electricity to gas meters.
ADS has urged households to:
- Check unopened mail and junk email, in case the vouchers have been missed.
- Contact energy suppliers, using details found on bills, statements, and official websites.
- Contact energyadvice.scot if there are any difficulties getting through to suppliers or resolving issues. The team can be contacted on 0808 196 8660 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm), or through www.energyadvice.scot
More information on the Support Scheme can be found at: consumeradvice.scot/the-energy-bills-support-scheme-ebss-your-questions-answered/
Colin Mathieson, spokesperson for ADS, said: “With energy prices still incredibly high, it’s more important than ever that households get all the support they’re entitled to.
“We would urge Scottish consumers who have a prepayment meter to check whether they have been sent vouchers and use them, and also to keep an eye out for the final vouchers when they arrive. If haven’t received your vouchers or have any that have expired, you should get in touch with your energy supplier or ADS’s advisers.
“It is worth checking unopened mail or emails that may have gone into your junk folder. Energy companies should reissue vouchers that haven’t been received and check customers are getting support in the most suitable format – be it text, post or email.
“If you aren’t sure if your supplier has your correct contact details, get in touch with them and check, otherwise they won’t be able to tell you how to access the payment.
“Right now, we have qualified advisers ready to provide free, practical support to anyone in Scotland through the energyadvice.scot service – and we can also help any customers having difficulties reaching their supplier.”
