All Scottish households will receive £400 discount onto their energy bills this winter.
The UK Government has now announced details on how bill payers will get the money as energy bills are set to sky rocket again in October. This comes as experts are warning that the energy price cap will push the average Direct Debit energy bill to £3,500 in October and then bills could rise again in January.
Financial journalist and money saving expert, Martin Lewis warned that we are facing a 'catastrophic' crisis which will push more people into fuel poverty and urged the Government to intervene.
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There will be a discount of £66 applied to bills in October and November, and £67 a month from December to March 2023.
How the money is received will depend on how people pay their bills, and some may receive vouchers via text, email or in the post.
Those who pay by direct debit, either monthly or quarterly, or by card will see an automatic deduction off their bills. Meanwhile those with "smart" prepayment devices will see an automatic monthly top-up added to their account. This means they will have to add less credit to their meter for the total energy they use.
But those with 'non-smart' prepayment meters will receive an energy bill discount voucher in the first week of each month, by text, email or in the post. It can be redeemed at a top-up point.
Advice Direct Scotland, which runs Scotland’s national energy advice service energyadvice.scot, has urged Scots to check they receive the money and look out for correspondence from their supplier.
The advice service has also warned Scots to watch out for scams that will try to exploit the scheme. No household will be asked for their bank details. All households are eligible for the full £400, regardless of income.
Conor Forbes, head of policy with Advice Direct Scotland, said: “With energy bills soaring, it’s vital that households don’t miss out on these payments. For those on older prepayment meters, the key advice is to look out for your vouchers this autumn.
“And it’s important that everyone knows they will not be asked for their bank details, so that we can safeguard against fraudsters looking to exploit the scheme.
“With the energy price cap set to rise in October and bills predicted to reach £500-a-month in January alone, there is huge anxiety and concern among many Scottish households.
"There may be other financial support available, so we encourage anyone struggling with their energy bills to contact our advisers at energyadvice.scot for free and impartial advice.”
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