British Gas has explained how millions of households all across the UK will soon receive a £400 discount on their energy bills.
The discount will not be paid in one lump sum, and will instead be spread out via six instalments that will begin to be paid from October. On its website, British Gas states that in October and November, households will receive £66 while December, January, February, and March will see instalments of £67 respectively.
British Gas also explains that even if your bill happens to be less than £66 a month you will still receive the same amount while being allowed to carry on the discount to pay for electricity after March 2023 until it's all used up. It also explains that around nine million customers in the UK who pay by direct debit will receive the refund straight into their bank account once the original payment has gone through.
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In an email to customers, British Gas said: "For direct debit customers, we'll send the discount straight to your bank each month - like a refund - once your Direct Debit has gone through. For example, if your direct debit is £100 a month, you'd pay as normal. Then a few days later, £67 will be paid into your bank account.
"If your direct debit is less than £67 a month, say £50 for example, £50 will be refunded to your bank account and the remaining £17 will be applied to your energy account."
However, it will ultimately be a customer's energy company's decision how to apply the discount for its direct debit customers. For Shell Energy customers, the six discounts will be deducted from their bills before the payment is taken out while standard credit and payment card customers wills see the discount applied as credit to their account automatically.
Prepayment meter customers will be sent a redeemable EBSS Energy bill discount voucher or Special Action Message (SAMs) on the first week of each month while the discount is in place. These will contain a discount code which can be redeemed for the discount at any top-up point such as a PayPoint or Post Office.
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