Financial guru Martin Lewis has shared an important message for those with non-smart prepayment energy meters.
This comes as PayPoint reported that thousands of customers have yet to redeem their £66 vouchers, issued as part of the Energy Bill Support Scheme. Vouchers are being issued to everyone with a non-smart meter and will provide £66/£67 off electricity bills each month from October until March 2023.
According to PayPoint, only half of the 800,000 vouchers have been redeemed and the vouchers have a 90-day expiry date. However, Martin Lewis took to Twitter on Monday to explore the possible reasons for the vast shortfall, and offered a workaround.
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As the Daily Record reports, he suggested that people may be unable to redeem their voucher as they do not have Photo ID as proof of their identity, but advised that a household utility bill or bank statement dated within the last 12 months should work - emphasising the ‘should’.
Speaking to his 1.9million Twitter followers, Martin said: “I'm hearing some people are unable to claim their Energy Support £66/mth vouchers (for non-smart prepay meters ) because the vouchers say you need photo ID - and you may not have.
“If so they should (can't promise) accept a a household bill or bank statement (dated within 12mths)”
Those who pay by Direct Debit or have a smart prepayment meter, the discount is taken off automatically and therefore no action is required.
But millions of households are on older pre-payment meters - and these people are instead sent a voucher by email, text or post which they have to redeem in a shop where they would normally top-up.
In data first reported by the BBC on Monday, PayPoint said it has emailed vouchers to the customers of nine different energy companies. The business added that many of the 28,000 convenience stores where customers can top up their gas and electricity cards are open seven days a week. It said the most popular times to redeem the vouchers are between 11am and 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Citizens Advice Scotland spokesperson, Stephanie Millar, said: “It’s very concerning that many vulnerable households in Scotland are not using the £400 voucher they’ve been sent, despite the fact that energy costs are so high.
“We fear that some people are not opening the letters from their energy company which contain the voucher, for fear it may be another bill.
“It’s vitally important that people access all the support that is available to them. If you’re on a prepayment meter you should have received your voucher by now.”
Citizens Advice Scotland is also urging anyone who thinks they may have thrown the unopened letter from their supplier away to contact them and ask for a replacement.
If you have changed address recently, you should also contact your supplier and ask for your voucher to be sent to your new address.
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