Martin Lewis has shared a new workaround which could help people using a traditional pre-payment meter access the £66 monthly bill discount following reports from PayPoint that hundreds of thousands of households have not redeemed their vouchers yet.
The vouchers are part of the UK Government’s £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme which will provide £66/£67 off domestic electricity bills each month from October until March, 2023. PayPoint said just over half (53%) of the 800,000 vouchers it has issued have been redeemed, which means that households are so far missing out on around £27 million in support that would be paid by the UK Government.
However, Martin Lewis took to social media on Monday to share a possible reason for the vast shortfall, and a simple workaround. 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’.
Martin told his 1.9million Twitter followers: “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)”
For households that pay via Direct Debit, or who have smart pre-payment meters, the monthly discount is taken off automatically and 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.
In data first reported by the BBC on Monday, PayPoint said it has emailed vouchers to the customers of nine different energy companies, but it is not the only company that will be issuing them so the problem is likely to be larger.
The business said 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 pre-payment meter you should have received your voucher by now.”
Citizens Advice Scotland also advised 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.
The vouchers have a 90-day expiry date.
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