An E.ON customer who was gifted a "reward" by the energy provider in the form of a 1p cheque is calling the gesture "insulting".
Sharon Patrick, 47, says she was given the minuscule sum of money by E.ON as a "reward" for being a prepayment customer.
But she says she felt insulted when she saw the tiny amount - especially amid the current energy crisis.
The company apologised and said the cheque should not have been sent out in the first place.
Sharon, who works as a chef, told Lancs Live : "When I opened the cheque and saw how much it was for, I thought it was laughable and insulting at the same time.
"With energy bills going through the roof at the minute, sending someone a one pence cheque is a joke.
Mum-of-one Sharon says has been a customer of E.ON for seven years, and buys both her electricity and her gas from the energy provider. And, when she saw a letter from the company on August 25 explaining she was the beneficiary of a cash cheque, she was excited to see how much she'd been gifted.
But her excitement quickly turned to disappointment when she realised the amount was so small. She said: "I haven't contacted them yet, but I may do soon to see why they've bothered to send it.
"The funny thing is it probably cost 80p to send in the post, so really what was the point? I'd love to know if anyone else has been sent a similar cheque from them because it just seems crazy to me."
A spokesperson for E.ON said: "We’re sorry, this was a simple error on our systems and the cheque should have been stopped from going out in the first place."
Sharon's story comes as millions of Brits are set to see their bills soar by £1,578 a year on average by October.
Ofgem in August announced that its price cap will rise to £3,549 for those on default tariffs paying by direct debit - up from the current figure of £1,971 and an 80% increase.
Approximately 24 million households are covered by the energy price cap, including four million on prepayment meters.
The rise in the price cap will inevitably add more pressure on to families already struggling with the cost of living crisis.
