One million energy discount vouchers unclaimed in December despite cold weather - how to redeem them

More than one million UK households with pre-payment meters did not redeem their energy discount this month as temperatures plummeted.

Just 27% of the vouchers issued under the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) for house households in England, Scotland and Wales have been redeemed, according to data from PayPoint up to 18 December. By comparison, 80% of the vouchers issued in October and 73% in November have been claimed.

Homes across Great Britain have been promised £400 in payments this winter to help cope with the rising cost of energy bills, which is being split into six monthly payments. Households should have received £66 in October and November, and then £67 in December through to March. This is on top of the government’s Energy Price Guarantee which caps bills at 34p per unit of electricity and 10.3p per unit of gas.

For most customers, the energy discount is deducted automatically from monthly bills, but those who pay through a traditional pre-payment meter have to redeem the vouchers. The vouchers are time-limited and those issued in December will expire if they are not redeemed before 8 March.

PayPoint, which has payment services in 28,000 UK retailers such as newsagents and convenience stores, and through which households can cash in their postal vouchers in-store, said that December’s redemption figures were lower than it would expect.

Typically, around three quarters of all the vouchers are issued by post and a quarter are sent through email, but just 17% of December’s postal vouchers have been redeemed - a sharp drop compared to 78% in October and 74% in November that have been claimed.

Meanwhile, 63% of December’s vouchers issued by email have been claimed. To compare, around 70 to 85% of vouchers from similar schemes like the Warm Home Discount are typically redeemed, sources familiar with the government’s schemes said.

It indicates that households have not got hold of vouchers sent by post this month, despite temperatures dropping below zero across the nation in recent weeks. PayPoint suggested that the drop-off in claims this month could be linked to strike action in the UK which is causing delivery delays.

Royal Mail workers have walked out for several days in November and December due to a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are set to walk out again on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 December.

On Tuesday (20 December), Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said he was concerned about the gap between vouchers being sent out and people finding the voucher.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “There isn’t one way that this is done because the energy providers are sending them out in different ways, sometimes by text, sometimes by email, sometimes through the door.”

How to redeem the vouchers

Energy discount vouchers should be redeemable wherever you normally top up your pre-pay meter, which may include Post Office or PayPoint outlets, depending on your energy supplier. PayPoint has stressed that the energy discount can still be claimed, with independent shops open early in the morning and late at night.

Steve O’Neill, corporate affairs and marketing director at PayPoint, said: “Tens of thousands of independent retailers are doing a fantastic job processing EBSS vouchers as early as 6am right through until midnight every day, thanks to their commitment to serving their local communities.”

People can also contact their energy supplier to request that their voucher is reissued, change their contact details, or switch to receive vouchers through email rather than post.

A spokesperson for trade body Energy UK said: “Suppliers are doing everything possible to ensure that the vouchers are reaching customers and will make repeated attempts using the channels – such as text, email, phone or post – and contact details available to them.

“The energy industry has also been looking to raise awareness of the support available and encouraging customers to redeem the vouchers by working with outlets like the Post Office and Paypoint as well as consumer groups like Citizens Advice.”