Energy bill support vouchers MUST be claimed by 30 June

Prepayment meter customers have two days left to claim vouchers worth up to £400 to help with their energy bills. 

The vouchers will expire at 11:59pm on Friday 30 June, so customers will need to load the money on to their meters before then in order to benefit. 

The vouchers should have originally been paid out in six instalments of £66 or £67 from October 2022 to March 2023.

But many have not yet been redeemed by those on prepayment meters, and some £100milllion is still left unclaimed.

Time is nearly up: Prepayment meter customers have until 30 June to redeem energy bill support vouchers

The vouchers sent by energy suppliers would have been issued by email, text or post.

The money was issued automatically into the energy accounts of direct debit customers, but those on prepayment meters need to take their vouchers to a local Post Office or PayPoint store to have them credited. 

Some of the reasons why vouchers haven’t been redeemed include customers not receiving them due to incorrect details, or the person having moved house and their records have not been updated, or they lost or deleted the voucher.

Here’s what to do if yours has gone missing, or if you have received one but not yet redeemed it and it has expired.

Any lost, missing or expired vouchers can be reissued, as long as they are redeemed by the end of June.

Tell your energy supplier if this is the case and they should be able to reissue one – although it will now need to be via text or email to meet the deadline.

If you are struggling to use the voucher or are unsure how to redeem them, the Government says you should contact your electricity supplier immediately for help.

If you have been storing up your vouchers to redeem all in one go, it’s worth noting that most prepayment meters can only hold up to around £250 of energy credit at a time.

Many of the areas of lowest uptake are in London, with 13 of the top 15 constituencies for unredeemed vouchers.

Adam Scorer, chief executive of charity National Energy Action said: ‘As energy bills have spiralled, National Energy Action knows how crucial the Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme has been. The £400, paid in six instalments of £66 or £67 has helped many people this winter.

‘But prepayment customers – often some of the most vulnerable – were paid in vouchers and millions remains unclaimed. Some customers didn’t receive them, others struggled to redeem them.

‘We urge anyone who hasn’t yet claimed their vouchers to do so before 30 June deadline and if you have friends and family that may not have used their vouchers, spread the word. 

‘It may be the support that keeps their lights on, their oven cooking, their hot showers running, through the summer. It’s vital money at a time when it’s never been needed more.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk