At last, British Gas pays vital £67 energy vouchers to customers

Money Mail forced British Gas to pay customers thousands of pounds in vital energy coupons.

Among the people we have helped are a cancer patient recovering from a heart attack, a single mother of three and a pensioner who had been without heating for 10 days because she couldn’t afford to turn it on.

Rosemary Shooter, a pensioner from Deal, Kent, wrote to Money Mail after waiting more than two months for her missing money.

Shortly after our engagement, she received payments for the months of October, November and December, totaling £199.

‘Thank you. It’s amazing what the power of Money Mail can do. Please keep doing what you’re doing,” she says.

Money Mail revealed last month that British Gas customers had been hit by delays in receiving winter utility bill handouts from the government. These extra payments should save every home in the country £67 a month on their utility bills.

So far we’ve helped 43 people secure £3,796 in missing utility bills.

In total, British Gas has investigated 72 cases from our readers, at a cost of £6,000 — and has arranged for several specialist advisers to be on hand to resolve issues.

The energy giant said: “If for any reason a customer has not received one of these payments, our advice is to contact us and we will resolve it as soon as possible.”

Here’s what to do if you’re worried you haven’t received your utility bill support scheme vouchers, whether you’re with British Gas or another supplier…

How much do I owe?

Households would receive £400 of the subsidy from the government’s energy bill support scheme in six installments, from October 2022 to March.

All the energy credit is paid out monthly, even if you pay your energy consumption quarterly.

You don’t have to submit an application to receive the discount and you don’t have to refund the money.

Three payments should already have been made to customers.

For October and November, payments were £66 for each month. In December it was £67; The January payment is also for the same amount.

How do I get the money?

If you pay your energy bill by direct debit, the discount will be automatically deducted. Your refund can also be sent directly to your bank account – three to five days after your direct debit has cleared.

Customers with a smart prepayment meter should receive their discount automatically on their machine within the first five working days of each month.

If your smart meter is not working: for example, if it is not reporting live meter readings, you may receive a letter or email with a code to apply to your account instead.

Those with traditional prepayment meters should receive their vouchers by text, email or post by the 11th of each month, according to industry regulator Ofgem.

This means that all January prepayment vouchers should have already been received. Your supplier should tell you where to use your credit.

What if I haven’t received the vouchers?

British Gas says it has sent out all prepayment meter vouchers for October, November and December, but the postal strikes have meant that some customers have not received them.

Customers of energy suppliers EDF Energy, Eon and Ovo Energy have also reported delays to us.

Last month, Royal Mail issued an apology after only 16 per cent of vouchers were delivered by post in December.

A government report in late December found that a third of vouchers – or £91.4 million worth – had not been redeemed for October and November.

Each voucher has an individual issue date.

All vouchers expire 90 days after issue, after which they must be sent again.

This means that the messages posted in October will expire next week.

If you are still waiting for your British Gas credit, please contact the energy company to ensure that your correct information is in the computer system.

To speak to British Gas Customer Service, please call 0330 100 0056, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

a.cooke@dailymail.co.uk