Energy companies ‘not set up’ for support plan as third of vouchers unredeemed

Business and energy secretary Grant Shapps has said energy companies “aren’t set up” to give the financial support to people with prepayment meters that the Government has promised, as new data showed one in three vouchers sent to some households are yet to be claimed.

Official data on Tuesday showed that less than 2.7 million of the over four million vouchers for £66 which were sent to households with traditional pre-payment meters have been claimed.

It leaves 34% of the vouchers, sent in October and November, yet to be redeemed. The vouchers are time-limited, so cannot be used after a few months.

Mr Shapps said that providers are sending out vouchers to people in different ways, and accused some of not picking up the phone when customers called.

“What concerns me is that 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.”

Homes across Great Britain have been promised £400 in payments this winter to help them with energy bills. This is on top of the Government’s promise to cap bills at 34p per unit of electricity and 10.3p per unit of gas.

For a majority of customers the money is automatically deducted from their energy bills. But those who pay through a prepayment meter have to redeem vouchers.

But many of these vouchers are not being redeemed. It is unclear exactly why, but it is likely some vouchers have not arrived, that some people will not have seen them or realised what they were, or that others were concerned that they might be a scam. Some might have gone into a person’s email spam folder, Mr Shapps suggested.

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.

“Customers with traditional prepayment meters are advised to ensure their contact details are up to date and to check regularly for any communication from their supplier.

“With more customers seeking more help than ever before, call centres are inevitably very busy so we’d urge callers to keep trying and use different communications methods if they are able to.”

Mr Shapps said that there are energy companies that go door-to-door to help customers understand they are losing out, but others are not.

“Some of the energy companies have now put in place sort of teams of people in some cases to actually go and knock on doors where they see there haven’t been redemptions made and others have put extra customer services,” he said.

“But one of the things which really worried me when I came on your show previously was that some of the energy providers haven’t been picking up the phone when they’ve been called, answering those questions.”

He said that he had inherited a new programme that is different to what the Government has embarked on before.

“It’s a very unusual position. And these energy companies aren’t set up to provide it.”

Sue Davies, head of consumer and food policy at Which? said: “It’s hugely concerning that a third of the Energy Bill Support Scheme vouchers sent to traditional prepayment customers still haven’t been redeemed – even as the weather has turned colder.

“Energy firms and the government must urgently investigate why so many customers have not yet accessed the government support available and stop at nothing to ensure that all customers on these prepayment meters – who are more likely to be vulnerable and on lower incomes – are able to access this vital support without further delay.

“Traditional prepayment meter customers should also be prioritised in smart meter roll-outs where appropriate, so that financial support can be delivered automatically in future.”