Over 30% of British Gas prepay customers say they're still waiting for October and November energy bill help vouchers in MSE survey

31% of British Gas customers who responded to our investigative survey said they still hadn't got their October OR November voucher – more than any other firm. SSE and Scottish Power also scored poorly, with a fifth of their customers (23% and 20% respectively) saying they hadn't got either voucher.

All households in England, Scotland and Wales with a domestic electricity account are getting a non-repayable £400 grant to help with bills this winter, paid as £66 in October and November, then £67 from December to March. For those on traditional (non-smart) prepayment meters, this should be paid as vouchers that you have to redeem.

We'll be reporting our detailed findings to energy market regulator Ofgem and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. If you're currently struggling to pay for your energy, see our Energy bills help guide for the support you could get.

Hundreds of prepay customers say they still haven't got their October and November vouchers

MSE ran its survey between 24 November 2022 and 1 December 2022, and it was self-selecting – so those frustrated about missing vouchers are more likely to have responded. Yet even if the proportions are skewed as a result, the survey reveals a material number of people reporting missing vouchers.

'Fobbed off': Struggling prepay customers at their wits' end trying to get the vouchers they're due

Most of those responding to our survey say they've found it difficult to contact their energy firm about missing vouchers. And even when they do manage to get through on the phone, dozens report feeling "fobbed off" by their energy firm.

Here's a small selection of complaints from survey respondents:

What to do if you haven't got your vouchers

All eligible prepay users should have received their first two £66 vouchers by now (and some will be getting their third). These will have been sent from your energy supplier by post, email or text message.

If you haven't got yours, here's what you can do:

1. Make sure your supplier has your latest contact details. One reason you might not have got your voucher is that it was sent to an out of date phone number or email address. Here, prevention is better than cure. Make sure your energy supplier has your latest details to minimise the risk of delays with your future vouchers. You should be able to do this in your online account (if you have one) or by contacting your supplier directly.

2. Ask your supplier to resend the voucher. If it was initially sent by post, ask your supplier if it can send it by email or text message instead. The Government says suppliers are required to make all reasonable efforts to ensure you get your discount.

3. Already tried contacting your supplier? Next, raise a formal complaint. If you've already tried contacting your supplier but you're not getting anywhere, the next step is to raise an official complaint. You can do this directly with your supplier or using the free Resolver tool.

   If necessary, you can then take it to the Energy Ombudsman – but you can only do this once eight weeks have passed or if you receive a deadlock letter. The Energy Ombudsman is an independent body that handles disputes between consumers and energy firms.

What do the firms say?

British Gas told us it has issued all October and November vouchers. It says customers who haven't received them should get in touch and it will resolve any issues "as quickly as possible". A spokesperson added: "To ensure our customers can contact us for support and advice, we've recruited an additional 700 people over the summer. We don't always get everything right, but we are constantly looking at how we can do more."

A Scottish Power spokesperson said: "The vast majority of our customers are receiving their payments on time and as expected. There's a small number of customers who have struggled to get it within the timescale – this is mostly down to some data issues out of our control."

A spokesperson from Ovo, which owns SSE's home energy arm, said: "We encourage anyone who has not received their voucher to get in touch with us so we can help. We can also advise on support available via our £50m customer support package."

What does the Government say?

In a letter to energy firm chief executives published on 4 December 2022, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Grant Shapps, said it was "deeply concerning" that some customers had reported not getting their vouchers – particularly as these customers are often the most vulnerable.

He added that he will be asking firms this week to confirm the measures they have put in place to address the nondelivery of vouchers and to ensure their call centre staff are providing "clear and accurate information" to customers.