How your energy supplier will pay £400 rebate – from British Gas to EDF

Millions of domestic energy customers will be receiving money off their energy bills in the wake of the cost of living crisis.

The Energy Bills Support Scheme will see Brits receive a £400 rebate off their bills which they will not need to pay back.

The discount is automatic meaning you do not need to apply, and it will start rolling out this month.

You’ll get the money in six monthly installments, running until March 2023.

How you receive the discount – whether by bill discount or cash to your bank account – differs between suppliers.

Here is everything you need to know about how your energy provider will supply the cashback.

British Gas

The country’s biggest energy provider, British Gas, has said that those who pay for their bills via direct debit will continue to pay them as normal.

However, they will receive the £400 discount straight into their bank account over six months.

If your bills are less than the monthly refund, the money will be refunded and the remaining amount added to your account.

Those that pay quarterly by cash or check will see the rebate added to their account, and those with a smart prepayment meter will see it added to their meter.

If you have a traditional prepayment meter you will receive the discount through vouchers, which you can then cash in when you top up in your normal way.

Bulb

Unlike British Gas, Bulb customers will see the monthly amount of the rebate taken off their bills automatically.

If you pay by direct debit or top-up with Smart Pay As You Go, you will get the payment automatically to your Bulb account.

If you top up using a key or card, you will get vouchers sent to your email or post from the post office in the first 10 working days of each month.

The vouchers will be valid for three months and you will need to provide ID to redeem them.

You can split the voucher between electricity and gas payments with Bulb.

EDF

Customers with EDF will pay their monthly bill as normal and receive the discount as a repayment.

Those that pay by direct debit will receive a cash discount directly into their bank account, while non-direct debit payers will see the rebate credited to their energy account in the first week of each month.

Alternatively, those on smart prepayment meters will receive the discount automatically through a credit on their device.

Prepayment customers will receive the discount via vouchers and will need ID to claim them.

If you only have a gas account with EDF, payments will come from whoever supplies your electricity.

E.ON

Fixed direct debit customers with E.ON will see an automatic deduction to their bills as part of the Energy Bill Support Scheme.

Pay on receipt of bill customers and regular cash payment customers will see the money automatically applied as credit to their energy accounts in the first week of each month.

Smart prepayment customers will see the money credited directly to their meters as a top-up in the first week of each month.

Traditional prepayment customers will be provided with vouchers in the first week of each month.

For E.ON Next customers, these will only be redeemable at the Post Office, not at all top-up locations.

If you only have gas through E.ON, you will receive the payment through your electricity supplier.

Octopus

Octopus customers who pay for their bills via direct debit will have their monthly payment reduced by the discount amount.

If your pay less monthly than the discount, your payment will be reduced to 0 and you will go on a ‘payment holiday’, with any extra added to your energy account as credit.

Customers who pay on receipt of bill will have the discount added each month.

Smart prepayment meter customers will have the discount applied as a credit to their meters, while traditional prepayment customers will receive vouchers.

Ovo

Ovo customers will have the discount sent straight to their bank account after paying their monthly bill.

If you have a prepayment meter, you will see the discount credited to your electricity meter every month.

However, if you have a smart prepayment meter this will be different and you will receive the discount remotely via credit on your device.

Utilita

How you will receive the discount from Utilita depends on how you pay your bills.

For pay-as-you-go customers and you have a smart meter, the discount will automatically be added to your meter.

However, if you pay-as-you-go and don’t have a meter, you will receive energy credit vouchers for you to redeem in PayPoint shops.

You need to may sure your contact details are correct to redeem the vouchers and you must provide proof of address and your electricity top-up key.

If you receive energy bills your payment will be automatically added as credit to your account.

For direct debit customers, if you have a variable direct debit the rebate will be added as credit to your account every month,

Alternatively, if you have a fixed direct debit, you will pay for your bills as normal and then receive a refund for the rebate amount.

If your direct debit amount is lower than the Energy Bills Support Scheme discount, you will be refunded your full direct debit and the difference will be added to your account as credit.

Utility Warehouse

Customers who pay on demand with Utility Warehouse will see their bills automatically reduced in line with the payment scheme.

If you use less than the rebate amount, you can request for the credit to be refunded or leave it in your account to go towards your next bill.

Fixed monthly direct debut customers – known as a budget plan with Utility Warehouse – will see the value of the discount applied to their bills automatically.

Smart prepayment meter customers will have the discount sent to them remotely at the beginning of the month, while traditional prepayment meter customers will receive vouchers.

Vouchers can be redeemed from any PayPoint counter and you will need to show photo ID to claim them.

Shell Energy

Customers with Shell Energy will see the six discounts deducted from their bills before their direct debit is taken.

This is the same for customers who do not pay with a direct debit.

Smart prepayment meter customers will receive the monthly payment direct to their meters as a credit.

Traditional prepayment meter customers will receive gas or electricity vouchers to be redeemed against the cost of their bills.

Scottish Power

If you are with Scottish Power, you will be expected to pay your bill as normal and once this has been received, your discount will be applied.

For customers of smart prepayment meters, your meter will be updated automatically.

If you use a traditional prepayment meter, you will be sent a voucher to redeem in a shop that will be valid for three months.

If your voucher becomes damaged, you will be able to receive a new one.

SSE

If your energy supplier is SSE you will receive the rebate directly into your bank account once you have paid your weekly bill as normal.

Smart prepayment meter customers will be sent the rebate in the form of credit directly onto the meter itself.

Those with a standard prepayment meter will be sent credit to the electricity meter every month.

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