Thousands of British Gas customers get up to £250 of free credit to help with their energy bills – are you one of them?

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Thousands of British Gas customers can get up to £250 free credit.

Support is only available to customers who pay their energy bills through a prepaid meter.

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Thousands of British Gas customers can get up to £250 in free creditCredit: Getty

It is a discretionary payment of a credit of up to £250 for those struggling with energy costs.

This means that it is up to British Gas to decide who will get the assistance, and not all people who use a prepaid meter will be eligible.

The prepaid counters will be credited to eligible customers within the next month, British Gas said.

Customers do not need to contact the company to apply for assistance.

Those who qualify and need it will be identified and provided with this support.

It comes as part of a new £10m package for vulnerable prepaid customers.

Other support being offered includes additional vulnerability checks for those who need it.

The energy company also said it will not move customers to prepaid meters this winter unless they request it.

It will also provide prepaid smart meters for those suffering from high costs.

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, British Gas’s parent company, said: “We know some prepaid customers turn themselves off and not apply for help, so we have revised our policies to make more efforts to target support in this group.

“As a responsible business, we are doing everything we can to support our customers during this crisis – our work with the British Gas Energy Trust provides grants and financial advice services.”

It comes as Citizens Advice reported last week that more than three million Britons ran out of credit on their prepaid counters last year because they were unable to top up.

It also found that more than 2 million people are disconnected at least once a month.

Additionally, 19% of those out of work in the past year had spent at least 24 hours without gas or electricity.

Sun Money has called for people to be banned from taking prepaid counters this winter.

What help can I get if I am struggling?

Millions of households have started receiving a £400 energy bill discount from 1 October.

Households will have already received a £66 discount on their energy bill in October and November and £67 in December.

The Sun recently reported that the deadline to redeem October vouchers is now over — but we’re explaining how you can still get your discount.

There will also be a payment of £67 in January, February and March.

If you use a prepaid meter, you may be able to get a one-time coupon for a top-up.

The fuel voucher scheme comes via the fuel bank charity, and is offered through a range of organisations, such as food banks and citizen advice.

The best place to start is to find a place that can offer you a fuel voucher by asking your local council – you can find one via gov.uk by searching your postcode.

Between November and March 2023, a one-off £300 cost-of-living payment to eight million households began.

It is given to those who already receive the Winter Fuel Payment – which is between £100 and £300 for those over the state retirement age.

Millions of households have also started taking a £150 warm house discount between December and March 2023.

Check out more Energy Bill You Can Claim, which works out to £3,435 per annum.

Do you have a financial problem that needs sorting out? Contact us by sending an email to [email protected]

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