Royal Mail strikes have left households in the cold as they await energy bill support vouchers.
Only 27% of vouchers issued under the Energy Bills Support Scheme for traditional prepayment meters have been redeemed up to 18 December, according to data from PayPoint.
In comparison, 80% of vouchers were redeemed in October, while that figure was 73% for November.
PayPoint, which operates payment services in 28,000 UK locations, said that December’s redemption figures were lower than expected.
Typically, around three-quarters of all the vouchers are issued by post and a quarter are sent through email.
PayPoint suggests that the Royal Mail strikes could have played a part in fewer households receiving their voucher.
Some 115,000 Royal Mail employees walked out across the country on December 9, 11, 14 and 15.
Further strikes are expected on 23 and 24 after negotiations between the Communications Workers Union and Royal Mail, now owned by International Distributions Services, broke down.
Under the government’s scheme, every household's energy bill will be cut by £400.
This will be applied over six months, with a reduction of £66 in October and November, and £67 every month between December and March 2023.
Customers with a traditional prepayment meter, which requires topping up via a key or card in a local newsagent or Post Office, will get support in the form of a voucher.