warm home discount scheme

[Deleted User] · 15 March 2012 at 11:24PM

if you qualified for the warm home £120 fuel rebate discount this year(2011/12)a reminder that unless you qualified automatically then you will have to re-apply for 2012/13(£130)

the scheme runs for 4 years,and has to be applied for each year,so after april 6th 2012 contact your supplier to register again.

all payments for 2011/12 should be made before the end of march,and if it puts your account in credit you can ask for a refund,or lower monthly direct debits if you prefer

societys_child · 15 March 2012 at 11:50PM

Paid by the end of March. Thanks for that, I qualified automatically but haven't had it credited yet . . . I can trust EDF can't I?:eek:

lyndac40 · 16 March 2012 at 12:01AM

Hi just to let you know I called BG today because I hadn't heard anything and my payment has been released yesterday. So I should get it either Saturday or Tuesday when I top up my meter. xxxxxxx

minimad1970 · 16 March 2012 at 12:06AM

Thanks for this reminder. I got this years from Southern Electric on monday, it was added to my key meter automatically.

Simon7685 · 16 March 2012 at 1:12AM

If you didn't qualify automatically but will for 2012/13, it will be wise to check as to whether it will benefit you, if you are already on your companies social tariff (BG=Essentials). Most of the big 6 I believe are keeping these tariffs goings if you are already on it, until the end of 2013.

So you need to work out whether or not the rebate from the warm home discount scheme will outway the benefits of the reduced prices of the social tariff you are on. In my personal case, I am better off staying on the Essentials tariff, to move to the warm home discount scheme will make me around £300 a year worse off:eek::eek:

You have to remember to move to the warm home discount scheme, you will be removed from the social tariff and have to go onto a more expensive tariff overall. Due to the price differences you could be a lot worse off. I have spent a great deal of time and effort looking into this and it is fact.

I devised a spreadsheet which takes into account my annual usage (which changes little from year to year). I tested the spreadsheet against last years bills and it is accurate to within £2 over the course of the year, so it is definately correct. This demonstrated that for me, moving to the warm home scheme will cost me just over £300 a year more based on current prices.

Sadly a lot of people are swayed by the fact that on paper it looks like you are being given £100 for the current year and rising each year of the four years it runs. The fact is you probably benefit by more than that from the discounted prices of the social tariffs there are/were.

There will only ever be one winner and it will always be the energy companies. So please check before you jump! the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

welshsue · 16 March 2012 at 10:04AM

I was with Swalec on the social tariff and was told about a month ago that this has stopped a year ago and I should not have been receiving it still (prepayment meter so their fault they didn't change it). They changed me onto the normal rate (16ppu) and I have just swapped to Scottish power who are a bit cheaper( just over 12ppu). The home front discount would not even scratch the surface of the difference between the tariffs and we are too late to apply for this year so will have to apply from 6th April for 2012/2013.

Simon7685 · 16 March 2012 at 2:30PM

This is the sad thing about this switch, thousands of people are falling into the trap of seeing the £100 rebate and thinking that will automatically make them better off.

It is a bit like dangling a carrot. It all sounds great in principle but in reality a lot of vulnerable people are going to end up a lot worse off. The whole scheme is gold mine for the energy companies. I dread the day that British Gas tell me the essentials tariff is closed and I have to move to the warm home discount scheme. My energy costs are going to increase by over £300 a year or £25 a month and that is after the annual rebate!!!

If you are currently on your energy companies Social Tariff, please do the maths and work it out as you could be much worse off by switching to this scheme. If you are then sit tight until they force you off the Social Tariff!!

societys_child · 16 March 2012 at 6:17PM

@simom7685
Think you've got your wires crossed.

The thread is regarding the warm home £120 fuel rebate discount, referred to in the OP and applies to people on certain benefits. Nothing to do with the warm home discount scheme and nothing to do with changing tariffs.

[Deleted User] · 16 March 2012 at 6:46PM

I think it might be an idea if this sticky wasnt used to discuss tariffs etc in general,as its meant purely to remind people to re-register for warm home scheme for 2012/13(or indeed to register for the first time),if they dont qualify to get it without claiming
thanks

anguk · 16 March 2012 at 7:28PM

societys_child wrote: »

@simom7685
Think you've got your wires crossed.

The thread is regarding the warm home £120 fuel rebate discount, referred to in the OP and applies to people on certain benefits. Nothing to do with the warm home discount scheme and nothing to do with changing tariffs.

The £120 fuel rebate discount is the Warm Home Discount Scheme?

I'm with British Gas, currently on their Essentials tariff (for people on certain benefits), if you're already on that scheme you can't get the £120 fuel rebate. The Essentials tariff has now been stopped since the government brought in the Warm Home scheme, existing customers will at some point be taken off Essentials and put on a more expensive tariff.

Simon7865 makes a very good point that people will probably be worse off on the £120 rebate than they are now on the social tariffs. It's easy to think "oh I'll get £120 on this new scheme" but it could cost you double that in higher fuel costs.

john539 · 16 March 2012 at 8:42PM

Simon7685 wrote: »

This is the sad thing about this switch, thousands of people are falling into the trap of seeing the £100 rebate and thinking that will automatically make them better off.

It is a bit like dangling a carrot. It all sounds great in principle but in reality a lot of vulnerable people are going to end up a lot worse off. The whole scheme is gold mine for the energy companies. I dread the day that British Gas tell me the essentials tariff is closed and I have to move to the warm home discount scheme. My energy costs are going to increase by over £300 a year or £25 a month and that is after the annual rebate!!!

If you are currently on your energy companies Social Tariff, please do the maths and work it out as you could be much worse off by switching to this scheme. If you are then sit tight until they force you off the Social Tariff!!

Essentials tariff is ending end of this month ! :eek:

warm home discount scheme

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