Southern Electric Social Tariff

x_emma_x

I applied for Southerns energyplus care tariff to be told that i dont qualify.
Im currently on i/s getting £45.50 a week, t/c of £48.32 a week and £25 maintenance for my 1 daughter. I get £574.99 housing benefit a month and full council tax benefit of about £15 a week. I pay direct debit for both my electric and gas of £40 a month as that is all i can afford and know that it will be nowhere enough to cover my bills.
After paying all my direct debits i am left with about £48 a week to live on.
I understand that im not as bad off as some but wondered just how poor you have to be to qualify? Any ideas? Anyone else been told thay dont qualify? Thanks x

KimYeovil

Unfortunately those who are too poor to use lots of energy in the first place are deemed not to be spending enough of their income to qualify!!!

There are always injustices in the way social tariffs etcetera are implemented. The poorest people who are already economising have to pay higher prices to subsidise those wealthy enough to spend ten per cent of their gross income on fuel.

I was going to post a rant about this a while ago but did not get round to it.

KimYeovil

Your problem, btw, Emma, is that your housing is so expensive. The biggest injustice of this stupid ten per cent rule is that only those in cheap social housing are likely to qualify.

notbritishgas

Recently signed my MiL up to this scheme on Atlantic (same company as Southern). To qualify you must spend at least 10% of your income on energy. Council tax and housing benefit count as income.
Your problem is that your income is too high.

KimYeovil

notbritishgas wrote: »

Recently signed my MiL up to this scheme on Atlantic (same company as Southern). To qualify you must spend at least 10% of your income on energy. Council tax and housing benefit count as income.
Your problem is that your income is too high.

Her problem is the qualifying criterion is absurd and grotesquely unjust.