Gas and electic supplier for a person on benefits.

Rikki

I remember reading on here some time back about special tariffs for those on certain benefits. A friend of mine is about to become house bound after surgery and will be on IB for some considerable time. I mentioned about being able to save money on her heating bill but I can't remember which suppliers do this.
She is with E-On for gas and electric and doesn't pay or want to pay by DD.



Edit:I hope I haven't just imagined this and given her false hope.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi Rikki,

As your friend is currently with E.ON I thought I would just pop some info on for you, it may help.

E.ON have a tariff called Warm Assist, this is only offered to customers who meet certain criteria.

They need to be over 60, in receipt of the benefit pension credit and had their energy supplied by E.ON for 12 months or over, there must only be 2 people in the household and whose energy payments mean they are in fuel poverty.

The tariff offers a discount on the standard prices.

It may be a good idea to ask your friend to contact E.ON to see if they are eligible for this tariff and if so to make sure it would make them a saving.

Some customers do find that some of the online tariffs can make more of a saving due to the amount of discount that can be earned, but, you do normally have to pay by Monthly Direct Debit and agree to other conditions of the tariff, such as managing the account online.

Unfortunately, not wanting to pay by Direct Debit can limit the amount of tariffs that can be offered.

I would advise your friend to pop their details on to a comparison website, see what would be best, just note that social tariffs are not always on comparison sites, so you may have to contact the suppliers individually to see what they offer.

They may find it helpful to contact E.ON's caring energy department, they will be happy to help and go through the tariffs and also advise on saving energy, this may help as your friend will be house bound for some time.

If I can offer you any further advice, please just ask I will do my best to help.

Helena

Rikki

Thank you Helena. She is under 60 so wouldn't qualify for Warm Assist.

Will have to look into other suppliers.

Premier_2

The general name for these are 'social tariffs'

Eligibility requirements does vary by supplier, so it may be worth contacting each to see what they offer.
Here's a thread from last year that summarised what was available
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2095471
Don't know if it's still up to date.

However, before agreeing to any, always check with a comparison site as often an even better deal is available (but may require certain requirements to maximise discounts, e.g. dual fuel, online accounts, payment monthly by DD, etc)

beth58_2

I get special rates with British Gas and as a dual fuel user I still get a bonus each year. I've just switched to dual fuel a couple of month ago and got £5 cashback.
Most suppliers offer discount rates for long term sick/disabled and elderly but you need to speak to the right department within the company. They then ask a few questions to ensure you meet their criteria.