Help with Energy Bills?

lemontree

I have paid my Son's Gas and Electricity Bills for the last 2 years as he has a very low income, lives alone and is in and out of Hospital.
Because I pay these Bills through my Account, would this prevent him from ereceiving help?

lemontree

I am retired and using savings!

Simon7685

Exiled Cockney, if you are already on the essentials tariff you won't automatically qualify for the warm home grant/rebate. As I understand it to qualify, they will remove you from the essentials tariff. This will enable you to qualify for the £120 a year rebate but you will be put onto a standard tariff, which may end up leaving you worse off.

It is British Gas's policy to move all its essentials customers over to the warm front scheme eventually. I have already worked out that based on my last 12 months consumption, I will be over £300 a year worse off even after the £120 rebate because of the enforced tariff change. I intend to sit tight and wait for them to move me rather than pushing the issue at what is the most expensive times of the year for energy consumption.

ExiledCockney

Simon7685 Very good point. I will get someone who is much better at maths myself to work this out before submitting my application!

Thanks for pointing that out.

Joyful

Exiled Cockney if you are on the Essentials tariff you will be written to shortly asking you to apply for the WHD. The Essential tariff will then be removed from your accounts. You can though go onto a cheaper online tariff if you wish. Everyone will be coming off the lower tariff over the next few weeks.

Simon7685

Yes but the point is, even going onto a lower rate tariff than the standard one is still going to work out much more expensive over the course of the year, even after the £120 rebate. This whole thing is just a con by the enrgy companies and is going to make a lot of people already in fuel poverty sink even further into it.

The only winner here is the energy companies as usual, bigger and bigger profits year on year.
2009 British Gas operating profit was 595 million, up 58% on previous year
2010 was in excess of 720 million up another 21%
2011 270 million in the first half of the year

Parent company Centrica made 2.3 billion in 2010 and 1.3 billion in the first half of 2011. These amounts are nothing short of obscene and pretty much mirrored accross all of the big 6. Meanwhile energy costs to consumers continue to rise all the time and now we get screwed by the removal of the social tariffs, which are kindly replaced with significanyly worse deal that means we all end up paying more. I for one do not know where I am going to find the money from, my payments this year have gone from £62 a month to £76 and having just had my quarterly bill I am left £15 in debt. This time last year in the same position I was £200 in credit going into the winter quarter and paying £14 a month less. That shows how much it has gone up in the last 12 months as consumption remains the same.

We are all getting well and truly stuffed by energy bills!

gingergee

Just a quick one, but i followed the links today, applied myself, they rang and i got it. My mum did and also got it. I have put a link on my facebook page and a fair few of my friends also qualify ( i have 1300). Thanks sooo much for bringing this to our attention xxxx

Bubby

I apologise for this silly question but if I have a child aged 5 would I still qualify or do they have to be 4?

Joyful

Bubby it depends if you are on benefits or not or on a low income but the answer is 5 and under.

Bubby

Joyful wrote: »

Bubby it depends if you are on benefits or not or on a low income but the answer is 5 and under.

I am on income support lone parent