warm home discount scheme

tinacee1

I am one of the 5% of applicants who have to send more documentation to CHARIS - the organisation sending out the rebates to the British Gas customers who applied for The Warm Home discount.

I was told this by the British Gas Home Energy Customer Care Team in Leeds when I rang to find out what documentation to send to CHARIS.This has to be sent by 22nd March or applicants will lose out. It is a very tight time-frame since I only got this information about sending extra documentation yesterday by way of an email from British Gas.

The BG customer care person that I spoke to gave me a freephone number to CHARIS which I had jotted down but mislaid.

Has anyone got this number - it starts with 0800 138 ????

Simon7685

I can't help you with the number sorry. However I do think this is a disgrace, they sit on applications for months and then give you 1 week to provide the necessary paperwork. Doesn't seem fair to me, especially if you need to rely on getting the information from DWP, which can take more than a week!

There is still nothing showing on my Scottish Power account, so it looks like SP are taking it down to the wire to pay people.

rich_shot2003

Still not had payment yet from BG and have never had any letter from them as well.

i keep ringing them to find out and they keep telling me that they are sure that i will get it but should i have got a letter telling me that i will get it?

I just fear a !!!! up with just 2 weeks left of the month and why do they leave it till the last min to pay people?

tinacee1

Ring CHARIS direct. They are the ones making the payment. It is 08001387244.

I am in the same predicament as you and have contacted the British Gas Home Customer Service 08000728625. See my previous post about the email they sent me on saturday. Hope this helps.

UPDATE; I HAVE BEEN RINGING CHARIS SINCE 15TH MARCH UP UNTIL THIS MORNING AND NO ONE ANSWERS. STRAIGHT ONTO ANSWER PHONE. I LEFT MY DETAILS ON 16TH MARCH FOR SOMEONE TO GET BACK TO ME - NO JOY.

shammyjack

Just had a 12 minute conversation with Scottish Power on the dedicated number for Warm Home Discounts 0800 027 2700.

They are a small team of less than 12 but had this to say.

SP take a 10% random sample of all applications . These are sent for verification and all the rest are paid automatically.

The 10% selected for verification were checked with DWP and any needing further information or who had filled in forms incorrectly were contacted before Christmas 2012 .

According to the Rep I spoke to all the other 90% who applied before Christmas , those who have re=submitted correct information and any who applied after Christmas up to the cut off date WILL receive payment .

Payments will not show in your online account but will be credited to your next bill. I was advised that submitting meter readings after 31/03/2013 to generate a bill will show if you have received your discount .

Simon7685

That is really useful information, thanks. It is just a shame they can't communicate that to people who have applied.

MissJC

tinacee1 wrote: »

I received an email from british gas yesterday which I have posted below. They are telling me that they need to have a copy of my Benefit Entitlement letter from Dept. Work and Pensions for period 6th April 2012 to 31st March 2013.

I have to send that with a copy of their validation form which I have downloaded and printed out from their email. They have to receive this before 22nd March , which is not a lot of time really as I have lost my DWP Benefit Entitlement Letter.

MY QUESTION IS :
Would I be able to get a copy of my benefit entitlement letter from the Dept. of Work and pensions as I cannot find my original one.


COPY OF THE EMAIL I RECEIVED YESTERDAY;

Dear Mrs Connor
Important information required for the British Gas 2012/2013 Warm Home Discount Payment
Thank you for applying for the Warm Home Discount Scheme for Winter 2012/13. We’ve reviewed the income related benefit information you gave in your application with the Department for Work and Pensions, and unfortunately they’re unable to confirm whether you are eligible for the scheme through British Gas.

When you applied for the 2012 Warm Home Discount payment, we explained that we may require written documentary evidence from you to support your application. We now require this information and payment of the £130 Warm Home Discount is dependent on this evidence being submitted. If you qualify, a credit will be made to your electricity account / meter by 31st of March 2013.

If you do not provide this information by Friday 22nd March 2013, we will not be able to give you the Warm Home Discount payment.

You have previously advised us that you meet our eligibility criteria because:

You or your partner are in receipt of 1 of the following income related benefits:

• Income Related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Based Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support

AND in addition you qualify for 1 of the following reasons:

• You have parental responsibility for a child of 5 years or younger
• You receive Child Tax Credits• You receive a Disability Premium
• You receive a Pensioner Premium

What you need to do next:

• Please provide us with a copy of all pages of the benefit letter you have received from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) for period 06th April 2012 – 31st March 2013 showing benefit entitlement (And any Disability or Pensioner premiums if relevant).

In addition;

• If you receive Child Tax Credits, you will also need to send in all pages of the Tax Credit award from the Inland Revenue for the period 06th April 2012 – 31st March 2013 stating Child Tax Credit entitlement
• If you have a child under 5, please send in a copy of the child’s birth certificate or passport

Please click here to download your Validation Form and return this to the freepost address given on the form with all necessary supporting documentation by Friday 22nd March. Please only provide photocopies of proof as we are not able to return originals.

Alternatively, please attach scanned copies of your validation form and documents and email these to us at WHDBRG@charisgrants.com Please note that you must provide full and complete documentary evidence that confirms you meet the eligibility criteria in order for us to make a Warm Home Discount payment.


Yours sincerely

Customer Services Director

I tried to send my documentation today but it seems the email address supplied doesn't work!
I got a Mail Delivery Failed message back.

shammyjack

Simon7685 wrote: »

That is really useful information, thanks. It is just a shame they can't communicate that to people who have applied.

I had a long discussion with the very pleasant young lady from SP.

She assured me that a lot of the concerns I had about lack of information were about to be addressed as they had been inundated with calls and with only a small team this took up the majority of their time.

I also suggested that they got their approved reps on this and other forums to post a comprehensive statement on these and other concerns.

Whether that happens we shall see .

SP Rep David take note !

Murphybear

Is it different for Pensioners? My house mate is on Pension Credit and got contacted by Eon last autumn to say he was eligible for the £130, he didn't have to apply, he would get it automatically. He got the letter with the barcode to take to the Post Office at the beginning of December.

owlsrace

I got the same email on the 15th March and a letter on the 19th March. Due to the weekend I could do nothing about it. On the Monday I phoned British Gas who seemed clueless as what aspects of their criteria meant. They told me to phone the DWP who were quite helpful but unhappy about British Gas sending people to them to explain British Gas's own criteria. In the opinion of the DWP, my wife's condition was more than adequate to fit the criteria, but advised me to ring the ESA. The ESA seemed uninformed about the whole criteria business and not too bothered about helping. They offered to send a letter to me confirming my wife's level of benefits but it is unlikely to get here in time for me to forward it to British gas before the 22nd March.

I posted my experiences with the scheme on Facebook and found that many others were in the same situation.

In my view, this scheme has either been grossly mishandled by British Gas OR they waited until the last minute to notify claimants in the knowledge that very few would then be eligible to claim it. This reflects the current governments attitude on making benefits available to those who really need them. No wonder millions of pounds of benefits go unclaimed every year