Warm Homes Discount

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

It's a credit the suppliers place on the account of those customers that are eligible. It's mandatory for the bigger suppliers to give it.

50Twuncle

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

It's a credit the suppliers place on the account of those customers that are eligible. It's mandatory for the bigger suppliers to give it.

Yes - but who actually sources the funds for this benefit ?

elle_may

andrew-b wrote: »

if your on income based ESA or JSA or income support then savings have already been taken account to get those benefits. Warm home discount is £135 this year. Scottish Power don't pay out until end of march.

one gotcha to watch out for being part of the "broader group" for WHD like yourself... i was going to switch to a different company to chase the best fixed deals then had to cancel the move because i would have lost my £135 WHD discount so i can't leave before april now and can only get a fixed price deal with scottish power or else lose my £135 - not very fair.

I get warmfront from atlantic which is paid in march,swiched to s power and they have same broader group. as they pay out in march they say i if i swiched today,(i have) their cut off point is january 31. As their prices are saving me the same on a SSE 1 year fixed price with warmfront , i will be better off with SP as i will have another £135 on top if i some how miss this years time frame i will be no worse off. Just do the maths with your usage, find a better deal and take off your £135 after you have got the better deal.The main thing is to get a lower yearly unit price than your provider,as price rises will be dearer than now.I have based mine on atlantic new prices. The only thing i am worried about now is their customer service because atlantic is brill but price has to come out ontop now, as they have had to pull the good tarrif i was on.

50Twuncle

50Twuncle wrote: »

Yes - but who actually sources the funds for this benefit ?

Where does the money for Warm Homes come from
The Government (DWP) or the Energy Companies ?

Graham1

50Twuncle wrote: »

Where does the money for Warm Homes come from
The Government (DWP) or the Energy Companies ?

I believe the money comes from other customers. A percentage is added to all bills and this money is used to fund the scheme for vulnerable customers.

I phoned my energy supplier this morning. They are not in the warm home discount scheme as they are a smaller supplier. They claimed to me that there is a way to get the warm home discount if your supplier is not in the scheme and to contact citizen's advice for details. CAB knows nothing about this so it looks like the energy supplier was telling me wrong information. If anyone knows differently please say so.

andrew-b

not as far as i know Graham...sounds like they've sent you on a wild goose chase.

Elle unfortunately no other deal is better (i changed last year to scottish power from atlantic) ..even the best fixed price deal costs £130 more than i'm currently paying but yes if switching saves more money than the WHD discount is then it's worth doing. In the end i've fixed again at scottish power until march 2015 rather than wait for my current fixed deal which had no exit fee to expire as i couldn't risk the price going up more.

50Twuncle

Graham1 wrote: »

I believe the money comes from other customers. A percentage is added to all bills and this money is used to fund the scheme for vulnerable customers.

Right - so DWP (not HMRC) are involved in this ?
If this is the case - surely it is open to abuse ?
How will they be able to disprove any claim to be earning under £16190 pa ?
Since DLA is not based on income - in theory anyone on DLA can get £135 off their power bill ?

colalba

Graham1 wrote: »

I phoned my energy supplier this morning. They are not in the warm home discount scheme as they are a smaller supplier. They claimed to me that there is a way to get the warm home discount if your supplier is not in the scheme and to contact citizen's advice for details. CAB knows nothing about this so it looks like the energy supplier was telling me wrong information. If anyone knows differently please say so.

graham1 - Might be worth giving Warm Home Discount Scheme Helpline a ring on 0845 603 9439 which is open on Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.

For other readers a list of suppliers who are part of scheme can be found here. http://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/eligibility

andrew-b

DWP yes. But the daft thing i found last year when i was asked to provide evidence was that i had to supply all the proof rather than the information being supplied from DWP to the energy company. I was being asked for information from DWP and HMRC to be provided within 7 days when DWP/HMRC often take several weeks and when i couldn't provide it through no fault of my own they wrote to me saying i wouldn't get WHD as i hadn't provided the evidence asked for - obviously i wasn't having that so put up a fight until i actually did get it sorted!

I would guess that those claiming on low income and DLA only are more likely to be asked to provide evidence than those on income-based benefits that DWP have alot of information on already. Does seem like it could be open to abuse but getting caught would see the fraudster in court i'm sure. This is why i think it would be so much better if DWP administered the whole thing rather than leave it to the money-grabbing energy companies. Perhaps it should be a part of the universal credits system instead?

Richie-from-the-Boro

50Twuncle wrote: »

Right - so DWP (not HMRC) are involved in this ?
If this is the case - surely it is open to abuse ?
How will they be able to disprove any claim to be earning under £16190 pa ?
Since DLA is not based on income - in theory anyone on DLA can get £135 off their power bill ?

The origins of who decides what has changed over the years The Core Group are decided by the DWP and yes DLA is [non-income] excluded from the 'fuel poor' definition. The DWP - using regulation powers inform the big 6 of all post code individuals who form part of the core group, and simultaneously write snail mail to the concerned individuals address confirming that they have pre-notified the energy supplier of your eligibility, this core group need to do nothing to prove their eligibility. The definition and calculating of of 'fuel poor' changed just last month. Taxpayers, many of whom are retired pensioners pay for all the subsidies including the green[ing] costs which are running at about £20 in every £100 for everyone in these Islands.

This issue crops up regularly on MSE if posters declared whether they were (1) core ~ or ~ (2) broader group in they very first instance it would really help them get the objective answers they need.

NOTE01 :
Core Group = persons in fuel poverty
Broader Group = in risk of fuel poverty
NOTE02 :
Everyone and his auntie jumped on the 'broader group' and were generally successful, it was handed out like candy on a first come first served basis till the money pot ran out. The suppliers obeyed GOV requirements and the taxpayer picked up the tab. Whether this same model of distribution will be used in the future I very much doubt. One from memory supplier .. .. that of SP if I REM, overpaid a half mi££ion to the 'broader' group, and have been regretting it ever since.