Energy Rebate

borderlord

Hi again

calcotti

Sorry if I misread your post, no offense intended. Point still remains that unless there is a change in government thinking many households, mine included, will be denied this rebate.

On my park there are 55 households, each of which pays for their electricity the same way. I can't imagine mine is the only park in the same situation, so that adds up to quite a few households.

With the Council Tax rebate, there is, I believe, a system for people who do not pay by direct debit, to claim what's been promised. I pay by direct debit, so I can only hope that others are able to make this claim.

p00hsticks

Hope so. However, please bear in mind that due to the suspension of the 'Triple Lock' us pensioners will be getting less than we are entitled as a pension rise. Effectively, part of the £300, we are paying for ourselves.

I have read and understand the reasons for the suspension, but it doesn't change the facts.

Jeff

calcotti

borderlord said:.. unless there is a change in government thinking many households, mine included, will be denied this rebate.

Agreed.  

borderlord said:

However, please bear in mind that due to the suspension of the 'Triple Lock' us pensioners will be getting less than we are entitled as a pension rise. 

You are only ‘entitled’ to what the rules at the time say.

poppy12345

borderlord said:

Archie

'Every household in the UK is to get an energy bill discount of £400 this October as part of a package of new measures to tackle soaring prices.'

This from Rishi Sunak three days ago

Jeff

Except that's not what the factsheet actually says. What it says is... all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400.

borderlord

calcotti said:

The scheme guidance information says “Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households with a domestic electricity meter over six months from October“. If you don’t have your own domestic meter it appears you will not get the rebate.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-living-support/cost-of-living-support-factsheet-26-may-2022

True enough, except I do have a domestic meter. The fact that this is  read and levies charged by the park owner should not alter the basic intent of the policy.

Jeff

Spoonie_Turtle

borderlord said:

 ... Point still remains that unless there is a change in government thinking many households, mine included, will be denied this rebate.

On my park there are 55 households, each of which pays for their electricity the same way. I can't imagine mine is the only park in the same situation, so that adds up to quite a few households.

With the Council Tax rebate, there is, I believe, a system for people who do not pay by direct debit, to claim what's been promised. I pay by direct debit, so I can only hope that others are able to make this claim.

The council tax 'rebate' is based on who has a liability to pay CT (in other words, who would be chased up for any debt).

The energy grant is in effect based on a similar principle - the energy companies can only chase account holders for any debts incurred (e.g. landlords), they can't chase end users who don't have an account.  Logically the energy companies also can't credit a grant to end users who don't actually have an account with them.

The other payments, the Cost of Living payments, will be paid directly to the people who qualify, which can be determined via records that DWP and HMRC already hold.

HeleninSussex

borderlord said:

True enough, except I do have a domestic meter. The fact that this is  read and levies charged by the park owner should not alter the basic intent of the policy.

Jeff

Jeff, I'm in exactly the same position.  There must be many thousands of us park home owners/residents who risk slipping through the net unless we pursue this.  I have a domestic meter for my electricity, the park warden reads them all every month and we pay our individual bills to the park owner, who then pays in bulk to the supplier. 

My other source of energy for heating is LPG/Calor Gas cylinders which I order and pay for myself (nothing is included in the "pitch fee").  If people in our situation are denied the £400 promised to every household, then the government will be breaking its word.

borderlord

Hi Helen

Couldn't agree more. My park has 55 residents, so that's £22000 owed in total. Looking at the government website they are still 'formulating policy' and the rebate is not due till October, so that's plenty of time for them to come up with a system.

What we need to do is to keep this issue front and centre, so we are first in the queue for a resolution. I would suggest writing to your MP describing the problem and suggesting they pass this on to the decision makers.

If enough people do this, they'll have to find an answer.

Also suggest, as your post, that it was the chancellor himself who promised this rebate to 'all households' not just those who fall into certain categories.

Jeff

Virgo19

8. If I live in a park home, will I get the £400? Or if I pay for energy in my rent, how do I make sure my landlord passes on the reduction?

We recognise that there are certain situations where a third party will be responsible for the bill (and be named on it). In these situations, any charges should then be passed onto the end user, typically through all-inclusive rent (landlord or tenant) or ‘pitch’ charges (for example park homes). 

We are exploring this issue as we continue to develop the policy and we have gathered more evidence through the consultation.

borderlord

Hi Virgo

That sounds to me like a quote from somewhere. What was the source?

Anyway, let's put that in actual terms.

First of all, as someone else posted, it's not at all sure whether the park owner would get the rebate at all, since he is a commercial, not domestic owner.

Since they are calling it a rebate, I assume they are not giving us some money, but rather passing it on to the energy companies to be held as a credit on each account, and to be used to offset future bills.

So, take our park for instance.

We have 55 households, so that's some £22000 to be passed to the park owner, who would then have to keep records of each individual electricity bill, and therefore how much remains to each household from the original credit. My electricity bill is presented every quarter, and the last one was some £80 or so, so this would have to be maintained for over a year until all the credit was used up

That's a pretty onerous task to ask of any one individual.

Not saying it couldn't be done that way, but not sure how a park owner, who may not necessarily be in the finance industry, would cope, especially since he would not be receiving any help to cover the costs of maintaining such a system.

To my mind there is a simple solution, at least for park home owners, not sure how it would work for inclusive rented properties.

It was touched upon briefly by Helen in a previous post, and it's this:

Rather than pass it on to the electricity companies, give it instead to the lpg suppliers. After all they're energy suppliers too.

They could then hold it in credit against future bills for each individual customer.

 I know this would work, because it already does in at least one case. My neighbour had been overcharged on her bills for some time.

I talked to the lpg supplier on her behalf, they agreed there had been a slip up, and have issued a credit on her account to cover the overcharge. This will be used to offset future bills, and the companies computer will take care of the details.

Suggesting the same could happen here, although on a wider scale.

Seems to me we need to keep up the pressure on government to put a scheme into action, but rather than just saying they have to do something, if we could present them with a solution, ready made (oven ready?), so to speak, they would be more inclined to take that on board, since it saves them having to think of something themselves.

Just a thought

Jeff

GingerTim

You are quite right - the park owner will get nothing at all either since they will have a commercial energy contract. And which means, unfortunately, you get your electricity through a sub-meter on a commercial tariff.