£400 energy grant -eligibility

[Deleted User]

frugalmacdugal said:

Hi,

a new account, would require a completely new supply line, would cost hundreds, would you be willing to pay for that?

Nobody is suggesting digging a new supply trench and laying new cables.  We're simply pointing out that this is a special case that appears to have dropped through the cracks in the wording of the scheme whilst plausibly having been covered by the intent of the scheme.

MWT

tightauldgit said:

throughtheblue said:

RogerBareford said:

throughtheblue said:

Deleted_User said:

throughtheblue said:

MWT said:

So... the £400 plan is still happening and additionally this has also been said...

...the government will set up a fund for those using heating oil, living in park homes or those on heat networks so that all UK consumers can benefit from “equivalent support”.

So the £400 will go to the landlord, but there may be help for those like you who do not have an energy account, but I have to say you are not in a clearly identifiable group so watch carefully to see if there is something you may need to register for...

If the rest of the plan is delivered as a discount to the unit price as stated, then the landlord can only charge you the discounted price, as long as that is being received, which may not be the case if the landlord is on a fixed tariff...

The Government hopes that there may also be discounts to the fixed tariffs after further discussion with suppliers...

Found this on the gov's website...
"If you pay for your electricity as part of your rent -

If your landlord has a domestic electricity contract with a licensed electricity supplier, and you pay for your electricity as part of your rent, your landlord may pass their discount on to you."

That reads like we won't be able to claim our own £400 grant and can only hope the landlord shares £200. Doesn't really seem like a fair scheme, where everyone and anyone regardless of circumstance will get £400 grant, but because we don't have a separate electricity account we won't be entitled. I wonder if their will be a phone line for these issues.

Its not "everyone and anyone", it's "every domestic electricity account".  Could you just imagine a shared house with one electricity meter, but every individual deciding they could get £400?

I will have a separate electricity meter, separate building, separate council tax and paying for the electricity I'm using, just not via my own account. In my situation, the scheme looks like a complete joke.

If you can prove that you live in a separate building, with separate council tax etc, and a meter, but you can't have access to an account because of some arbitrary reason then you should be able to receive £400 like the rest of the consumers. 

My situation is far from living in a shared house, so it's an irrelevant point and the scheme describes the stodgy thinking of British governments. 

Doing it for every domestic energy account is an easy way to capture most people without expensive admin costs. If they had to setup a team to review account induvidually then that would increase the cost massively and end up the money being paid out too late for the extra costs of winter heating.

You should be venting your annoyance towards your landlord who lazily daisy chained the supply from his own electricity supply instead of making it officially a seperate meter with a seperate energy account.

It was originally a holiday let, which may be why the setup is as such. I'm unsure if a new account can be established with as their is a meter, but it was installed by the landlord (whether that makes a difference), or if something else would need to happen.

What's your actual arrangement with the landlord regarding paying utilities? if he's only passing on actual costs then if he gets the grant it should be passed on to you. Does the property actually have a separate account for energy supply or is it all based on the main house - in which case there may well not be a £400 to argue over. 

This is a sub-meter on the main house supply, so this is not the landlord keeping £400 received for the cottage, this is the cottage trying to get a share of the £400 the landlord  received for the main house...

Just have to wait a bit longer to see if there is going to be any support for this sort of arrangement.

BikingBud

throughtheblue said:

Deleted_User said:

throughtheblue said:

Deleted_User said:

throughtheblue said:

MWT said:

So... the £400 plan is still happening and additionally this has also been said...

...the government will set up a fund for those using heating oil, living in park homes or those on heat networks so that all UK consumers can benefit from “equivalent support”.

So the £400 will go to the landlord, but there may be help for those like you who do not have an energy account, but I have to say you are not in a clearly identifiable group so watch carefully to see if there is something you may need to register for...

If the rest of the plan is delivered as a discount to the unit price as stated, then the landlord can only charge you the discounted price, as long as that is being received, which may not be the case if the landlord is on a fixed tariff...

The Government hopes that there may also be discounts to the fixed tariffs after further discussion with suppliers...

Found this on the gov's website...
"If you pay for your electricity as part of your rent -

If your landlord has a domestic electricity contract with a licensed electricity supplier, and you pay for your electricity as part of your rent, your landlord may pass their discount on to you."

That reads like we won't be able to claim our own £400 grant and can only hope the landlord shares £200. Doesn't really seem like a fair scheme, where everyone and anyone regardless of circumstance will get £400 grant, but because we don't have a separate electricity account we won't be entitled. I wonder if their will be a phone line for these issues.

Its not "everyone and anyone", it's "every domestic electricity account".  Could you just imagine a shared house with one electricity meter, but every individual deciding they could get £400?

I will have a separate electricity meter, separate building, separate council tax and paying for the electricity I'm using, just not via my own account. In my situation, the scheme looks like a complete joke.

If you can prove that you live in a separate building, with separate council tax etc, and a meter, but you can't have access to an account because of some arbitrary reason then you should be able to receive £400 like the rest of the consumers. 

My situation is far from living in a shared house, so it's an irrelevant point and the scheme describes the stodgy thinking of British governments. 

You mistake my point - I was replying to your general assertion that it's for "everyone and anyone".

In your specific case, I'm right behind you.  You should be a separately accounted for domestic connection and are only missing out because of an unusual topology of supply cables.  That clearly shouldn't have been the intention of the scheme and you have every right to make noise about it.

Apologies for misunderstanding your point. 

The frustration is from unknowingly worsening my situation. The landlord did say they'd cover the standing charge, so I have to look at that as a £150 discount across the year instead.

What is the standing charge?

Where is it advised and described?

What is your share?

From the CAB:

How much your landlord can charge

Your landlord can't charge you more than they’ve paid for gas and electricity - this is called the 'maximum resale price. This amount includes:

• the units of energy you've used (for example, the kilowatt hours you've used for electricity)
• your share of the standing charge (a flat fee charged on every energy contract)
• the VAT owed (5% for energy)

If your home doesn’t have an energy meter that records how much energy you’ve used, your landlord must estimate as accurately as possible how much you should pay. However, it’s rare that a home won’t have its own meter.

MWT

BikingBud said:

throughtheblue said:

Deleted_User said:

throughtheblue said:

Deleted_User said:

throughtheblue said:

MWT said:

So... the £400 plan is still happening and additionally this has also been said...

...the government will set up a fund for those using heating oil, living in park homes or those on heat networks so that all UK consumers can benefit from “equivalent support”.

So the £400 will go to the landlord, but there may be help for those like you who do not have an energy account, but I have to say you are not in a clearly identifiable group so watch carefully to see if there is something you may need to register for...

If the rest of the plan is delivered as a discount to the unit price as stated, then the landlord can only charge you the discounted price, as long as that is being received, which may not be the case if the landlord is on a fixed tariff...

The Government hopes that there may also be discounts to the fixed tariffs after further discussion with suppliers...

Found this on the gov's website...
"If you pay for your electricity as part of your rent -

If your landlord has a domestic electricity contract with a licensed electricity supplier, and you pay for your electricity as part of your rent, your landlord may pass their discount on to you."

That reads like we won't be able to claim our own £400 grant and can only hope the landlord shares £200. Doesn't really seem like a fair scheme, where everyone and anyone regardless of circumstance will get £400 grant, but because we don't have a separate electricity account we won't be entitled. I wonder if their will be a phone line for these issues.

Its not "everyone and anyone", it's "every domestic electricity account".  Could you just imagine a shared house with one electricity meter, but every individual deciding they could get £400?

I will have a separate electricity meter, separate building, separate council tax and paying for the electricity I'm using, just not via my own account. In my situation, the scheme looks like a complete joke.

If you can prove that you live in a separate building, with separate council tax etc, and a meter, but you can't have access to an account because of some arbitrary reason then you should be able to receive £400 like the rest of the consumers. 

My situation is far from living in a shared house, so it's an irrelevant point and the scheme describes the stodgy thinking of British governments. 

You mistake my point - I was replying to your general assertion that it's for "everyone and anyone".

In your specific case, I'm right behind you.  You should be a separately accounted for domestic connection and are only missing out because of an unusual topology of supply cables.  That clearly shouldn't have been the intention of the scheme and you have every right to make noise about it.

Apologies for misunderstanding your point. 

The frustration is from unknowingly worsening my situation. The landlord did say they'd cover the standing charge, so I have to look at that as a £150 discount across the year instead.

What is the standing charge?

If there is no discrete supply why is there a standing charge and to whom is it paid?

The landlord is not recharging a share of the standing charge they pay for the main house, which they are entitled to do, so there is no standing charge being paid by the OP for the cottage...

BikingBud

@MWT

Cross posted with my edit but not sure what is going on.

So I would be seeking confirmation from the LL about the billing method including Siding Charges and ensuring any revised charges/subsidies are also documented. 

tightauldgit

throughtheblue said:

tightauldgit said:

What's your actual arrangement with the landlord regarding paying utilities? if he's only passing on actual costs then if he gets the grant it should be passed on to you. Does the property actually have a separate account for energy supply or is it all based on the main house - in which case there may well not be a £400 to argue over. 

Due to move in shortly, but we will submit our readings at the end of the month to the landlord and pay them for the energy we've used. They live opposite, and the supply is via their account/house, so they will receive £400. 
I'm unsure if a new account could be made, or if there are complications to this and depend on how the original energy to the property was set up. 

 

If the landlord only has 1 account for their home supply then they are only going to get 1 £400 grant for their own supply the same as they would get if you weren't renting from them. That being the case I think it's hard to argue that they owe you anything.

If its just a meter the landlord has had installed separate from the actual supply infrastructure then no you wont be able to set up an account and its just one of those things.  

MWT

BikingBud said:

@MWT

Cross posted with my edit but not sure what is going on.

So I would be seeking confirmation from the LL about the billing method including Siding Charges and ensuring any revised charges/subsidies are also documented. 

Right now I wouldn't be doing anything at all as there is no detail on any of these changes, so going to have to wait until there is more clarity, and generally watch for any information about support for people who do not have an energy account in their name and see if this sub-metering arrangement is covered or not...

sammyjammy

If they are covering the standing charges then i think that covers any share of the £400 you would hope to get, you're moving in knowing the situation so have no beef as far as I can see.  Standing charge makes up more than 50% of my bill so I would love it!

throughtheblue

sammyjammy said:

If they are covering the standing charges then i think that covers any share of the £400 you would hope to get, you're moving in knowing the situation so have no beef as far as I can see.  Standing charge makes up more than 50% of my bill so I would love it!

I don't mean to sound ungrateful, and I don't expect the landlords to share their £400 discount. I do think, however, that people renting out separate dwellings should have it set up so the tenants can have their own individual accounts. It's actually part of the wording for standard contracts now, that tenants should be able to set up accounts, switch providers etc.

My working out was that the average standing charge on elec was 50p, so roughly £15 per month. If that's the case, then that's not near the £400 discount over 4 months. I could be wrong, as I luckily through chance had my current supply fixed until October, so I haven't been hit by any price increases.

chris_n

There are thousands of cases like this. Where properties have been converted to flats many only have one supply and are sub metered.