£400 rebate

bjthebear

Just wondered if I would be entitled to receive the £400 rebate as have an outstanding bill with my energy supplier at present who I have a payment plan with to pay off. I pay monthly by Direct Debit but my energy supplier SSE have said that as I have an outstanding amount with them the rebate will go straight to them and they will not forward this to my bank account as a refund is this accurate which means I will see benefit to my financial situation at this present time.

macman

You will see a benefit to your financial situation, as your debt to SSE will be reduced by £66/67 each month for the next 6 months.
You are still receiving the rebate, it's just being set against your debt.

bjthebear

Thanks and accept in the longer term it will be beneficial but unfortunately doesn't help in the shorter term which is actually what I thought it was meant for..

macman

The purpose of it was to reduce your energy bills, which it will do. Your DD should be reduced to reflect a reduction of £400 in your arrears.

MWT

macman said:

You will see a benefit to your financial situation, as your debt to SSE will be reduced by £66/67 each month for the next 6 months.
You are still receiving the rebate, it's just being set against your debt.

I'm not sure that they are allowed to do that, the Government scheme specifically states that the discount to the bills still applies to those who are in debt, it does not say that the supplier can use it to accelerate repayment of the debit.

The net result should be that the customer is paying £66 less each month during the 6 month period, not that the supplier gets an extra £66 each month to reduce the debt...

[Deleted User]

Hi,

this from SSE:

If you pay by Direct Debit

You’ll receive your discount as a refund. This means you’ll carry on paying your full Direct Debit amount. Once the Direct Debit payment has cleared, we’ll refund the monthly discount amount to your bank account shortly after. If you cancel your Direct Debit, or your payment fails, there may be a delay in applying the discount to your account.

You’ll get your discount every month, even if you don’t get monthly statements. You'll see confirmation of the discount on your next statement.

Have another word with them, or try CAB.

isasmurf

The government policy for this support scheme for households with large arrears are that they should be moved onto a payment plan (which the OP is on) so that only an amount of the rebate that is affordable to the customer should be used against debt. 

MWT

isasmurf said:

The government policy for this support scheme for households with large arrears are that they should be moved onto a payment plan (which the OP is on) so that only an amount of the rebate that is affordable to the customer should be used against debt. 

Unless you've got a link to something specific on that point, the fact that the OP is already on a payment plan should just mean that the £66 is deducted from the total payments and returned to the them, it shouldn't mean that a portion of the £66 is used to increase payments to the already agreed plan...

[Deleted User]

MWT said:

isasmurf said:

The government policy for this support scheme for households with large arrears are that they should be moved onto a payment plan (which the OP is on) so that only an amount of the rebate that is affordable to the customer should be used against debt. 

Unless you've got a link to something specific on that point, the fact that the OP is already on a payment plan should just mean that the £66 is deducted from the total payments and returned to the them, it shouldn't mean that a portion of the £66 is used to increase payments to the already agreed plan...

Some of the suppliers (EdF for example) have wooly statements like “if you are in arrears the rebate might be used against your debt first”.

isasmurf

MWT said:

isasmurf said:

The government policy for this support scheme for households with large arrears are that they should be moved onto a payment plan (which the OP is on) so that only an amount of the rebate that is affordable to the customer should be used against debt. 

Unless you've got a link to something specific on that point, the fact that the OP is already on a payment plan should just mean that the £66 is deducted from the total payments and returned to the them, it shouldn't mean that a portion of the £66 is used to increase payments to the already agreed plan...

I don't think we disagree. I read it they get back £66 or if their repayment plan is less than that what they've paid with the balance being applied to their energy account just as it would with customers not in debt.

The information is from the consultation response. 

BEIS recognises the operational difficulties in separating payments towards ongoing usage 

and suppliers’ needs to operate within BAU processes where possible to ensure scheme 

deliverability. 

However, it is a priority for this scheme to ensure households can use their EBSS grant to 

enjoy increased consumption, not just reduced debt. As this scheme starts at the end of 

summer, we understand that arrears should be at a minimum for most customers.

We therefore expect and encourage suppliers to make it their priority to work actively to move 

customers with large arrears balances onto repayment plans wherever possible. This should 

be in line with suppliers’ normal business processes in complying with supply licence condition 

27, including Ofgem’s Ability to Pay Principles of: (a) having appropriate credit management 

policies and guidelines; (b) making proactive contact with customers; (c) understanding 

individual customers’ ability to pay; (d) setting repayment rates based on ability to pay; (e) 

ensuring the customer understands the arrangement; (f) monitoring arrangements after they 

have been set up; and (g) re-engaging with a customer after an initial occurrence of a failed 

repayment arrangement.

This will help to ensure that, while EBSS will be allowed to contribute to debt and arrears, 

arrears balances should be minimised, and only an amount affordable for the customer should 

go towards debt.

macman

OP: how much is your current debt? Is it more or less than £400?