£150 warm home discount scheme

NedS

Robbie64 said:

The wording on the above letter suggests that there are mismatches occurring. If someone isn't a customer of an electricity supplier and therefore isn't named on the bill, (or isn't a partner of a customer) then I can't see how that benefit recipient can qualify for a Warm Home Discount.

I don't understand why DWP are even sending out these letters. I thought this was being administered by the energy suppliers, who presumably have the facility to check entitlement with DWP (as has happened in previous years, although the criteria has changed)
I qualified and received notification directly from my energy supplier. I have not received a letter (yet) from DWP.

calcotti

mjky73 said:

calcotti said:

mjky73 said:

NedS said:

Well, they've really messed this up. From the Government criteria for Core Group 2:

https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/low-income

If you live in England and Wales

You may be eligible if on 21 August 2022 all of the following apply:

• your energy supplier is part of the scheme
• you (or your partner) get certain means-tested benefits or tax credits
• your property has a high energy cost score based on its characteristics
• your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill

This is known as being in the ‘core group 2’.

If your name is not on the energy bill, you should not be eligible (how could they possibly pay you the £150 as it is refunded to your energy account, and you don't have one).

If they are merely looking for addresses that qualify AND have someone living at that property on means-tested benefits (UC), and are not cross referencing against the name of the energy bill account holder, they will be mis-paying a whole bunch of households - e.g, any household where mum and dad are working full time but little Johnny is claiming UC as he only works part time at McDonald's.

It’s concerning as the quote you’ve posted about eligibility (am I right in thinking that originates from the Gov website?) and the eligibility on the letter are different.

It’s worded differently but appears to mean the same thing so it don’t see what is concerning.

My point was the word ‘all’ on the website is very clear, without the word ‘all’ on the letter a person could read it as “well I qualify as at least one of the list applies to me”.

The list in the letter says 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. That clearly means that all apply. Otherwise it would say ‘or’ instead of ‘and’.

mjky73

calcotti said:

mjky73 said:

calcotti said:

mjky73 said:

NedS said:

Well, they've really messed this up. From the Government criteria for Core Group 2:

https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/low-income

If you live in England and Wales

You may be eligible if on 21 August 2022 all of the following apply:

• your energy supplier is part of the scheme
• you (or your partner) get certain means-tested benefits or tax credits
• your property has a high energy cost score based on its characteristics
• your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill

This is known as being in the ‘core group 2’.

If your name is not on the energy bill, you should not be eligible (how could they possibly pay you the £150 as it is refunded to your energy account, and you don't have one).

If they are merely looking for addresses that qualify AND have someone living at that property on means-tested benefits (UC), and are not cross referencing against the name of the energy bill account holder, they will be mis-paying a whole bunch of households - e.g, any household where mum and dad are working full time but little Johnny is claiming UC as he only works part time at McDonald's.

It’s concerning as the quote you’ve posted about eligibility (am I right in thinking that originates from the Gov website?) and the eligibility on the letter are different.

It’s worded differently but appears to mean the same thing so it don’t see what is concerning.

My point was the word ‘all’ on the website is very clear, without the word ‘all’ on the letter a person could read it as “well I qualify as at least one of the list applies to me”.

The list in the letter says 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. That clearly means that all apply. Otherwise it would say ‘or’ instead of ‘and’.

I’d missed the word ‘and’. 👍
But, the bottom line is these letters are going out and the first sentence tells the recipient they qualify.

mjky73

NedS said:

Robbie64 said:

The wording on the above letter suggests that there are mismatches occurring. If someone isn't a customer of an electricity supplier and therefore isn't named on the bill, (or isn't a partner of a customer) then I can't see how that benefit recipient can qualify for a Warm Home Discount.

I don't understand why DWP are even sending out these letters. I thought this was being administered by the energy suppliers, who presumably have the facility to check entitlement with DWP (as has happened in previous years, although the criteria has changed)
I qualified and received notification directly from my energy supplier. I have not received a letter (yet) from DWP.

The letterhead is HM Government rather than DWP

Muttleythefrog

What an administrative farce...but don't mention the cause of it! Hopefully it gets to some of those who need it!

Spoonie_Turtle

It occurred to me that maybe the gov. dept. simply matched claimants with qualifying properties (claims will have address details) and bypassed the suppliers, which skipped the step of making sure people identified are actually account holders.  NedS also mentioned on a thread over on the energy board that perhaps they are matching surnames with account holders.

Anyway, the reason I came to post again is there is an eligibility checker now, just gone live today apparently
https://www.check-warm-home-discount-eligibility.service.gov.uk/region/?Id=59RHUY6S
There are also links to finding full EPC information if you're not sure of the age or size of your property (although not every home will have one, and I don't know whether the checker compensates for the EPC/VOA size discrepancy).

I don't think it gives definitive results, but does say what to do if you don't receive a letter.  This is what our result was, with no letter yet:

Please wait for a letter

Based on the benefits you claim and the type of property you live in, you are probably eligible for this year's Warm Home Discount Scheme.

What happens next

We will send letters to eligible households between November 2022 and mid-January 2023. You may automatically receive a letter.

If you do not receive a letter

If you have not received a letter by mid-January 2023, call us on 0800 107 8002 before 28 February 2023.

Or you can write to us at:

110552 Warm Home Discount Scheme
PO Box 26965
Glasgow
G1 9BW

Robbie64

Thanks for the link. I got the same outcome as yourself, "Please wait for a letter".

Muttleythefrog

"You probably aren't eligible for the Warm Home Discount this year". I'll take that as a no chance in hell unless the algorithms crash.... but then I'm sitting at 23.5C having never used the heating..lol

JonVarnas

"You probably aren't eligible for the Warm Home Discount this year"

To be honest though, I very rarely use my central heating. I received the warm home discount around Feb/March this year and haven't topped up since.

mjky73

Spoonie_Turtle said:

It occurred to me that maybe the gov. dept. simply matched claimants with qualifying properties (claims will have address details) and bypassed the suppliers, which skipped the step of making sure people identified are actually account holders.  NedS also mentioned on a thread over on the energy board that perhaps they are matching surnames with account holders.

Anyway, the reason I came to post again is there is an eligibility checker now, just gone live today apparently
https://www.check-warm-home-discount-eligibility.service.gov.uk/region/?Id=59RHUY6S
There are also links to finding full EPC information if you're not sure of the age or size of your property (although not every home will have one, and I don't know whether the checker compensates for the EPC/VOA size discrepancy).

I don't think it gives definitive results, but does say what to do if you don't receive a letter.  This is what our result was, with no letter yet:

Please wait for a letter

Based on the benefits you claim and the type of property you live in, you are probably eligible for this year's Warm Home Discount Scheme.

What happens next

We will send letters to eligible households between November 2022 and mid-January 2023. You may automatically receive a letter.

If you do not receive a letter

If you have not received a letter by mid-January 2023, call us on 0800 107 8002 before 28 February 2023.

Or you can write to us at:

110552 Warm Home Discount Scheme
PO Box 26965
Glasgow
G1 9BW

Thank you for the link.  I’ve clicked through and answered the questions.  First question, ‘have you received a letter?’ My answer Yes
Second question asks about a reference on the letter.  After I chose that I was told that I’m eligible for the WHD and didn’t need to do anything.  

Erm, but my name isn’t on the energy bill it’s got my dads name on it. 

So working on the website & letter eligibility list I’m not eligible, but using the letter reference online I am eligible 🤷🏻‍♀️ If Gov are going to send £150 where’s it going to go?