£150 warm home discount scheme

joebob

I get contributory ESA and received letter today. No idea why as not claiming anything else in household, every bit helps though.

poppy12345

Seems like they've made a complete mess of this and it's not long since people started to receive the £150.

Muttleythefrog

poppy12345 said:

Seems like they've made a complete mess of this and it's not long since people started to receive the £150.

It does seem a bit of a farce.... as you say many entitled to WHD for years now are not... 
... yet many not eligible now seemingly are to get it

NedS

Muttleythefrog said:

poppy12345 said:

Seems like they've made a complete mess of this and it's not long since people started to receive the £150.

It does seem a bit of a farce.... as you say many entitled to WHD for years now are not... 
... yet many not eligible now seemingly are to get it

Well, we'll see. They may have received letters, but I'm not sure how they will get it if they don't have an electricity account with a supplier. But @poppy12345 is correct in that it does look like something has fundamentally gone very wrong.

gbhxu

It does seem a stupid way of administrating the WHD.

You get the letter stating that you qualify for the WHD, but, you're not asked which supplier you're with!

Does the Government give your details to every electric supplier?

NedS

gbhxu said:

It does seem a stupid way of administrating the WHD.

You get the letter stating that you qualify for the WHD, but, you're not asked which supplier you're with!

Does the Government give your details to every electric supplier?

The Government cannot share your information with electricity suppliers or any 3rd party without your permission. Normally what happens in situations where a 3rd party is making a decision to award something based on benefit entitlement is that the Government provides the 3rd party with a way of checking entitlement. So in this case one would expect the electricity supplies to have the facility to check entitlement and receive a simple yes/no answer. DWP should be able to cross reference a name and address against an entitlement to UC (or other benefit), although normally this would be easier with a DoB and NI number, information our electricity suppliers are unlikely to hold.

Spoonie_Turtle

gbhxu said:

It does seem a stupid way of administrating the WHD.

You get the letter stating that you qualify for the WHD, but, you're not asked which supplier you're with!

Does the Government give your details to every electric supplier?

Further to NedS' answer there has surely been a system in place already for years, because people claiming Pension Credit qualified automatically before.

mumcarer

I've done the same checks - Letter is addressed to my son, but I am named on the energy bills. Checked the warm home website which confirms eligibility (i.e rec'd a letter /have a ref No etc). Telephoned the number on the letter, but all I got was an automated message (No option to speak to an actual person). Gov website - only basic info provided, but no signposts for further information that is actually needed. All very confusing and I'm still no wiser

Spoonie_Turtle

Just throwing this out there, might be worth raising with Ofgem if the suppliers don't know what to do?  Not that I think Ofgem would solve it right away, but at least they'd be alerted to this happening as a widespread problem.  They have this on their FAQ page:

How can I contact Ofgem about the Warm Home Discount?

If you have any further questions, please contact us on our Warm Home Discount mailbox, WHD@ofgem.gov.uk.

[Deleted User]

I emailed ofgem using the email Spoonie_Turtle provided last night. I basically told them what I have told the forum about not being named on the bill and being offered the £150 WHD etc

 I just received this reply below;

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Thank you for contacting the Warm Home Discount (WHD) team at Ofgem. We administer the Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). You can read more about our role on our website.

 

WHD is a scheme aimed at tackling fuel poverty, and it has three different elements: two consumer groups (Core Groups 1 & 2 in England and Wales; a Core Group and a Broader Group in Scotland), and a set of Industry Initiatives for suppliers. Whilst Ofgem administers WHD we do not have sight of, nor are involved in contractual arrangements between the energy companies and consumers.

 

The WHD rebate can on occasion be granted to households where one person, who is not named on the energy bill, is eligible for the scheme. I.e., the discount can be applied to the bill of one person, where another person in the household is eligible. You should contact your energy supplier to clarify this.

 

Data held by DWP, HMRC and VOA will be matched to identify households eligible for the England and Wales Core Groups 1 and 2 rebate, and the Scottish Core Group. Consumers in these groups will thus receive the WHD rebate automatically without the need to apply. If you live in Scotland and you think you may be eligible for the WHD Broader Group, you will need to contact your energy supplier for further information on the eligibility criteria and how to apply for the rebate. For further information on how you can access the WHD rebate in Scotland, please see the draft guidance here.

 

Please note that although we encourage suppliers to pay the WHD rebate in the winter months, energy suppliers have until 31 March of a scheme year to make all payments to successful applicants; these timescales are set out in our E&W Guidance for Suppliers document and our draft Scotland Guidance for Suppliers document. I suggest that you contact your supplier to ask when they will pay you and whether there is any other help they can offer in the meantime.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us again at WHD@ofgem.gov.uk if you have any further questions about WHD.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ewan

Engagement Analyst

Delivery & Schemes

Commonwealth House

32 Albion Street

Glasgow

G1 1LH