Warm home discount no energy supplier 21 November 2022 at 10:12AM in Energy 13 replies 729 views

SianLM25

Hi all,

I'm after a bit of help of possible please.

I've received a letter from the government saying I am eligible for the warm home discount and it will be automatically added onto my bill or PAYG meter.

However I do not have an energy account, I'm living with my parents as I'm am mums carer and do not pay for energy in my name.

Would I still receive this? As I would put it on the electric anyway.

Thank you in advance 

Sian

windsorian68

I have a similar situation as my disabled adult daughter lives with me as I am her registered carer and she has received the letter stating she is entitled to the £150 warm home discount but the bill is in my name.  Also looking for advice.

ariarnia

the stuff i've managed to find online suggests it can be paid into the account in the name of someone registered with the dwp as your appointee. that might work for children who are eligible at least but might mean you have to phone the dwp to get it sorted. 

not sure how it works if your eligible but you are a carer for the acount holder not the other way around. you could maybe change the name on the account but i'm not sure if the energy company would do that. 

mumcarer

We have the same problem. My son has also received a letter for the 'warm home discount', but as he lives with me (his carer) he cannot claim the discount, because the energy bill is in my name.There are many people who need to live with their parents or other relatives, as they are not able to manage bill paying or to live on their own. Unfortunately, because the Government has choosen to only allow people to claim this discount if their name (or their partners name) is on the bill, this discount will go 'unclaimed'. It would of been much fairer if a person without a 'partner' could add a 'carer' as the bill payer instead. (The DWP / PIP are aware that many people with disabilities are not able to be bill payers. In fact part of their assessment asks how they manage bill paying!!). It will therefore be left to the Carers to help people on lower incomes with increasing energy costs instead of the Government, which is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. I would ask if someone at Money Saving Expert could pass this message onto Martin Lewis, perhaps he could once again champion people in need and highlight this Governments 'oversight' in the press. Thank you  

macman

The named person on the account can be anyone, they do not have to live there or actually pay the bill-but they are legally responsible. The actual bill payment can come from anyone's account, The supplier does not care as long as the payments are made.

Spoonie_Turtle

mumcarer said:

Unfortunately, because the Government has choosen to only allow people to claim this discount if their name (or their partners name) is on the bill, this discount will go 'unclaimed'.

This was true of the previous WHD scheme too.  I think people are feeling the effects this year because the income criteria have been made stricter.

I don't know what's going on this year, the online info said one of the eligibility criteria was having your name on the energy account but many people are receiving the letters whose names aren't on the household's energy account.

If people are finding their energy suppliers don't know what's going on either, maybe raise the issue with Ofgem?  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, [email protected].

SianLM25

Thank you for all your replies, seems its not just me that's confused 😅

Chrysalis

Has anyone who lives on their own (or in a flat?) got a letter yet?

Luckily because of the CoL payments the people missing out on WHD wont be as affected as they otherwise would have been, hopefully they improve things next year.

For the OP its as Spoonie said, I think you need to hope either the suppliers choose to accept it or the gov step in loosening their announced rules.

SianLM25

Hi all,
I contacted ofgem and they suggested to contact your energy supplier so just waiting for a reply from them. Here's some of the reply from ofgem.

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.

windsorian68

I contacted Ofgem who advised I contact our energy supplier.  They have now added my daughters details to the account as a user and we will now receive the WHD.

Bakey72

I've emailed e.on to find out if my daughter's WHD can be applied to my account. She had the letter last year but is only 18 and still lives at home. Not sure if we can but a lot of people who are entitled to the help will miss out if their household energy bill is in another's name. Unsurprisingly her DWP letter isn't particularly helpful, I'd presumed it would be added to the energy supplier account for her address. I'll update on here when I get a reply in case it helps anyone else.