MSE News: £200 Alternative Fuel Payment to be paid 'in the New Year'

Spoonie_Turtle

cannugec5 said:

I have received an email from SSE regarding this payment for my now deceased friend for whom I had POA. 

The email states the payment will be made in February and will differ according to the way you pay your bills and which type of meter you have. 

Interestingly my late friend didn’t use any alternative fuels - his home was all electric.  

I have no idea if his estate will actually benefit from any payment as his bank account was closed 8 months ago, and the executors took control of the estate. 

His electricity account is still active as the house sale is just going through.  

Presumably he was in an area identified as primarily not using electric as the main heating source - there will be a few accidental beneficiaries that way (looking like we might too, only 4% using electric heating in our area, everyone else using alternative fuels according to census data).

I'm sorry for your loss.

Apodemus

Suffolk_lass said:

Apodemus said:

Suffolk_lass said:

Apodemus said:

Suffolk Lass, that sounds decidedly odd.   Why would Scottish Power credit the electricity account for the £200 Alternative fuel fund, when they (Scottish Power) decided to give the £400 EBSS as a direct payment back to individual bank accounts?  They have a working system in place, surely it would be much simpler just to continue with this, especially since this cash is specifically to help with the non-electricity portion of energy bills?

No idea. Here is the link  and for anyone not wishing to click on links,

Thanks, that confirms that regular DD payers will indeed receive it as a refund to the bank, rather than "as a credit to the smart meter" as suggested in your earlier post.

I have an excuse... sleepless night from 4am with dog

Oh no!  What was disturbing the pooch?! 

Qyburn

Seems a bit odd to classify areas as choosing a typical fuel. There must be loads of exceptions, for example round here the majority will be oil with a few LPG and the odd woodchip or pellet but any new builds almost certainly electric. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Qyburn said:

Seems a bit odd to classify areas as choosing a typical fuel. There must be loads of exceptions, for example round here the majority will be oil with a few LPG and the odd woodchip or pellet but any new builds almost certainly electric. 

They're doing it by census data.  Area using predominantly electric heating → no automatic payment, have to apply manually.  Area using predominantly alternative fuels → automatic payment. 

It's taken so long already I guess making everyone actively apply would make it take even longer still.  Whereas if they get a majority of everyone automatically, applications will be able to be processed quicker.

Suffolk_lass

Apodemus said:

Suffolk_lass said:

Apodemus said:

Suffolk_lass said:

Apodemus said:

Suffolk Lass, that sounds decidedly odd.   Why would Scottish Power credit the electricity account for the £200 Alternative fuel fund, when they (Scottish Power) decided to give the £400 EBSS as a direct payment back to individual bank accounts?  They have a working system in place, surely it would be much simpler just to continue with this, especially since this cash is specifically to help with the non-electricity portion of energy bills?

No idea. Here is the link  and for anyone not wishing to click on links,

Thanks, that confirms that regular DD payers will indeed receive it as a refund to the bank, rather than "as a credit to the smart meter" as suggested in your earlier post.

I have an excuse... sleepless night from 4am with dog

Oh no!  What was disturbing the pooch?! 

Aliens? as far as we could tell, nothing. I have heard on the village SM this morning that several places were burgled in the nearest town, so maybe there actually was a prowler. Pooch is a bit needy though, so he might just have been trying it on and having a shout. I'm conscious of him annoying neighbours, and maybe me reacting, reinforces him making a noise

Jyana

Just come across this on the British Gas website, looks like they will be posting out a coupon to all their customers regardless of how they pay for their electricity if I'm understanding this correctly? We know how well that went for their monthly support coupons, so hopefully this goes better.

https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/help-if-youre-struggling-to-pay/government-support.html#alternativefuel (bottom right of the page)

Tahlullah.H

Thank you @Jyana.   At least something is coming through, but still no exact date beyond 'in February' and that 'the government will tell us if you qualify'.   Payment for those who pay by DD into account to be expected imminently.

trickydicky14

I'm with Sainsbury's energy and have today got my £200 paid into my electric account, I will now attempt to get it paid into my bank account so I can put it towards some oil, this could be fun!

fabsaver

Jyana said:

Just come across this on the British Gas website, looks like they will be posting out a coupon to all their customers regardless of how they pay for their electricity if I'm understanding this correctly? We know how well that went for their monthly support coupons, so hopefully this goes better.

https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/help-if-youre-struggling-to-pay/government-support.html#alternativefuel (bottom right of the page)

On the British Gas page you linked there are various tabs to explain what is happening depending upon payment method. It looks like the Post Office payments apply to PAYG meters only. It does say if you're using a mobile please use the scrolling feature, so maybe that's why you couldn't see them.

When clicking on the 'Direct Debit' tab it states:
"If you pay by monthly Direct Debit, the Alternative Fuel Payment will be applied as a credit to your electricity account in February and will show on your next bill."
The 'Pay on Receipt' tab states:
"If you pay by variable Direct Debit, credit/debit card, cash or cheque the Alternative Fuel Payment will be applied as a credit to your electricity account in February and will show on your next bill."

Baronessbathory

I don’t suppose anyone here is with Ecotricity and heard anything about the alternative fuel payment? I called them and the person I spoke to hadn’t even heard of it 🙄