£200 credit on energy bill for oil users

Sycamores

Hi I wonder if any of you can help 👍

My neighbours like ourselves are OVO electricity users and we both use oil for our central heating. Our neighbours have received a letter from OVO saying they will be credited £200 to supplement their oil usage, we have not received this letter so I rang OVO. 
They advised that the Department of Works and Pensions had told them who should receive this and given them the money to do so, unfortunately our name/address wasn’t on the list.

OVO advised I ring Dept of W&P which I did but then proceeded to go around in a loop as no one could advise me who I needed to talk to to rectify this mistake. All trying to look up info for me but none coming up with an answer.

I also went onto the government website which OVO recommended and again nothing advised me how I could get my money.

Have you any information on how I could rectify this issue? - any thoughts would be appreciated.

Karen

Apodemus

Are you the same postcode as your neighbour?  It is possible (if you are in a different postcode) that you will be one of the addresses that will need to apply, once the full details of the application process are available, which is expected to be later this month.   I'm really not sure why OVO would tell you to phone the DWP, perhaps they were thinking of another scheme.  I believe it is the BEIS Department that is leading on this payment.

Rodders53

Is your postcode different to that of your neighbour?  AIUI the payout is based on postcodes. See other threads here for the excel spreadsheet list of those postcodes.

It is not done on an address by address basis, but  a much coarser area basis.  So Ovo CS was not reading from a properly prepared script.

BUT if you don't get credited by OVO by the end of February-ish then you may need to apply for the £200 through a Govt Portal that is yet to launch...  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/households-businesses-and-organisations-off-the-gas-grid-to-receive-energy-bill-support-over-the-coming-weeks

I'm not expecting Eon Next to credit my account with my £200 until the next £67 credit (or shortly after) and that'll be early March.
Eon clearly state on their web pages that people should not call them about this payment before the very end of February.. and have yet to write to me about it, so far.

It all came good with the £66/67 payments with a little patience, so assume the same will happen with this money too.

1505grandad

Have you checked that the postcode is correct on the account you have with OVO?

dealyboy

Hi Rodders53 ...

Rodders53 said:

...

I'm not expecting Eon Next to credit my account with my £200 until the next £67 credit (or shortly after) and that'll be early March.

...

A Community Co-ordinator has just provided an update on the E-ON Next Community forum Alternative Fuel Payment main thread:

"
E.ON Next has started to release the payments to the customers with the aim that everyone by the end of February will have received their payments.

Of course there are different ways on which this scheme is applied based on what kind of meter or billing system each customer has.

• Direct Debit and Pay On Receipt of Bill customers will have the £200 paid into their energy (edit: 'energy' inserted) account.
• PrePayment customers will be sent a Cash Voucher, which they will be able to take to the Post Office and have the money paid into their bank account.
• Pay As You Go customers will have the money sent to their Electricity Meter.

"

The Secretary of State has directed Suppliers to make payments by the "cut-off date" of 28th Feb 23:59, and to explain to the Secretary of State if payment has not been made to an "eligible customer". Direction made by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under sections 7(3)(a) and 107 of the Electricity Act 1989 and pursuant to condition 59 of the standard conditions of electricity supply licence

dunstonh

Have you any information on how I could rectify this issue? - any thoughts would be appreciated.

Does your postcode/address fall under any of the methods that have been documented as sources? (the list of things appears on many of the recent threads on this subject).

The most common one is postcode.  If your postcode is on the list then that is nice and easy.   If your postcode isnt on the list then you need to fall back to the other methods.  And ultimately, if none of those other methods have you on the list, then you will need to manually apply and meet criteria but we are not at that stage yet.

OVO advised I ring Dept of W&P which I did but then proceeded to go around in a loop as no one could advise me who I needed to talk to to rectify this mistake. All trying to look up info for me but none coming up with an answer.

What makes you think there is a mistake? 
It is probable that there is no mistake and they haven't applied the filtering that your address is on or that you don't appear on the filtering and will have to make a manual application.

dealyboy

Hi Sycamores ... (Welcome new Forumite BTW)

As dunstonh says a non-mains gas postcode where the majority of the addresses do not use mains electricity for their heating should have all the postcode's residents as 'eligible customers' and should be paid automatically.

Exceptions needing to apply for the AFP (to be determined in March) would include (customers off the electricity grid OR residing in a postcode where the residents are not eligible customers) AND who use an alternative fuel.

Mistakes by Suppliers of course can happen and it does appear that they have thought of that as it's a requirement as part of the process for 'eligible customers' who have not been paid to be passed back to the authority.

You clearly qualify, but if you are not paid in February then there will be a means to claim the £200 in March by a form.

Try speaking to another resident in your postcode ... look up the addresses ...  https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode.

  

rodmaker

Sycamores said:

Hi I wonder if any of you can help 👍

My neighbours like ourselves are OVO electricity users and we both use oil for our central heating. Our neighbours have received a letter from OVO saying they will be credited £200 to supplement their oil usage, we have not received this letter so I rang OVO. 
They advised that the Department of Works and Pensions had told them who should receive this and given them the money to do so, unfortunately our name/address wasn’t on the list.

OVO advised I ring Dept of W&P which I did but then proceeded to go around in a loop as no one could advise me who I needed to talk to to rectify this mistake. All trying to look up info for me but none coming up with an answer.

I also went onto the government website which OVO recommended and again nothing advised me how I could get my money.

Have you any information on how I could rectify this issue? - any thoughts would be appreciated.

Karen

It is showing in my OVO account as a credit today. OVO have stated in an email that it will subsequently be paid into my bank account.

nbldmum

Re oil user £200 help
whilst I am very grateful finally for some help with my domestic oil bill, and that it has arrived in my electricity suppliers records under my name……all that has really happened it that the government have given the electricity supplier money to keep. It isn’t helping me pay for my latest more expensive oil bill.

We are already hundreds in credit for electricity but don’t seem to be able to reduce payments, and now have even more sitting there not being used for the purpose it was intended ie help pay my oil

Bill.

will the electric companies transfer the £200 into people’s bank accounts?

GrumpyDil

nbldmum said:

Re oil user £200 help
whilst I am very grateful finally for some help with my domestic oil bill, and that it has arrived in my electricity suppliers records under my name……all that has really happened it that the government have given the electricity supplier money to keep. It isn’t helping me pay for my latest more expensive oil bill.

We are already hundreds in credit for electricity but don’t seem to be able to reduce payments, and now have even more sitting there not being used for the purpose it was intended ie help pay my oil

Bill.

will the electric companies transfer the £200 into people’s bank accounts?

Some are doing it automatically, some are not. Suggest you contact your supplier to ask them. 

Spoonie_Turtle

nbldmum said:

We are already hundreds in credit for electricity but don’t seem to be able to reduce payments, and now have even more sitting there not being used for the purpose it was intended ie help pay my oil

Bill.

will the electric companies transfer the £200 into people’s bank accounts?

Who is your supplier?  The ones that bill 6-monthly often make it look like you are hundreds in credit but when they actually bill you the credit is all used up.  If you're on such a billing cycle I'd suggest giving a meter reading now, seeing where it takes your credit, then asking for a refund.

If you're billed monthly then your credit balance should be fairly accurate and you should ask for a refund of some of it (£200 would be reasonable, as it was for heating fuel!).