The Warm Home Discount Scheme

HillStreetBlues

TimeLord1 said:

That's good.  I'm not to sure how they determine who to pay or if there is any structure in the process or they randomly do it by bills being sent or the government deciding to release the funds to energy suppliers.

Missed that bit before, it's the energy suppliers that pay (it's included in everyones standing charge), so really it's all their customers that pay.

TimeLord1

HillStreetBlues said:

TimeLord1 said:

That's good.  I'm not to sure how they determine who to pay or if there is any structure in the process or they randomly do it by bills being sent or the government deciding to release the funds to energy suppliers.

Missed that bit before, it's the energy suppliers that pay (it's included in everyones standing charge), so really it's all their customers that pay.

I wonder what list the energy companies have to determine who qualifies.  I see on another forum someone was saying did they needed a smart meter to qualify. But that would probably be sales tactics ?

TimeLord1

gbhxu said:

Got mine beginning of October before I got my Government letter.

Remember they have until the end of March to pay you WHD

I guess it's down to what benefits your on I would assume Universal Credit will be notified and credited first.

TimeLord1

Robbie64 said:

I got a payment onto my EDF account a few weeks ago. Some posters might remember that I had all sorts of problems the previous two years that the new scheme had been running. This involved phone calls to the DWP. I eventually got a payment both times but it took some doing.

This time I got a nice surprise when I got a letter from the DWP last month to inform me I qualify and then I got an email from EDF about a week later. A £150 credit soon followed to my account.

If you think you qualify for the Warm Home Discount but haven't received a letter by early January 2025 then see https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/low-income-England-Wales

I think there's probably a lot of people that just get lost in the system. But well done for exposing it can go wrong even if you should automatically qualify.

TimeLord1

Spoonie_Turtle said:

TimeLord1 said:

That's good.  I'm not to sure how they determine who to pay or if there is any structure in the process or they randomly do it by bills being sent or the government deciding to release the funds to energy suppliers.

The qualifying date is a date in August (I've not looked up the exact date this year).  They match eligible people with eligible properties, and whomever is the electricity supplier for the property on that date is who will pay the WHD.  So suppliers are allocated the funds based on their eligible customers on the qualifying date.

Suppliers generally seem to apply it as a credit towards the account (and therefore the person  needs to pay less towards their bill overall), but those who don't bill monthly may or may not make it clear how it's been applied*.  Whereas those who do bill monthly, it's usually clear.

*While not the same thing, a similar principle was the £400 EBSS, the £66/£67 payments when energy prices were a lot higher, and there were a couple of 6-monthly suppliers in particular that applied it but didn't explicitly show it on the bill so many of their customers were naturally VERY confused.


Edit: I also meant to say, we had a paper letter from the government, then a few weeks later an e-mail from Octopus to say they were paying it (adding credit to our account).

So the energy companies must be given a list of people that qualify and certain amount to credit to accounts. Under the old system it was apply and see if you got lucky first come first serve basis. So not unlimited budget to cover everyone.

TimeLord1

You should get a letter between October and December letting you know when to expect your discount. If you need help, or haven't received your letter by early January, you can call the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 030 9322. You must contact the helpline by 28 February 2025.

Just spotted this number on here for anyone needing any help. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/warm-home-discount/#:~:text=If you need help, or,helpline on 0800 030 9322.

Spoonie_Turtle

TimeLord1 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

TimeLord1 said:

That's good.  I'm not to sure how they determine who to pay or if there is any structure in the process or they randomly do it by bills being sent or the government deciding to release the funds to energy suppliers.

The qualifying date is a date in August (I've not looked up the exact date this year).  They match eligible people with eligible properties, and whomever is the electricity supplier for the property on that date is who will pay the WHD.  So suppliers are allocated the funds based on their eligible customers on the qualifying date.

Suppliers generally seem to apply it as a credit towards the account (and therefore the person  needs to pay less towards their bill overall), but those who don't bill monthly may or may not make it clear how it's been applied*.  Whereas those who do bill monthly, it's usually clear.

*While not the same thing, a similar principle was the £400 EBSS, the £66/£67 payments when energy prices were a lot higher, and there were a couple of 6-monthly suppliers in particular that applied it but didn't explicitly show it on the bill so many of their customers were naturally VERY confused.


Edit: I also meant to say, we had a paper letter from the government, then a few weeks later an e-mail from Octopus to say they were paying it (adding credit to our account).

So the energy companies must be given a list of people that qualify and certain amount to credit to accounts. Under the old system it was apply and see if you got lucky first come first serve basis. So not unlimited budget to cover everyone.

Pretty much that, yes.  

gbhxu

TimeLord1 said:

gbhxu said:

Got mine beginning of October before I got my Government letter.

Remember they have until the end of March to pay you WHD

I guess it's down to what benefits your on I would assume Universal Credit will be notified and credited first.

Still on IR ESA.

Not had letter to move to UC either

gbhxu

TimeLord1 said:

HillStreetBlues said:

TimeLord1 said:

That's good.  I'm not to sure how they determine who to pay or if there is any structure in the process or they randomly do it by bills being sent or the government deciding to release the funds to energy suppliers.

Missed that bit before, it's the energy suppliers that pay (it's included in everyones standing charge), so really it's all their customers that pay.

I wonder what list the energy companies have to determine who qualifies.  I see on another forum someone was saying did they needed a smart meter to qualify. But that would probably be sales tactics ?

Nope.

Still have a lovely dial meter

Spoonie_Turtle

Eon did a 'support' tariff (25-50% discount) a couple of winters back that did require agreeing to have a smart meter fitted, IIRC.  If the hearsay originated from any kernel of truth, it may well have been that.

(Not that smart meters have any more issues now than non-smart, the main issue of them stopping communicating when switching has been solved with the current generation of meters, SMETS2.  Any other communication issues and you're still left with a meter that you can take a reading from anyway, just like with traditional meters.)