energy advice

ollieandduke
ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
edited October 2021 in Benefits and income
do energy suppliers take payments from your benefits ??
if so how much do they take. 

Comments

  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    sorry i pressed the wrong button i want to know if benefits take energy supply payments from benefits 
  • Geoark
    Geoark Online Community Member Posts: 1,468 Championing
    I think you are talking about the Fuel Direct scheme.

    Either the claimant or the company can apply for this.

    Amount taken, £3.70 per week plus an amount to cover the energy you are currently using. If you are in debt for gas and electric it would be 2 x £3.70 =£7.40 per week for the amount to be recovered.

    If you are on Universal Credit 5% of your benefit will be taken until your debt is cleared. I am not sure if this includes the debt plus covering your current use, or just the debt part. Hopefully one of the other members will be able to help with this.

    If you move to a meter then they will only deduct the amount that is owed.
  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 11,783 Online Community Programme Lead
    Hello @ollieandduke. Sorry if I've not understood correctly, are you asking whether income-related benefits take into account payments (such as the Warm Home payment) into account when calculating benefits? 
    If so, then no they do not. It's ignored.
  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    im on a dual fuel scheme and i currently pay £222 per month because of arrears. i was just wondering if they woild take a large amount out of my benefit. i cant have s card meter fitted because the mitters are really high and it would mean the council having to lower the meter for me which they wouldnt do.
  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    no adrian im just asking if energy suppliers could arrsnge to have payments taken from my benefit to pay for my gas and electric instead of me paying it monthly 
  • Namaa_Alumni
    Namaa_Alumni Online Community Member Posts: 34 Connected
    Hi @ollieandduke

    Yes, @Geoark is  right. This is called Fuel Direct, it is run by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and they will decide how much you should pay. To arrange this, talk to JobCentre Plus. Find out how on this page https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus/existing-benefit-claims

    Your JobCentre Plus will need to get your energy provider’s permission, please have a copy of your latest bill ready when you get in touch

  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    thanks for that 
  • Namaa_Alumni
    Namaa_Alumni Online Community Member Posts: 34 Connected
    You are welcome.
  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 11,783 Online Community Programme Lead
    Sorry I misunderstood @ollieandduke! I'm glad @Namaa_Scope and @Geoark were able to help you with this. :)
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    That's an awful lot to pay out each month. May i ask if you applied for the warm home discount this year? This is £140 towards your bill and would definitely help.You will need to check the criteria of your energy supplier and also check that applications are still open because some may have already closed for this year. See link. https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme

  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    thanks ive been accepted for that 
  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    this is for anyone that can help really.
    my brother is 62 in march. hes on universal credit and hes reslly ill with his back hes been refused esa so has appealed for a mandayory reconsideration. hes been waiting for 4 months now for any answer from them but no reply. he still has to go to jobcentre to sign on and hand in his sick note even though hes in a wheel chair. its really got him down and one of his friends have advised him to have early retirement. 
    would this affect his benefits now hes currently getting £514 per month hes got no work based pension or private pension how can he find out what he will get
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    ollieandduke said:
    this is for anyone that can help really.
    my brother is 62 in march. hes on universal credit and hes reslly ill with his back hes been refused esa so has appealed for a mandayory reconsideration. hes been waiting for 4 months now for any answer from them but no reply. he still has to go to jobcentre to sign on and hand in his sick note even though hes in a wheel chair. its really got him down and one of his friends have advised him to have early retirement. 
    would this affect his benefits now hes currently getting £514 per month hes got no work based pension or private pension how can he find out what he will get

    He can't take early retirement if he has no work pension or private pension i'm afraid. Unfortunately, he'll need to wait until he reaches state pension age, until then he'll need to continue to claim Universal Credit. There's no timescales for Mandatory Reconsideration time scales. Although most of those decisions remain the same so he'll very likely have to take it to Tribunal.
  • ollieandduke
    ollieandduke Online Community Member Posts: 178 Contributor
    thanks poppy x

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