Posted on 17th August 2022
From Money Saving Expert, founded by Martin Lewis.
Energy prices are continuing to spiral to all time highs, and the energy price cap is predicted to rise again in October and again in January. This will present many with the very real choice between heating and eating. While the Government has announced a support package, massive increases to the predicted price cap since mean more is needed. The below guide takes you through all the help available right now if you’re struggling and provides tips on how to mitigate the circumstances as best as possible.
If you notice that you are beginning to fall behind with your energy bills, and finding yourself struggling to pay, you need to contact your supplier as soon as possible. The regulatory body Ofgem has stipulated that suppliers must help – usually they will negotiate a payment plan with you to ensure you are still paying but it is what you can afford.
Your suppliers could offer you the following if you’re struggling:
The help you can get is decided on a case-by-case basis, but importantly, repayment must be based on your ability to pay. So get in touch with your supplier as soon as possible.
This should be the supplier’s last resort to avoid disconnecting you. If you’re not vulnerable, it can obtain a court warrant to force you to get one, but only if it has explored all other options first.
Suppliers are only allowed to make you get a prepayment meter for debt if:
However, your supplier can’t force you to get one if you’re considered to be vulnerable and you don’t want one – such as those with disabilities, certain illnesses, are pregnant or have children under 5, are at state pension age or are eligible for the priority services register. They also can’t force prepayment meters on people that would find the experience very traumatic.
Even if you already prepay for your energy, you may find yourself struggling to top up and facing self-disconnection. If this is the case there’s also plenty of help available from your supplier – so do contact them as soon as you start to feel under pressure. This is what they will do:
Furthermore, regulator Ofgem has reinforced protective measures for prepayment customers. Suppliers are now required to proactively identify and contact customers that have self-disconnected due to financial difficulties in topping up the meter. This also includes support towards the repayment of any outstanding charges.
Some big energy firms have charitable trusts and funds that you can access if you are in fuel poverty and struggling to repay the debt.
Some providers stipulate that to access this scheme you’ll need to be a existing customer of the firm to apply. The application process for relief from energy debt is fairly rigorous (see charities that can help with the process). More than likely you will have needed to have spoken to a debt adviser before applying, completed a full income and expenditure questionnaire, provide proof of your income, explain how the energy debt has ammassed, and present how the grant will help.
The exact eligibility requirements vary depending on scheme and supplier, however those identified as most in need are prioritised on a case-by-case basis.
British Gas offers help whether you’re a customer or not if you live in England, Scotland or Wales – this can be incredibly helpful if you’re with a smaller company that is not able to offer it’s own scheme or if you do not qualify.
The British Gas Energy Trust Individual and Families Fund is available to anyone and can provide grants of up to £1,500 to help with energy debt relief.
The eligibility criteria is strict, but usually to qualify you need to be spending over 10% of your income on energy, have less than £1,000 in savings, have energy debts of at least £250 and have already sought advice on money issues from a charity or money adviser. If you have received assistance through this same grant in the last two years then you are not able to qualify again.
It is a rigorous application process and you will need to have already spoken to a debt adviser before applying. Usually the best way to do this is via a charity, such as National Energy Action, Home Energy Scotland and Citizens Advice. You’ll need to provide info on household income, expenditure and debts. Claims can take several weeks to process.
The Government announced in May that they will provide a ‘cost of living support’ package. One of the measures included was that all households in England, Scotland and Wales will receive a £400 energy grant. Any household with a domestic electricity meter will qualify.
In most cases, the grant will be automatic, paid by or to your supplier between October 2022 and March 2023. Households on non-smart prepayment meters will have to take action to release the funds. It has been advised as being paid out in six separate payments – £67 in October and November, then £66 for the remaining four months. How you pay for your energy determines how you will receive it.
If you are in Northern Ireland the above is not applicable but the Government has said there will be an equivalent package made available.
There are over eight million households in the UK on means-tested benefits who will receive a payment of £650, as part of the wider package of support announced by the Government to help with the cost of living crisis.
This will be paid via the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and will be made in two lump sums – the first of £326 from Thursday 14 July, the second in the autumn. This payment will go directly into the account that benefits are paid into. If you are in receipt of tax credits only, the payment will come from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) instead. These will follow shortly after the other payments.
If you’re on any of the below, you must have received a payment on any date between 26 April and 25 May 2022 to qualify for the £650:
If you’re receive pension credit, to get the first payment you’ll need to have been claiming it by 25 May 2022. However, if you were eligible for the benefit before this date and haven’t made a claim, you can backdate it by three months, so you have until 18 August 2022.
The Government says this payment is tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefits. Eligibility info on the second payment will be set out “in due course”.
Every UK household with someone over state pension age (aged 66 or above) between 19 and 25 September 2022 qualifies for assistance towards their energy costs under the Government’s Winter Fuel Payment scheme. This is normally between £100 and £300.
However, the cost of living support package includes a one-off £300 top-up to the winter fuel payment, so you could get up to £600. It’ll be paid automatically in November or December.
There are about six million people in the UK on certain disability benefits who can receive a one-off payment of £150 in September. This will be paid straight into the account that any benefits are paid into and is designed to help towards the cost of specialist equipment and food, and increased transport costs.
To qualify, you must be receiving, or have begun an eventually successful claim as of 25 May 2022 for, one of the following benefits:
The Government says these payments will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefits. You can also still qualify for the £150 payment if you’ve swapped disability benefits for mobility aids under the Motability Scheme – though details on how this will work in practice have yet to be confirmed.
The Priority Services Register is a free support service operated by energy suppliers and network operators. It offers a range of services to help people in vulnerable situations (see full eligibility below).
The help you can get includes:
You will need to contact your supplier and ask to be placed on the register. You only need to contact your supplier, as you can ask them to pass on your details to the network operator to be added to their register too.
If you have different suppliers for gas and electricity, contact both providers and ask to be registered, and if you switch, don’t forget to ask your new supplier about it.
The Warm Home Discount scheme is available to millions of households across the UK. It requires any energy supplier with more than 50,000 customers to help vulnerable people pay for their energy over winter.
If you pay for your energy using a standard credit meter, the money isn’t paid to you directly – it’s a £150 rebate applied to your electricity or gas bill between October and March. If you’re on a prepay meter, you’ll usually be sent a top-up voucher.
Following changes to how the warm home discount works, the scheme is now different in England and Wales from that in Scotland.
After a recent shake-up of the warm home discount, the money is now paid automatically – previously, some had to apply to get it. If you’re in England or Wales, you should get it if you qualify under the following criteria:
For Scotland, the Government is still consulting on how the scheme will work this winter, but it’s proposing to largely keep the eligibility rules that were in place last winter (2021/22), with eligibility split into two groups:
Under the Cold Weather Payment scheme, older people and those on certain benefits in England and Wales can get a grant to help cover costs when temperatures hit zero degrees or below in their area.
It applies if the average temperature is – or is forecast to be – 0°C or below for seven days in a row between 1 November and 31 March. You get £25 for each seven-day period. It’s usually automatic if you get pension credit, or get other benefits including some universal credit recipients and some who get support for mortgage interest. See our full Cold weather payment guide for more info.
The Scottish Government has announced it is replacing the Cold Weather Payment scheme this year with a new scheme – the Low Income Winter Heating Assistance scheme. Under this new scheme, eligible households will receive a flat £50 each year to help toward winter heating costs.
The payments will be made automatically in February each year from 2023, so you don’t need to do anything to get it.
In February, the Government also announced a £150 rebate for all homes in England in council tax bands A to D, and funding for similar schemes in Scotland and Wales.
The payments were due to be made in April, but some may still be waiting for theirs. The exact timing will vary between councils, and they officially have until 30 September 2022 to pay the rebate. See our Council tax rebate MSE News story for more.
Under the Household Support Fund, councils in England have access to a pool of £1 billion in funding to help those most in need. The cash is available to local authorities to spend between April and September 2022, and is aimed at supporting the most vulnerable with essentials during the UK’s ongoing recovery from the pandemic.
The Government has announced that it’s going to extend this scheme, with another £500 million in funding to be made available between October 2022 and March 2023.
The fund is aimed at providing small grants to meet daily needs, such as energy bills, as well as other utilities, housing costs, food and other essentials.
Eligibility varies, as it’s up to councils to decide, but generally the grant is for vulnerable households, and those in most need of support. To find out what your council offers and whether you might qualify for support, and to apply, contact your council as soon as you can, as funding could run out at any time.
If you ahve spoken to your energy supplier and still find that you are struggling, there are a number of organisations and charities that provide one-on-one support and advice. Listed below are the main nationwide charities and organisations that offer assistance, but research to see if there is any further support provided by regional charities or your local authority.
Any of the organisations below can help with common energy issues and problems, including further information on the options available if you’re struggling to pay, the Government grants and schemes available to you, help accessing hardship funds and general ways to reduce your energy use.
Important: Please note that these organisations are very busy right now, and have limited resources so we would encourage patience.
The charities below offer help and advice on most energy bill problems if you’re struggling to pay, including help with finding Government grants and schemes you might be eligible for, help applying for support through energy supplier’s charitable trusts, and help with complaints.
While the organisations below offer help for all types of energy problems, their main aim is helping with budgeting and debt. So if you find yourself in energy arrears, or your problems stretch beyond energy, these might be best.
While older people can use the services above, Age UK can offer more specialised support.
If you have a disability, as well as the organisations above, you can also get additional help from Scope.
For more generalised help if you’re struggling with debt, see our full Debt help guide.
For a lot of people, a place to talk to others in similar situations and share ideas is really important, which is why community support groups on social media are thriving. While we can’t vouch for every piece of information, these groups often have knowledgeable users – some with industry experience – sharing information, so can be very useful.
The breathing space scheme, officially known as the Debt Respite Scheme, is a Government scheme that can relieve some of the pressures and stress of being in debt.
If you pass eligibility, your creditors are informed and must stop collection or enforcement activity, and won’t be able to add interest or fees to your debt for up to 60 days.
Debt charity StepChange has full info on eligibility, and can take you through the application process.
If you’re struggling to pay for your energy and you’re on certain benefits, you may be able pay directly from your benefit payments instead under a Government scheme known as Fuel Direct (also known as ‘third party deductions’). The scheme lets you arrange to have a small, fixed amount deducted directly from your benefit payments each week to go towards paying off energy debt.
To use the scheme, you need to contact your Jobcentre (or Pension Centre if you are claiming pension credit) and give them details of your supplier and what you owe. Your Jobcentre or Pension Centre will then get in contact with your provider.
How much will be dedicated depends on which benefit scheme the payment is deducted from:
In January 2022, the Northern Ireland Communities Minister announced a new Energy Payment Support Scheme, which will provide a one-off, £200 payment to about 280,000 people in receipt of certain benefits. The payment will be made automatically into the same account your benefits are paid – there’s no specified payment date though, the Government only says it will be paid as soon as practically possible.
You’ll be eligible for the payment if, during the qualifying week from 13 December to 19 December 2021, you were resident in Northern Ireland and receiving one or more of the following:
In November 2021, the Welsh Government announced a £100 one-off payment for those struggling to pay bills who meet certain criteria. The Winter Fuel Support Scheme, which could help about 350,000 people, will be paid from January 2022 until the end of March 2022.
You need to apply for this by 18 February 2022. You’re eligible for the payment if, between 1 December 2021 and 31 January 2022, you were receiving one of the following benefits:
Energy efficiency can seriously cut bills, and there are wads of freebies on offer from energy providers from firms under the Energy Company Obligation scheme. It’s all part of their efficiency obligations to people in certain groups.
If you’re on certain benefits, you could get free insulation or a grant to replace an old boiler. Our Free insulation & boilers guide has more on what’s available, but below there is a taster of what you can get and what it’ll save you:
For more advice on energy efficiency and help to find any schemes you are eligible for, try the Government’s Simple Energy Advice website, the Energy Saving Trust or Home Energy Scotland.
Don’t rely on your energy provider’s estimate, as these are often way out. If they’re underbilling, you’ll have a big whack to pay when your supplier receives your actual meter reading. If they’re overbilling, then they’ve unfairly got your cash.
If your direct debit is way off kilter, call up and ask for it to be changed. You have a range of rights to ensure it’s correct. See the Energy direct debits guide for full help.
Smart meters can help stop this as they send meter readings automatically to your supplier, so you only pay for what you use. See the Smart meters guide for more.
Paying by monthly direct debit can cut bills by about £90 each year on average, as companies are sure you won’t default and they earn interest on any overpayments. So if you can do this, go for it.
Even if you’re on a price-capped tariff, it’s worth opting to pay by direct debit, as the cap is set lower for those that pay this way, compared to all other payment methods – see our What is the energy price cap? guide for full info.
See our Energy direct debits guide for full help.
Most can’t save any other way, so using less can really pay off and is simple to do (unless you’re already using the minimum, in which case, read on).
Turn down the thermostat and wear jumpers, turn lights off when you leave a room, take shorter showers, use energy saving light bulbs and don’t leave electrical goods on standby.
For more info, see our top energy saving tips, or read the MSE Forum’s Energy Saving Hunt.
According to experts at the Energy Saving Trust, the idea it’s cheaper to leave the heating on low all day is a myth. They’re clear that having the heating on only when you need it is, in the long run, the best way to save energy and therefore money. (A timer’s best, as your thermostat turns your heating on and off to keep your home at the temperature you set.)
For full info and answers to 17 other energy saving myths, see our full Energy mythbusting guide.
Check your bills NOW as you could save £100s on broadband, mobiles, fuel, food and more by systematically working through your finances to ensure you’ve the best deal on everything.
This could really help mitigate the pain of the energy price hikes, with many people saving £1,000s over the year. We’ve full help in our Money makeover guide.
There are very strict rules for disconnection and suppliers very rarely disconnect people due to debt.
Firms must take all reasonable steps to avoid disconnecting an energy supply for debt, and it should always be a last resort. Suppliers cannot disconnect you if you:
What’s more, if it’s during winter (between October and March), you can’t be disconnected if you have reached state pension age and live on your own, or live with children under the age of 18.
Most suppliers have also voluntarily agreed to never disconnect you at any time of year if you have children under the age of six, are disabled, have long-term health problems or have severe financial problems. They also won’t disconnect you during winter if you have children under the age of 16.
If you are struggling with your bills and you find your provider won’t help, or you experience any of the other common problems faced by energy customers, such as incorrect bills, switching issues, direct debits being too high, refund delays and more, then complain.
Remember to try calling your provider to sort the issue first, but if not then you can use free complaints tool Resolver. The tool helps you manage your complaint, and if the company doesn’t play ball, it also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Energy Ombudsman.
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