Thousands of people are thought to be missing out on £150 worth of support for their energy bills. Martin Lewis said he had contacted minister Grant Shapps after a charity said "tens of thousands" could be missing out on the UK Government's warm home discount scheme.
The warm home discount is being given to eligible households between October 2022 and March 2023 as a one-off £150 discount on your electricity bill. Those who qualify include those on pension credit, income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA), income support, housing benefit, universal credit, child tax credits and working tax credits. You can find out more about the scheme here.
According to Money Saving Expert, fuel poverty charity National Energy Action estimates "thousands, if not tens of thousands" of people are being impacted by the methods being used to distribute the money. Last year the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said around 850,000 people were missing out on the discount even though they qualify. To get all the latest money-saving news straight to your inbox twice a week sign up here.
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Money Saving Expert said it had been contacted by several customers complaining that they hadn't received their money despite being eligible. It said it feared people were slipping through the cracks due to a combination of factors including some mistakenly being told they had 'low energy use' and didn't qualify, or a lack of data such as missing EPC ratings for some homes. The government uses data from the valuation office agency (VOA) to determine the size, age and type of home you live in and uses an algorithm to determine how much you might pay for your energy, rather than assessing your bills or how much energy you actually use.
Mr Lewis said he had been in contact with minister Grant Shapps who he said had pledged to investigate missing payments and complaints. He said the government should introduce more discretionary guidance for energy firms - who operate the scheme - and scrap the requirement for EPC ratings for those homes which don't already have one.
"The new system of warm home discount high energy use assessments has left some out in the cold," Mr Lewis said. "It seems to be a blunt instrument, which may work to keep administration costs down, but has led to edge cases likely unintentionally missing out, and provision is needed to help financially vulnerable people who are falling into these cracks.
"It seems to me if there's doubt that people are high energy users, their bills may be a good way to settle it. I've contacted Grant Shapps and he told me he'd look at it. I hope there will be some flexibility put into the system to help people at this difficult time, either to come up with solutions, or at a minimum, to explain how people can better navigate the rules for a fair outcome."
A UK Government spokesman said: "This is the first year of significant reforms to the warm home discount. As discussed with Martin Lewis, the energy secretary will consider whether there are improvements that can be made to the operation of the scheme ahead of next winter.
“Changes to the warm home discount scheme last spring standardised the eligibility criteria across all suppliers and customers in England and Wales, meaning an extra 800,000 pensioners and low-income families will benefit this year compared to last."
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