Warm Homes Discount ~ incandescent with rage

[Marianne7]

Sorry, everyone, but in great fury with DWP, so please bear with me. On this wonderful forum someone gave info about the above scheme sometime in January. As I'm on guaranteed pension credit I was so pleased ~ at that time it was costing me a fortune to keep the house warm (I have a prepayment meter). The Direct Gov site says that if you receive guaranteed pension credit you will automatically get the vouchers and you don't have to apply. The only qualifying thing was that you had to have been in receipt of pension credit on Sept 11th 2011. That's fine, i thought, I have a letter telling me that I would receive guaranteed pension credit from Sept 7th 2011.

 

Just to be on the safe side I also contacted EON, who kindly also sent me a form, which I filled in and sent back by return. The letter says that we'll get these vouchers by March 31st 2012.

 

I know we haven't reached that date yet, but wanting to check on what was happening I called EON today ~ they found my application but no other details, and said I need to contact DWP. I've just come off the phone from speaking with them and this is the story:

 

Although I certainly DID qualify for guaranteed pension credit on Sept 11th (having the letter saying that I'd get it from Sept 7th) it all depends on when I was PAID the first amount of pension credit ~ when it went into my bank. Much talk from them about meeting the criteria, and when I said it says nothing about when the pension credit is PAID, but the date from which one QUALIFIES for it, clearly I got nowhere. He just said I won't be getting it this year.

 

I ended the conversation telling him a letter to the press and to my MP seemed to be in order. I'm in tears over this ~ my heating has cost me so much this winter and I was so relieved when I thought I'd get some help with it.

 

I'm really just posting this to sound off to someone, but if anyone does have any advice about what I can do please let me know. I will also be sending those letters, as I told him.

 

Thanks for listening.

[RaeUK]

Don't worry, you're right to be upset and angry. The date you qualify is not the date you get paid. If all the blurb says the former, then that's the agreement the DWP has made. Do kick up a fuss ...

[count orlok]

We got ours just recently, £120 credited to our British Gas energy account. Only trouble is the prices have risen so much even with the money off our quarterly bill was no cheaper. We did not have to apply or do anything we just got a letter saying we had got it.

[ErikaPNP]

I'll try to explain this but it's awkward putting it into type. The directgov page states:

 

You may qualify for this energy rebate if on the qualifying date of 11 September 2011 all the following apply:

 

• you got only the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (no Savings Credit)
  
• your name, or your partner’s name was on your electricity bill
  
• your electricity account was with one of the energy suppliers participating in this scheme
  

 

What that means is that you must have got only the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit on the qualifying date of 11th September 2011.

 

A person can qualify for benefit without getting it (eg - if they have not applied for benefit). They can also receive a physical payment of a benefit but not be 'getting' the benefit at the date the payment is physically received.

 

Directgov tends to put things into plain English. In plain English 'got' or 'getting' usually (in the case of DWP) means 'in receipt of'. The date of a physical payment essentially means very little. When benefits/pensions are calculated, they are to cover a specific period of time. But the physical payment can be in advance or in arrears.

 

It's very difficult to explain it online, it's much easier face to face. Let me put it into a few examples to demonstrate what I mean:

 

Example 1

JSA is paid two weeks in arrears. If I were to sign on today (26/3/12), I would receive the money in my account on thursday (29/3/12). But because JSA is paid in arrears, this is to cover the period ending with my signing date, so the period of payment is from 12/3/12 to 25/3/12. I am 'in receipt of' JSA from 12/3/12 to 25/3/12

 

Example 2

Pension credit is paid in advance for some and in arrears for others. In this example, we'll look at an advance case. I get a payment in my account today. It is a weeks worth of Pension, paid weekly in advance. It is to cover the period 2/4/12 to 8/4/12. I am 'in receipt of' Pension Credit from 2/4/12 to 8/4/12 (even though those dates have not arrived yet).

 

Example 3

I applied for Income Support on 1/4/11. My claim is refused and no payment is forthcoming. I appealed against the decision and on 23/07/11, the case is heard by a tribunal who find in my favour. On 3/9/11, DWP finally calculated my arrears and issued me a payment. It credited in my account on 6/9/11. I received payment on 6/9/11. It's to cover the period of 1/4/11 to 3/9/11. I was 'in receipt of' IS from 1/4/11 to 3/9/11.

 

So you see, the date the payment hits your account is largely irrelevant to the date that you are 'in receipt of' or 'getting' as DWP puts it in plain English.

 

In your case, I would argue that the date the payment hit your account is completely irrelevant - it is the period of time (dates from and to) that the payment was intended to cover, that matters.

 

If it meant the physical date of payment, that mean that only people who got a physical payment credit in their account on 11th September 2011 would qualify. As claimants 'paydays' are determined by the last two digits of their NI number this would present an unjust absurdity.

 

What about people who are paid by girocheque? A girocheque is delivered by first class post and should arrive within 3 working days. It has a one month expiry date. There is no way of determining its exact date of arrival and the only way of proving the date of encashment is for DWP to request the girocheque from their girobank after encashment. Are they seriously suggesting that it has to be proven what date each girocheque was cashed for the purpose of the WHD? Course not, that would be ridiculous.

 

In addition to contacting your MP, I would strongly urge you to write to them asking them to provide you with a written statement of reasons for their decision and include a SAR requesting prints from your record showing the payment details of your record for the month of september. These prints are relatively self explanatory but if you do need help, I am more than happy answer any questions or to take a look at them if you want to scan and email them (with your personal details removed).

[Marianne7]

Thank you, Erika. Have left msg on my MP's constituency phone, have also emailed him. Have singed up and posted on the Pensioner's Forum and just written letter of complaint to the Pension Service. I will probably think of a few dozen other people to write to during the night!!

 

The letter telling me that I'll get Guaranteed Pension Credit is dated September 26th 2011, but states clearly: We will pay you £xx a week from 7 September 2011

 

So you'd agree, I think, that it means I should be eligible? I do hope so ~ this has upset me more than I would have thought.

 

I should say, if I haven't already, that I'd only just become a pensioner at this time ~ officially retired on September 6th 2011, so no other pension payments or guaranteed pension credit before this date.

Edited March 26, 2012 by Marianne7
Mistake

[Marianne7]

An update on my post: I have been told once again, by the Pension Service today, that I am NOT entitled to the Warm Homes Discount this year. They said the information I was given yesterday is correct. In fact the person said "you've been told this once and the answer isn't going to change".

 

Where to go from here? I've emailed Steve Webb, Minister of State for Pensions. The advice from my MP's caseworker was to contact CAB and to come back to the MP if they could do nothing. The caseworker couldn't believe it either

[silverfox1961]

Hi

As well as your issue, there are some of us who qualify for the WHD (ME!) that can't get it either as my energy company (SOUTHERN ELECTRIC) have closed the scheme for this year. The scheme re-opens on April 1st

[Marianne7]

Yes, I think EON has also closed the scheme now, but my point is that according to all the information elsewhere and at Direct Gov I DID qualify for 2011-2012, but somehow they say I don't.

[Nystagmite]

I would ask why they claim you don't qualify. And quote the Direct Gov information.

[Marianne7]

Hi Nystagmite ~ they say I don't qualify because, although my letter says I qualify, and WILL BE PAID, £xx guaranteed pension credit from September 7th,(4 day before the cut-off date) the letter was written on September 26th (15 days after the cut-off date). I need to have had the pension credit in my account, according to them, on September 11th. I quoted the Direct Gov wording and they just said "the site doesn't give the full information". I asked how was I to know it wasn't the full information? According to the wording I would be contacted automatically.

 

I understand that there always has to be a cut-off date, for example, some people will have got their guaranteed pension credit awarded on, say, September 12th, which would be extremely annoying, to have missed by one day, but something one could live with, just bad luck. But their reasoning for saying I don't qualify seems so bonkers to me, since I had only just become a pensioner on September 6th, and this was my first pension credit payment. I am just so very tired of having to fight for everything and I do realise that I'm not the only one ~ so many people are going through bad times

[Nystagmite]

This makes no sense to me at all.

[ErikaPNP]

I'm totally flummoxed by this. In most situations where a benefit is backdated or arrears paid, that includes any auto-entitlements (payments that you don't have to apply for) that the person should have received.

 

It is totally unjust in my opinion that because the letter was not issued until 26th September that you should fail to qualify. You were 'in receipt of' the relevant benefit at the qualifying date.

 

I would do as I stated - request a statement of reasons (this is to get it in writing). In your request, it might be an idea to ask them on what piece of guidance or legislation they are relying so that it can be looked into further. I usually deal with working age benefits and am struggling to find anything concrete on the WHD.

 

I'm shocked that your MP's caseworker has referred you to the CAB - there is nothing wrong with the CAB, and I would encourage you to go there because representation would be good - but it is an MP's job to raise queries like this on behalf of his or her constituents!

[Marianne7]

I will ask for a SAR; it costs £10 doesn't it? At least it's a comfort to know that it's not just me who thinks it's crazy ~ thanks, folks.

 

Will update everyone when anything happens.

[ErikaPNP]

Normally it does cost £10.00 but the DWP don't charge for SAR's.

[Marianne7]

That's very good news; thanks, Erika. Getting letter written now.

[Marianne7]

Well, I don't know how this has happened but....this morning in the post I received £120 voucher from EON for my electricity!!! I have now had it put on my pre-payment key and added it to the meter, before anyone can write and say "it's a mistake" and I have to send it back.

 

Thanks to all for your comments and advice ~ you are all a great support for everyone with a problem.

[count orlok]

Congrats.