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Show me where my government £66 Energy Bills Support Scheme payment gets paid into my account

  • 12 November 2022
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Show me where my government £66 Energy Bills Support Scheme payment gets paid into my account
BPLightlog
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Updated on 28/06/23 by Abby_OVO

 

This scheme is now closed.

Your energy bill will show your Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) payment into your account and also show it being refunded to your bank if you pay by direct debit

The first thing that users often see is the refund

Your balance

Refunds (date)

£66.00 out

(£67.00 from Dec)

This is a deduction from your credit total but that is not the full picture.

You also need to look at your charges

Charges in detail

below you will see confirmation of the Electricity and Gas (if you are dual fuel) and then further down

Energy Bill Support Scheme  -£66.00

which is a deduction from your bill (a credit on your account). Both the refund and credit equal out and leave you with your EBSS payment in your bank. You can of course pay this into your energy account or use on something more needed. You may need to look across earlier monthly charges to see the full picture for a specific month’s billing.

If you are a Pay As You Go (PAYG) customer, the scheme is slightly different, sending you credit vouchers for your energy. Also for any customers with a Smart Meter in Pre-Payment mode, the account credit will usually get added automatically.

This is all part of the general support scheme which offers £400 in total but paid in 6 parts.

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228 replies

Emmanuelle_OVO
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This is really brilliant and helpful @BPLightlog! 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
Jeffus
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@BPLightlog 

Really useful and just the right amount of information to help in the majority of cases.

 

 

D
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The government says that domestic heating oil users will be paid a one-off £100 in a similar manner through electricity providers.  How will the electricity provider identify the domestic heating oil users ??

Jeffus
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The government says that domestic heating oil users will be paid a one-off £100 in a similar manner through electricity providers.  How will the electricity provider identify the domestic heating oil users ??

Unfortunately further details are yet to be announced by the government. The government did say it will be doubled to £200 but haven't yet updated their content. 

This is basically all there is so far

 

Alternative Fuel Payments (domestic)

This scheme is intended to deliver a one-off payment of £100 to UK households who are not on the mains gas grid and therefore use alternative fuels, such as heating oil, to heat their homes. Powers will enable the government to deliver support via electricity bills in both GB and NI, under a similar delivery model to the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The payment will ensure that a typical customer using heating oil does not face a higher rate of growth in their heating costs since last winter, in comparison to those using mains gas who are supported by the Energy Price Guarantee. The government will set out the timing of this payment soon.

 

Firedog
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From today's Autumn Statement: The government will double to £200 the level of support for households that use alternative fuels, such as heating oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal or biomass, to heat their homes. This support will be delivered as soon as possible this winter. 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2022-documents/autumn-statement-2022-html#policy-decisions:~:text=Alternative%20Fuels%20Payment%20(AFP) 

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L
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Hi, I currently have my electric on a fixed tariff with ovo paying by direct debit, my gas is on a traditional prepayment meter with Boost (part of ovo group). The government support payments are automatically coming off my electric, as this is a fixed tariff until June 23 I would prefer to receive the support payments for my gas. Can I change this ? Thanks 

Blastoise186
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Hi @Lindamc ,

Sorry, but this isn’t possible I’m afraid. If you were to move your gas to OVO Pay Monthly however so that both meters are on the same account, it would be possible.

Boost can help you to arrange that.

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S
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Do you still get the £66 into your bank if you are in debit with OVO and trying to clear a balance? E.g. 300 in debit, but paying back 150 a month, reducing your balance each month, on track to have it cleared in a few months - ?

 

Blastoise186
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I’m unable to say @Sarareynolds . Either way, I’d recommend using the £400 to chip away at the debit balance.

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BPLightlog
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According to the OVO website you should @Sarareynolds https://www.ovoenergy.com/energy-bills-support-scheme

 

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juliamc
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@BPLightlog does this mean the £66 will be sent into the customer’s bank account if their ovo account is in debt though ? I’m not sure I’ve seen this question before. 

BPLightlog
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@BPLightlog does this mean the £66 will be sent into the customer’s bank account if their ovo account is in debt though ? I’m not sure I’ve seen this question before. 

Good point - my reading of the statement suggests it will be used to reduce the debit balance.. but I’m not 100% sure of course 

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S
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Well put it this way. I am in debit. I received 66 into my bank account in October. But nothing in November. I've been told in the online chat by OVO that I will get it "next week" and have been told over the phone by OVO that as i am in debit, I won't get it.  So I'm none the wiser having been told 2 different things, and also having had received it in October and not November (despite being in debit both months).

BPLightlog
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Well put it this way. I am in debit. I received 66 into my bank account in October. But nothing in November. I've been told in the online chat by OVO that I will get it "next week" and have been told over the phone by OVO that as i am in debit, I won't get it.  So I'm none the wiser having been told 2 different things, and also having had received it in October and not November (despite being in debit both months).

Well it’s clear from the web and the government info that it should be paid to you. The thing that’s not clear is if it still gets paid to your bank. I think the systems would find it easier to pay you the same way as everyone on dd but I am not sure on their processing. My refund did appear in my bank on different dates 

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juliamc
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Can I just clarify @Sarareynolds that the £66 has been paid into you OVO account for November? But not sent on to your bank?

S
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Yes, that's correct. It was credited in October and paid into my bank on 16th October. It was credited to my account in November, but not sent to my bank.

juliamc
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There’s a 68 page document on the gov website which sets out the rules for paying the EBSS - pages 19 and 20 refers to direct debit situations, but I can’t see an example of an agreed payback arrangement https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-guidance-for-electricity-suppliers

If the £66 stays in your account I suppose it means the debt will be reduced more quickly. Not sure if you could lower your repayments if that’s already been agreed. @BPLightlog what do you think ?

BPLightlog
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There’s a 68 page document on the gov website which sets out the rules for paying the EBSS - pages 19 and 20 refers to direct debit situations, but I can’t see an example of an agreed payback arrangement https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-guidance-for-electricity-suppliers

If the £66 stays in your account I suppose it means the debt will be reduced more quickly. Not sure if you could lower your repayments if that’s already been agreed. @BPLightlog what do you think ?

I can’t see any definition on this specifically. It is clear that all consumers are entitled to the payment and the only reference I can see to a DD payer is that is ‘may count towards your monthly payment if you are on a pre-agreed debt plan’. 

I would have thought it an issue to separate any account like this and simpler to pay like all the others. The October payment suggests this...but I really am not sure how they will handle it.

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W
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I'm seeing the £66 refunded monthly but there is no sign of the £66 reduction in my charges. Hence my balance is heading south, with suggestions that I should increase my direct debit!

The balance details actually show:

Refunds -£66.00 out

so perhaps I'm surprised that the calculation doesn't result in a more favourable balance or that another 66 hasn't been direct debited. 

Should I assume that this will all come right once the OVO software team get their act together, or have the government run out of money already? 🤣

 

juliamc
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No EBSS line in your Charges in Detail section @williamjjames  ?? Next to the VAT 

W
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Ah-ha! Not in the current, incomplete month, but I do see it in the previous completed month. Thanks!!

R
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@williamjames 

might be worth a look again everyone at your bills 

we are receiving our EBSS discount after vat, which means the government get all the vat back and we loose out . if the discount was done before vat 

example

after vat

on a £250 bill vat is £12.50 then EBSS discount (£67.00), total £195.50

before vat 

on a £250 bill EBSS discount (£67.00) vat is £12.50 Total £195.15

it might look a small amount but it soon adds up 

now I've checked and my understanding is discounts should be before Vat if this is the case we are getting screwed be the government again by stealth tax   

 

:-(

 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Hey @richard Norman,

 

Are you able to attach a screenshot of what you’re seeing on the PDF statement downloaded from the Online Account? Please don’t include any personal details.

 

We’re used to seeing this for direct debit customers who get the £67 refunded to their bank accounts, so I’d be interested to see how it appears for customers who don’t get the amount refunded.

 

Let’s look into this for you!

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
K
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Recently received the the bill for November and am puzzled by how the £66 reduction is being applied. It is being used to reduce my bill and reduce my direct debit amount which seems odd.

If I completely ignore the the £66 reduction and receive a full bill, we’ll say £200, and I pay my full direct debit, we’ll say £130, I have a shortfall of £70.

If the £66 reduction is applied my bill is now £134 but the £66 is also being deducted from my direct debit which becomes £68 leaving a shortfall of £66. So the £66 government energy cost subsidy is actually worth a paltry 4 quid (shortfall was £70 now £66). In truth there is no benefit to this scheme whatsoever.

No wonder I’ll be bankrupt by this time next year!

Blastoise186
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Not quite. It’s used to reduce the charges to free up £66/£67 and then enable a refund of the same amount. It’s £66 for the first two months and £67 for the remaining four, making up the shortfall and wiping it out.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!

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