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Anonymous
December 1, 2023
Solved

Warm Home Discount is late- Got a letter saying it would be paid in November?

  • December 1, 2023
  • 62 replies
  • 3246 views

I'm at the end of my tether with OVO. I applied for the Warm Home Discount on 04 Oct 23, and I received an e-mail on the same day saying I had qualified for it and I would receive it by 15 Nov 23. I still haven't received it. I've spent the last 2 weeks phoning, e-mailing and having web chats with OVO. I've been given excuse after excuse why I haven't received it, all of them different. I thought I was getting somewhere about 1 week ago when I spoke with an OVO staff member who went through my application with me and told me everything was in order and that I should have received it. He said he'd look into it and get back to me, but I never heard from again. I've tried to complain, but I get generic replies. One staff member from the complaints team e-mailed me yesterday saying she has tried to call me but can't get through. She tried to call me once and she left a voicemail. The number she left to call her back was a general number and when I phoned it, they had no idea who she was or how to get in touch with her. I've been getting the WHD for 3 years now and SSE always paid it within 2-3 weeks of applying for it, but here I am 2 months later and OVO don't even know what they are doing. OVO have really dropped the ball on this.

    Best answer by Emmanuelle_OVO

    Updated on 08/10/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:

     

    What is the Warm Home Discount (WHD)?

     

    The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 discount given to eligible domestic electricity customers to help with their energy costs. It's usually paid between October and March of each scheme year. It's a Government scheme funded by participating energy suppliers like us. It’s designed to help people who need it most.

     

    The Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme is closed for the scheme year 2023/24 and will reopen again later this year. 

     

    The Warm Home Discount (Broader Group) has now opened to applications from our customers based in Scotland.

     

    Customers can apply online here. 

     

    Broader Group Eligibility Criteria can be found here.
     

    We encourage all customers who believe they fall into the Broader group (Scotland Only) to apply online via the OVO and Boost websites. 

     

    However, If a customer needs some assistance completing their WHD application please contact our support team. 

     

    OVO Broader Group: https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/warm-home-discount-scheme 

     

    Boost Broader Group: https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/support/how-do-i-get-the-warm-home-discount 

     

    Ways to get financial support

     

    If you’re struggling financially or you’re worried about your energy bills, we’re here to support you. Find out about the different ways we can help here.

     

    How do I register for the Priority Services Register (PSR)?

     

    Check out the Customer Support package here: https://winter-support-package.ovoenergy.com/

     

    Hey @BennyM,

     

    Sorry for the issues you’re having,

     

    We’ve temporarily paused payments but aim to re-start payments over the next few days:

     

    We’re pausing Warm Home Discount (WHD) payments for now
     
    What’s happened?

    We’ve noticed an issue with the VAT applied to WHD transactions, so we’ve made a change to make sure VAT is being applied correctly.

    What have we done to fix this?

    We’ve temporarily paused WHD payments while we fix the issue. We’ve also created two new transactions which will replace the existing WHD transactions, which clearly describe how VAT is calculated. 
     
    The payments will be applied at £142.86 with VAT calculated at 5%, which is an additional £7.14. The total payment customers will receive is £150. 
     
    For Core Group (customers notified to us by the Department of Work and Pension as eligible) customers we’ll use the following transaction:

    • £150 Warm Home Discount CG13 (£142.86 + £7.14 VAT)

    For Broader Group (customers in Scotland who have applied to OVO for WHD) customers, we’ll use this transaction:

    • £150 Warm Home Discount BG13 (£142.86 + £7.14 VAT)


    The payment is applied prior to VAT being added to the bill, so the amount is added as £142.86 and then the VAT attributed is 5% at £7.14. 

    We’ll give another update soon and will aim to restart payments over the next few days. 

    62 replies

    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    December 1, 2023

    Hi @BennyM 

    Sorry to hear that.

    I am just a customer like you

    If you haven't already you might want to consider leaving a review on trustpilot for ovo

    https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ovoenergy.com

     

      Emmanuelle_OVO
      Retired Moderator
      Emmanuelle_OVOSolved
      Retired Moderator
      December 1, 2023

      Updated on 08/10/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:

       

      What is the Warm Home Discount (WHD)?

       

      The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 discount given to eligible domestic electricity customers to help with their energy costs. It's usually paid between October and March of each scheme year. It's a Government scheme funded by participating energy suppliers like us. It’s designed to help people who need it most.

       

      The Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme is closed for the scheme year 2023/24 and will reopen again later this year. 

       

      The Warm Home Discount (Broader Group) has now opened to applications from our customers based in Scotland.

       

      Customers can apply online here. 

       

      Broader Group Eligibility Criteria can be found here.
       

      We encourage all customers who believe they fall into the Broader group (Scotland Only) to apply online via the OVO and Boost websites. 

       

      However, If a customer needs some assistance completing their WHD application please contact our support team. 

       

      OVO Broader Group: https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/warm-home-discount-scheme 

       

      Boost Broader Group: https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/support/how-do-i-get-the-warm-home-discount 

       

      Ways to get financial support

       

      If you’re struggling financially or you’re worried about your energy bills, we’re here to support you. Find out about the different ways we can help here.

       

      How do I register for the Priority Services Register (PSR)?

       

      Check out the Customer Support package here: https://winter-support-package.ovoenergy.com/

       

      Hey @BennyM,

       

      Sorry for the issues you’re having,

       

      We’ve temporarily paused payments but aim to re-start payments over the next few days:

       

      We’re pausing Warm Home Discount (WHD) payments for now
       
      What’s happened?

      We’ve noticed an issue with the VAT applied to WHD transactions, so we’ve made a change to make sure VAT is being applied correctly.

      What have we done to fix this?

      We’ve temporarily paused WHD payments while we fix the issue. We’ve also created two new transactions which will replace the existing WHD transactions, which clearly describe how VAT is calculated. 
       
      The payments will be applied at £142.86 with VAT calculated at 5%, which is an additional £7.14. The total payment customers will receive is £150. 
       
      For Core Group (customers notified to us by the Department of Work and Pension as eligible) customers we’ll use the following transaction:

      • £150 Warm Home Discount CG13 (£142.86 + £7.14 VAT)

      For Broader Group (customers in Scotland who have applied to OVO for WHD) customers, we’ll use this transaction:

      • £150 Warm Home Discount BG13 (£142.86 + £7.14 VAT)


      The payment is applied prior to VAT being added to the bill, so the amount is added as £142.86 and then the VAT attributed is 5% at £7.14. 

      We’ll give another update soon and will aim to restart payments over the next few days. 

      Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
        A
        Anonymous
        December 1, 2023

        Hi Emmanuelle,

        Thanks for replying. You've given me more information about this in one answer than I've had in the last 2 weeks of phone calls, e-mails and webchats with OVO Energy! I'll wait another few days or a week to see if I hear anything.

        Thanks again!

          A
          Anonymous
          December 1, 2023

          Hi Jeffus,

          Thanks for the tip. As a customer of OVO, I just don't understand how they can be so much worse than SSE, the very company OVO took over! It gets really frustrating at times when you are just looking for simple answer but can't get it.

            G
            Newcomer
            Grantmcl66
            Newcomer
            December 7, 2023

            Hi Emmanuelle,

            I have just had a chat with someone from the Warm Home Discount team, and I am yet again being told to ‘wait a few days’. It seems hard to believe that an organisation the size of yours can take so long to sort out what seems like a fairly straightforward admin/accounting issue.

            Seems much more like being fobbed off with feeble excuses.

              Jeffus
              Rank 20
              Jeffus
              Rank 20
              December 7, 2023

              Hi Emmanuelle,

              I have just had a chat with someone from the Warm Home Discount team, and I am yet again being told to ‘wait a few days’. It seems hard to believe that an organisation the size of yours can take so long to sort out what seems like a fairly straightforward admin/accounting issue.

              Seems much more like being fobbed off with feeble excuses.

              You could try putting in a complaint if you feel really strongly.

              https://www.ovoenergy.com/feedback

              Then if you are not happy with the response after 8 weeks or ovo issue a deadlock letter you can ask the Ombudsman for assistance. They can order compensation payments if they uphold complaints.

              The average award for ovo complaints in the last quarter are:

              Billing £206

              Customer Service £126

              96% of awards against ovo had a financial element.

              https://www.energyombudsman.org/

              You could also ask citizens advice 

              https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/help/if-you-need-more-help-about-a-consumer-issue-energy/

              A
              Anonymous
              December 13, 2023

              I’d like to let everyone know of an update I’ve had today. I’ve spent weeks on phone calls and on web chats to OVO Energy, and I’ev excuse after excuse about why my WHD payment is late, each one a different reason. 

              Yesterday I managed to speak to someone in the OVO complaints team. I was told that the DWP hadn’t yet paid OVO the money to pay my WHD yet and that I had to contact the DWP. However, I couldn’t even speak to anyone at the DWP because their automated system didn’t ive me the option to do so. 

              I phoned the OVO complaints team back today and I found out some very insteresting information. I was told that the DWP had in fact paid my WHD to OVO on 27 October 2023, and there is no  reason at all why I wasn’t paid by 15 November 2023. The person I spoke to today did say OVO had a back log to work through and only said that “computer problems” caused the back log. 

              Although I suspected all the different excuses were just made up, incuding the one given by Emmanuelle on this thread, I now have confirmation that they were all just lies told to me to get me off the phone call or web chat. It is disgusting that OVO is treating it’s vulnerable customers in this way, especially when SSE (who OVO bought over) could pay the WHD every single year within 2 weeks of applying for it. 

              If OVO are going to lie to customers, perhaps they should tell all their staff the same lie and stick to it. By giving me one excuse after another, it wasn’t hard to work out that OVO are just holding on to the WHD money that the government has paid them. I’m sure it’s building up plenty of interest in OVO’s bank account.

                G
                Newcomer
                Grantmcl66
                Newcomer
                December 13, 2023

                Hi BennyM,

                Thanks for the update.

                They are indeed making it up as they go.

                In one webchat that I had, I specifically asked if they were waiting for the money to come from government, only to be told that they DON’T get the money from government !

                I just hope that they are all suitably embarrassed by their ridiculous attempts to hide the truth.

                Blastoise186
                Super User
                Blastoise186Super User
                Super User
                December 13, 2023

                Actually, OVO has until March 2024 to get all the WHD payments out, so arguably yours isn’t “late” yet. It’s only if they don’t get them out by then that it’s “late”.

                There was a recent delay caused by a VAT issue. This has been fixed and OVO is catching up with the queue.

                You just need to hang in there - the payments are on the way.

                Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
                  A
                  Anonymous
                  December 13, 2023

                  Hi BennyM,

                  Thanks for the update.

                  They are indeed making it up as they go.

                  In one webchat that I had, I specifically asked if they were waiting for the money to come from government, only to be told that they DON’T get the money from government !

                  I just hope that they are all suitably embarrassed by their ridiculous attempts to hide the truth.

                  They won’t be embarrased, not at all.

                    Show more replies
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