British Gas makes major change to scheme giving | European Markets

Vitality firm British Gasoline has launched a massive change to its £1,700 scheme which supplies money to prospects in need. The provider’s British Gasoline Vitality Belief affords grants to prospects of up to £1,700 a yr, money which doesn’t need to be paid back and is open to each British Gasoline and non-British Gasoline prospects.

The Particular person And Households Fund affords money to prospects who’ve between £50 and £1,700 of debt on their British Gasoline account, and will see these eligible for the scheme getting their debt paid off by the British Gasoline Vitality Belief. In November, the Categorical reported concerning the scheme reopening and that it was open to credit and pre-payment meter prospects. However the fund’s eligibility guidelines have been modified in order that solely pre-payment meter prospects will qualify for the help, excluding those that have credit accounts.

The scheme additionally caveats that these with 10 different suppliers need to go to their own provider as an alternative. The fund says in its eligibility standards: “The fund is available to British Gas and non-British Gas customers on pre-payment meter accounts only.

“Pre-payment meter customers must have between £50 and £1,700 of energy debt. You have not received a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust within the last two years. You must be seeking a grant to clear an outstanding debt on a current or open gas, electricity or dual fuel energy account. The account must be in your name and relate to your main residence.

“If your application is successful, your energy account will be credited with the grant. Please note the British Gas Energy Trust does not award cash payments.

“You must be in or facing fuel poverty. You have received help from a money advice agency or used our trusted partner’s self help Benefit Calculator tool within the last six months.

“We want to ensure that grants go to people who cannot access energy debt help from their own provider. Several suppliers have their own support fund which is restricted to their customers only. These are: OVO, Boost, Eon, Eon Next, EDF, Scottish Power, Octopus, Shell Energy, SSE, Utilita and Utility Warehouse. If you are a customer of one of these companies, please apply to them directly.”

Nonetheless, there’s one other scheme, the British Gasoline Vitality Assist Fund. That is open to British Gasoline prospects solely, nevertheless it does permit assist for credit prospects.

It will give up to £2,000 in help to wipe off vitality money owed, and requires a minimal debt of £50 as a pre-payment buyer and £250 as a credit account buyer.

British Gasoline Vitality Belief, which is a separate, impartial charity, says that the funds are there to attempt to help people return themselves to a ‘sustainable position’ financially.

It provides: “Please note that the British Gas Energy Trust is interested in funding applications where the applicant can show a sustainable position moving forward. We believe that it is rarely in the person’s best interest to seek a debt write-off, without dealing with the underlying problem of a deficit budget, due to this deficit budgets will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, there is some allowance for marginal exceptions.”