Octopus energy offers £200 winter fuel payment to people born before certain date - how to apply

Some households in Britain are set to pay a couple more pounds per month for their energy from this weekend
-Credit: (Image: Richard Newstead)


Octopus Energy is stepping in to offer up to £200 each to state pensioners who have lost their £300 Winter Fuel Payments.

Pensioners with Octopus Energy can apply for discretionary energy bill credits of £50, £100 and £200 after the new Labour Party government axed the payouts for anyone. The company has decided to extend its £30m Octo Assist fund to help those pensioners who need it most.

Lower income pension households who don't receive pension credit will now be able to claim new assistance from the fund, according to Octopus. The DWP has stated that state pensioners must be born before September 23, 1958 to qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment of between £100 and £300.

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Octopus has announced that thousands of discretionary credits of £50, £100 and £200 will be available to those who apply. Other support includes written, phone or online applications available to reach as many people as possible, the energy supplier has said.

Additionally, Octopus is offering free benefit and pension credit checks to ensure customers are not missing out on extra cash. As much as £1.7bn in pension credit could be currently going unclaimed, the energy giant - which competes with British Gas, EDF, EON, Ovo and more - has revealed, reports Lancs Live.

Octopus Energy has rolled out a new scheme, encouraging its customers to pinpoint elderly family members who could use assistance, with the message: "Worried about an elderly relative? Flag them up for a friendly phone call and instant support from dedicated Octopus specialists, if they are an Octopus customer."

Greg Jackson, the CEO of Octopus Energy, stressed the significance of business involvement in tackling affordability issues, saying, "At times like this, we can't expect the government to do everything - companies need to work hard on affordability too."

He added: "That's why we've expanded our Octo Assist fund to introduce extra support for the pensioners who need it most. There's a lot of government and other support for pensioners but many don't realise it - government data shows one in three pensioners eligible for pension credits are not claiming, so we're training our team to help with this too."

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