Energy contract loophole could cost Hayes Point residents £400

Glamorgan Star news 07/06/2022

2 minutes read

By MARCUS STEAD.

Residents of the Hayes Point development in Sully have expressed concerns that they will be unable to receive government payments to assist with energy bills due to a loophole in the system.

Last week, the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that all UK households are to receive a grant that will reduce energy bills by £400 as part of a wider package of measures aimed to help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.

Over the course of six months from October, direct debit and credit customers will have the money credited to their accounts, and those with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.

However, Richard Suchorzewski, 59, a marketing manager who lives at Hayes Point, says the way the development’s energy contract is structured has left him concerned they will not receive the discount: “There is a single energy contract in the name of the management company that serves the more than 200 flats in the development.

“Each flat has its own meter and we all pay for the amount we use, but it’s administered under a single contract.

“This was implemented by the management company several years ago and there’s a modest reduction on our bills because of the tariff that was made available to us by our supplier,” he said.

In February, the UK Government announced a £140 payment under the Warm Home Discount Scheme for some pensioners and those on low incomes, which Mr Suchorzewski said the residents of Hayes Point did not receive: “When the UK Government announced the £140 payment for some elderly people and those on low incomes back in February, around 20 residents in Hayes Point who would have expected to receive the discount did not do so because of the single energy contract for the entire development.

“That was bad enough, because it affected the least well-off, but this time, we’re all due to receive the £400 payment, and while the exact details weren’t revealed following Mr Sunak’s announcement last week, I am very concerned that the loophole will mean none of us in this large development will be eligible,” he said.

The type of single energy contract in place at Hayes Point is not uncommon in large residential blocks, and Mr Suchorzewski says he has been made aware of similar concerns elsewhere in the country.

Fellow Hayes Point resident Terry White, 58, is registered as disabled and did not receive the £140 discount earlier this year because of the loophole: “We all know that whenever anybody falls through the cracks, it’s not very nice, because the intention of the UK Government is that people with health issues, or low income or both receives the help that they need, so I strongly urge Mr Sunak to ensure this loophole is closed, because it will affect a lot of vulnerable people who are struggling in these very hard times.

“It was bad enough for me not to receive the £140 payment a few months ago, but if that situation is repeated, 100% of us in this building will not receive the £400 payment later this year, and the impact of that would be devastating,” he said.

🌟 This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 02.05.22

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