Npower Energy Fund: Help With Your Bills

Your debts can often cripple your attempts at attaining financial stability and security. You want to stay on top of your energy payments, but your unpaid dues keep pulling you back. The Npower Energy Fund is designed to help Npower customers start a clean slate while staying on track with their energy bills. Find out what the Fund is and how you can get it today.

What is the Npower Energy Fund

This is a scheme designed to help Npower’s domestic customers who struggle to keep up with their energy payments. Its aim is to pull customers out of fuel poverty and help them regain a firm hold on their finances.

The Npower Energy Fund works in two ways. Firstly, it will clear any debts that the customer has accrued in unpaid gas and electricity bills. Secondly, it offers a replacement of customers’ white goods that are either broken, old or in poor condition, from washing machines to fridge-freezers. The objective is to equip you with appliances with a high energy efficiency rating. You can add them to your arsenal of energy-saving gadgets that will lower your energy bills.

What you need to know before applying

There are a few things to know before you apply for the Npower Energy Fund:

• You must be an Npower domestic customer (Business customers are excluded from applying).
• If your application is successful, you must first demonstrate your commitment to pay your energy bills for a continuous period of at least three months based only on your usage for that period. This is known as the “three-month provisional award period”.
• The Npower Energy Fund does not take the form of a lump sum of money given to you, nor is it a rebate like the Npower Warm Home Discount. It only clears any arrears accrued on your gas and electricity bills.

Who runs the Npower Energy Fund?

The scheme is administered by Charis Let’s Talk. This is an arm of Charis Grants Ltd, a specialist consultancy that has partnered with Npower to provide logistical support in administering the Fund to Npower customers.

Incidentally, Charis Let’s Talk also administers the equivalent fund on behalf of the EDF Energy Trust, British Gas Energy Trust and the Eon Energy Fund. You must make your application through the Charis Let’s Talk website rather than Npower’s.

Am I eligible to apply?

The Npower Energy Fund aims to help vulnerable Npower customers who struggle to clear any past arrears on their energy bills and keep up with future payments. If you feel that you’re in this situation, you may be eligible to benefit from it.

Remember that you usually need to be the account holder to apply, i.e. the person named on the bill. However, if that person is unable to make the application, due to infirmity, for example, there is the option for someone else to complete it on their behalf.

If you’re having difficulties completing the form, you can get a friend, relative or carer to complete it on your behalf. If you still run into difficulties or are unable to access the internet, please call Npower’s helpline at 0173 342 1021.

How do I apply for the Npower Energy Fund?

Start your application by clicking the button below.

 

If Npower requires any more information from you to evaluate your application, you will be given 30 days to provide it. If you fail to reply within 30 days, your application will be closed.

 

If you need more time to obtain the information needed, you should let Npower know before the 30 days have elapsed. This may be the case if you are waiting to receive a document from the Department of Work and Pensions. Npower may be able to give you more time to send it.

What will I be asked on the application form?

Once you’ve clicked on the button above to start your application, you’ll be asked to answer questions, which are divided into 14 parts. You don’t have to answer all the questions in one sitting. You can save your answers and continue where you left off at another time.

Questions that have been completely answered carry a green tick inside the corresponding box. Any questions that remain unanswered or incomplete will have a red cross instead, as shown in the image on the right.

We have listed below those parts of the online application form which need particular attention.

Part 6: Managing your finances

The following questions under part six of the form are important because your answers will affect your chances of seeing your application accepted.

1. Have you sought money advice from a professional money adviser?

If you seek financial advice before making this application, you’ll increase the likelihood of having your application accepted. Below are just some organisations which can help you access government schemes, grants and aid:

• Citizens Advice - Tel: Freephone 0808 808 4000
• Consumer Credit Counselling Service - Tel: 0800 138 1111
• Age UK (for those over 50) - Tel: 0800 00 99 66
• Shelter Housing Advice Helpline - Tel 0808 800 4444

2. Have you created a personal / household budget which you use to help manage your income and expenditure?

Again, Npower likes to see that you’ve taken the initiative to help yourself regain financial stability and avoid fuel poverty. To this end, if you can demonstrate that you’ve used online tools and techniques to help you budget your finances, it will stand you in better stead. This is because a budget will help you better understand how much money your household has coming in and where that money is being spent.

Charis Grants Ltd unsurprisingly recommends its own online budgeting tool called Money Manager which you can access for free.

TOP TIP:Keep a copy of your budget either by exporting the data to a spreadsheet. You’ll need to plug the data into part 7 of the form (the income box) and into part 8 (the outgoings box).

Part 9: Financial Statement - Debts

In this section, you’ll be asked to declare all your outstanding debts, including any arrears from past gas and electricity bills. The options from the drop-down menu are as follows:

You can only pick one type of debt from the dropdown box, but if you have more than one type, just click the pink +Add Debt button and select the second debt. Continue this step as many times as necessary to declare all of your outstanding debts.

What evidence do I need to support my application?

In part 12 of the online application form, you will need to attach supporting evidence to verify your answers provided in the form. If you do not have a digital copy of the relevant evidence, you’re allowed to scan or photograph it in order to upload it. You can also submit evidence by emailing it to [email protected] or post it to them at FREEPOST NPOWER ENERGY FUND.

The documentary evidence you will need to supply for the Npower Energy Fund is as follows:

• Proof of all your household income: This includes the income of anyone living with you during the current tax year.
• DWP confirmation of benefits: In relation to each public benefit you receive, each page from the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) confirming your entitlement to that benefit and the amount that you will receive during the current tax year.
• Pension letters: Applicable if you receive any state or private pension.
• Medical DS1500 form: This must be signed by either your doctor or medical consultant.

Points to note:All supporting evidence must be less than three months old, except for annual benefit letters from the DWP, such as State Pension and Child Benefit letters.
If you’re applying for replacement white goods, in addition to the list above, you will need to provide information that describes the condition of your current white goods, along with photo evidence of the same.

How will I know if I have been successful?

Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll receive an automatic email from Npower acknowledging receipt. If your application has been successful, Charis Let’s Talk will contact you either by phone, post or email to confirm. If you haven’t received a response after three weeks of submitting your application form, you should contact the Npower Energy Trust helpline (see above).

To find out all there is to know about Npower, look at our comprehensive Npower guide. If you would like to contact Npower about the Npower Energy Fund or for anything else, see our Npower Contact guide.