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E.ON Energy Fund: How to Apply in 2022

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The E.ON Energy Fund is a debt support fund created by the energy provider to help its customers reduce their arrears on gas and electricity bills. It also finances the replacement of faulty household white goods, such as washing machines, cookers and fridge-freezers. You can even get help to fund a boiler replacement. However, strict criteria apply to get it. Find out here what those are to get financial help.

E.ON Energy Fund explained

A few UK energy suppliers offer their own versions of an energy fund. However, they don't all have the same eligibility criteria to get it. Below, Read on to find out if you're eligible and how to apply.

What is the E.ON Energy Fund?

E.ON aims to help its most vulnerable customers around four main areas that contribute to fuel poverty in the UK. Below, we've set out what these are.

1. Clear unpaid energy bills

Falling into arrears creates anxiety as overdue energy bill reminders continue to be sent to you until they're paid off. If you can identify with this, then the E.ON Energy Fund can work with you to help pay off any current or final fuel bill arrears.

2. Replace faulty white goods for free

Higher than average energy bills are symptomatic of faulty household white goods. These tend to use more energy than they should. The E.ON Energy Fund can be used to finance their replacement free of charge. You may be able to receive energy-efficient appliances that use less electricity than before, thus lowering your bills.

3. Help to finance boiler replacement

A faulty boiler can be a principal source of energy wastage, which can hike up your gas bills unnecessarily. As boilers are expensive to replace, E.ON won't offer to replace it free of charge as it does with your faulty white goods. Instead, you will have to pay £395 and the rest will be covered by E.ON under their Affordable Warmth Scheme. Find out more about this below.

4. Fund an e-learning course

Knowledge is the key to managing your finances. There are many things to learn to help yourself become financially stable and secure. The E.ON Energy Fund can provide you with e-learning vouchers to help fund an online course that teaches you how to run your finances efficiently and stay out of debt.

To find out how much E.ON can give you in e-learning vouchers, click on the button below and contact the supplier directly.

Contact E.ON Now

What's the process to get my money?

You'll have to go through the following two steps to receive your money under the E.ON Energy Fund:

STEP 1: Apply by submitting E.ON's online form or call them on 0330 380 1090.

If your application is not accepted...
  • E.ON will explain its reasons for the decision.
  • You can reapply if your circumstances change.
  • There is no appeals procedure, as the decision is final.

STEP 2: If your application has been successful, E.ON will put you under the "four-month Provisional Award Scheme for debt relief". While that's quite a mouthful, it merely means that you'll have to go through a test before you get your money. Here's how it works:

From a specified date, you'll have to commit to paying your current gas and electricity usage for a period of four months.

  If you pay all your energy bills on time, you've passed the test. Your application for the Fund will be accepted, and your account will be credited within 21 days from that date. The payment made will clear any debt on your account.

  If you've missed any payments or they're paid late, you fail the test and your application will be rejected. The debt on your account, together with any further arrears accrued over the four-month provisional period, will remain outstanding and payable in full to E.ON.

During the four-month provisional period...
  • You must contact E.ON to agree on an affordable payment plan.
  • Any debt you have on your account will be suspended. It will not accrue any interest during the four months.

Am I eligible for the E.ON Energy Fund?

To receive the Fund, you'll have to meet the "main" criteria (common to all the suppliers that offer this scheme) and E.ON's "additional" criteria.

What are the main eligibility criteria?

You will be eligible to benefit from the E.ON Energy Fund if you meet the following criteria:

  1. You or a household member is in receipt of:
    • pension credit
    • means-tested council tax reduction
    • Child Tax Credits with a total gross household income of £16,190 or less
    • Income Related Employment and Support Allowance
    • Working Tax Credits with a total gross household income of £16,190 or less
    • Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
    • Universal credit (and the applicant is either not working or is self-employed)
  2. Your total household income is £16,190 or less.
  3. You or a household member is seriously ill or has a terminal illness. The medical condition needs to be verified by a letter from your doctor or medical practitioner.

What are other applicable criteria?

E.ON decides whether or not you are eligible to receive the Fund based on the main criteria, but there are other circumstances that can affect your eligibility. Let's have a look at what these questions are so that you know how to answer them:

magnifying glass and list

Your Circumstances

  • Is anybody in the household currently pregnant?
  • Have you, or anyone in the household, suffered a bereavement recently?
  • Does anyone in the house have a learning difficulty?
  • Has your household income recently been reduced?
  • Is anybody in the household currently suffering from mental or physical health issues, or recently suffered an illness that has contributed to your household circumstances?
  • Are there any other exceptional circumstances relevant to your application, which you have not already mentioned elsewhere in your application form?

Your Home

  • How often do you experience problems with dampness or mould in your home?
  • How often do you feel cold in your home?
  • How often do you experience noticeable draughts in your home?
  • Does your household receive a mains gas supply?
  • What type of windows do you have at home?
  • Are the majority of light bulbs in your home energy efficient/low energy?

How do I get accepted?

You don't want to spend time filling out the form only to have your application for the Energy Fund rejected.

In addition to considering carefully the questions on the online form and how you to answer them, you should also note the following points to increase your chances of having your application accepted:

  • Demonstrate to E.ON that you have received debt advice before you apply. If you do this, you increase your chances of making a successful application.
  • Evidence of your medical condition (scanned or photocopied) that prevents you from managing your finances must be obtained from a medical professional within the last six months or written/printed on headed paper and signed and dated by the professional.

E.ON Energy Fund Application Tips

We break down a few tips that will help you with your E.ON Energy Fund application below.

  1. There's no need to send original documents. Scans, photographs or photocopies will suffice.
  2. If you haven't got the supporting evidence to hand when you submit the form online, you can send it by email or post to Freepost E.ON ENERGY FUND (no stamp required) once you have it.
  3. All supporting evidence must be dated within three months of your application, (except for annual benefit letters).
  4. If you're missing any evidence needed to process your application, E.ON will ask for this, giving you 30 days to provide it. If you fail to submit it within this time frame, your application will be closed.

Funding for white goods, boilers & e-learning vouchers

E.ON has not released detailed criteria when it comes to eligibility for help to finance white goods, boiler replacements or e-learning courses. However, you can find a comprehensive list of services they do provide by clicking the button below:

E.ON Energy Guide

Here are a few tips that should help you communicate why you need assistance from the energy fund:

1. Domestic white goods

Provide information demonstrating that the white good is faulty.

  • Take clear photographs of its current state, together with a separate image of what it looked like when brand new. You can find one from one of the manuals enclosed with your appliance. If you no longer have this, surf the internet for the relevant model in Google Images.
  • Write a clear description of the fault, i.e. what part of the appliance is not working and why you think it's not working. If you can find the user manual online that describes how it ought to function in its optimal state, this will aid your supporting evidence.

2. Boiler replacement

BEFORE YOU APPLY...
  • If you suspect that your boiler is faulty, first consider getting a boiler service to diagnose the problem. Contact a Gas Safe registered professional who can inspect your boiler and tell you what's causing the fault.
  • If it's just a worn-out boiler part, it may be cheaper to get this part replaced. Otherwise, if the engineer tells you that the problem is more widespread, they may advise you to get a replacement boiler.

You can apply to E.ON to have them finance part of the cost of replacing your faulty boiler. Note that you wouldn't apply through the E.ON Energy Fund, but rather through a separate scheme called the Affordable Warmth Scheme. You don't even need to be an E.ON customer. Find out if you're eligible for E.ON's Affordable Warmth Scheme.

boiler

Here's how it works to get a new boiler:

  1. E.ON will send an engineer (or an "assessor" as E.ON prefers to call them), to your home to do a free home survey. The professional will inspect your boiler and the surrounding issues affecting the problem, such as pipes or flues.
  2. The assessor will tell you if further work in addition to replacing the new boiler, will be required. This may involve flushing or replacing connecting pipes or flues. Note that you will have to cover the costs for this extra work.
  3. You decide if you want to:

 Proceed with getting a replacement boiler which means covering the cost of £240 for the replacement, plus any additional charge for any further work needed, as mentioned above.

 Reject the proposal to have E.ON replace your boiler. Remember that you won't have anything to pay if you decide not to go ahead. Even the initial home survey is free of charge. As an alternative, you can choose to get boiler cover to meet the costs of repair or replacement.

3. E-learning voucher

What if you're interested in doing an online course to manage your finances? E.ON doesn’t provide any specifics on how to apply to get an E-learning voucher for a relevant personal finance course. You will need to contact E.ON directly to get more details on courses and vouchers.

Who do I contact if I need help with my application?

If you need help to complete the application form, it's OK to get somE.ONe else to help you. There's a section on the online form where you can specify who that person is. You can also choose to nominate him/her as a "designated third party" to deal with your application on your behalf.

If you still have any queries about the form or the application process, you can call E.ON's affiliated partner, Charis Let's Talk. They manage the E.ON Energy fund on behalf of E.ON. The Charis Let's Talk phone number is 0330 380 1090. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm.

What other help can I get?

In addition to the E.ON Energy Fund, there are government and charitable organisations that help you keep up with your gas and electricity payments. Hit each link below to find out what these energy schemes offer to help you get back on your feet and regain your financial independence:

The services and products mentioned on this website may only represent a small selection of the options available to you. Selectra encourages you to carry out your own research and seek advice if necessary before making any decisions. We may receive commission from selected partner providers on sales of some products and/or services mentioned within this website. Our website is free to use, and the commission we receive does not affect our opinion or the information we provide.

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