OVO Energy Fund assists with paying bills

OVO Energy customers that are on a low income, are on arrears of over £50, and that are struggling can get help paying their bills. The company offers many assistance programmes for those customers that need it. The name of the primary scheme is the OVO Energy Fund, and it offers everything from grants to pay electric or gas bill arrears to payment plans and more.

OVO Energy will not only offer financial help for the debt but the provider will insist that the customer also enroll into long term money management classes. This will help reduce the possibility of the family falling into arrears again on their future fuel bills. The key partner of OVO is Citizens Advice, and the centre in Plymouth coordinates many of these services.

Help for paying OVO fuel bill arrears

The Energy Fund will provide the customer with a grant. The assistance is only available at most once every 2 years. All of the grant based aid needs to go towards paying electric costs, gas, or the money can help keep the heat on as well during the winter.

Anyone seeking help needs to be in arrears at least £50. While the grant may not pay off all of the debt that is due to OVO Energy, it will assist. Note that not all applications are successful, and the company will approve as well as reject some. All full assessment is done on a case by case basis.

There are no guarantees to receiving aid, especially if the money is allotted for that year. But a family on a low income can always reapply as well, if their financial circumstances change or if an application was not successful.

All of the money will go directly into the account of the customer. There will not be any cash given to the family. So when the grant is applied to the account, it will help reduce any debt that is due for the utility bill.

The next step is to try to prevent the family or individual from falling into debt again in the future. This is where Citizens Advice will assist. The staff from the Plymouth office (or other nearby centres) will partner with the individual to give them guidance. They will help them budget properly, save a portion of their income for other expenses, and ensure conservation is done. All applicants will need to sign a declaration agreeing to their intent to get money management advice.

Applications to OVO Energy Fund

Anyone seeking help needs to be facing an emergency. There needs to be a valid reason as to why they are in arrears on their electric or gas bills. This can be for reasons such as a redundancy or an illness. But in general a grant will not be provided to a customer that is in long term fuel poverty and if they have not taking steps to improve their situation.

The OVO Energy Fund will help families in poverty though pay their fuel bills. There is assistance for individuals on welfare, Universal Credit, or Job Seekers benefits. But those applicants need to have a income of £16,190 or less, and they also need to participate in money management. If they do they can get assistance for paying electric bill arrears from OVO.

There is an advantage to having Citizens Advice help in the OVO Energy Fund. There is support given to the vulnerable who need assistance applying. So the blind, vulnerable, and disabled can get assistance in help in completing a form for the programme. Citizens Advice will also assess an application to ensure only qualified people get a grant. Also, if the form is denied they can still be referred to other government schemes for their fuel bills, so multiple resources are assessed.

To learn more or to apply to the OVO Energy Fund scheme, ring 0800 5999 440 or call a local Citizens Advice centre.