People will have started receiving letters already.
DWP issues urgent alert about £150 discount phone call (Image: Getty)
Benefit claimants have been warned to watch out for Warm Home Discount phone call scams, as more opportunistic criminals target the vulnerable this winter.
The Warm Home Discount, worth £150 and paid directly to eligible households’ energy suppliers, is the latest scheme fraudsters are using to trick people into handing over personal details, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said. In a new post on X, the DWP wrote: “Have you heard about the Warm Home Discount Scheme? If you’re eligible, the £150 credit will be automatically applied to your electricity account.” However, it warned: “If you get a call asking you to apply for the discount, it’s a scam.”
People will have started receiving letters already. (Image: Getty)
Who is eligible for the Warm Home Discount?
People who live in England and Wales can qualify if they have an account with one of 28 participating electricity suppliers and they either:
- Get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
- Are on a low income and have high energy costs.
Low-income benefits that may be eligible include Universal Credit, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance, and Pension Credit Savings Credit.
To be eligible for this year’s payment, people must be claiming one of these benefits on Sunday, August 24, 2025.
For those living in Scotland, you will be automatically eligible for the scheme if you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. If you’re on other low-income benefits, you’ll need to apply for the scheme directly to your energy supplier – not the Warm Home Discount helpline.
You might be eligible if your energy supplier is part of the scheme, you (or your partner) get certain means-tested benefits, and your name (or your partner’s) is on the electricity bill.
The following 28 suppliers are part of the scheme this year:
- 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
- Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy
- Boost
- British Gas
- Bulb Energy – see Octopus Energy
- Co-op Energy – see Octopus Energy
- E – also known as E (Gas and Electricity)
- Ecotricity
- E.ON Next
- EDF
- Fuse Energy
- Good Energy
- Home Energy
- London Power
- Octopus Energy
- Outfox Energy
- OVO
- Sainsbury’s Energy
- Scottish Gas – see British Gas
- ScottishPower
- Shell Energy Retail
- So Energy
- Square 1 Energy Ltd
- Tomato Energy
- TruEnergy
- Tulo Energy
- Utilita
- Utility Warehouse.
If a person’s electricity supplier stops trading, they may still be eligible for the discount.
A statement on GOV.UK reads: “Ofgem will appoint a new supplier for you. Check with your new supplier if you’re eligible for the discount.”
The DWP started sending letters confirming people’s eligibility from October. If you haven’t received one yet and you think you’re eligible for the payment, the DWP advises waiting until January 2026 before contacting the scheme.
To contact the scheme, you can reach them by telephone on 0800 030 9322 or by post here.
