Millions of people have just HOURS left to qualify for £150 energy bill help for winter

HOUSEHOLDS receiving certain benefits have only hours left to qualify for the Warm Home Discount this winter.

The £150 discount is available to help those on the lowest incomes struggling with the rising costs of energy.

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In previous years, households received a £140 discount and most had to apply for the payment.

However, you no longer have to apply directly to take part in the scheme and you’ll automatically qualify if you are receiving certain benefits.

Your energy supplier will automatically confirm your eligibility as long as you were receiving any of the qualifying benefits on or before Sunday August 21.

You’ll need to be a recipient of one or more of the following benefits to qualify:

If you aren’t claiming any of the above benefits on August 21 you won’t be eligible for the payment.

However, there’s a trick you can follow to later ensure you become eligible.

The help will come in handy as some energy bills are predicted to hit £5,300 on average from October.

Employment and support allowance (ESA), jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), pension credit, housing benefit and Universal Credit all allow first time claimants to backdate their benefit entitlement.

So if you put in a claim now you could backdate your allowance and become eligible for the Warm Home Discount after August 21.

You’ll need to put in a successful claim by Friday November 18 for the following ESA, JSA and pension credit as these can be backdated by three months.

Housing benefit and Universal credit claims can be backdated by one month.

So you’ll need to launch your claim by Monday September 19 to be able to backdate these two benefits to take you back to the August 21 Warm Home Discount qualifying date.

What is the Warm Home Discount scheme?

The Warm Home Discount provides households on certain benefits with a £150 discount off their energy bills over the winter.

Eligibility criteria is set by the Department for Work and Pensions not your energy supplier.

Households eligible in this years scheme also won’t need to apply, irrespective of what benefits they receive.

How do I secure the discount?

If you’re in receipt of the benefits listed above, under the new scheme you won’t have to apply.

You’ll receive the rebate automatically and your energy firm will discount it from your bill.

You’ll receive a letter in October notifying you that’ll you’ll be eligible for the discount.

If you’re unsure if you’re eligible or if your letter tells you to speak to the DWP you can call a their helpline which’ll be published online at a later date.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk