What is Fuel Direct?

Fuel Direct is a way to pay for your energy if you receive certain state  benefits and you are struggling to pay for your energy – it’s designed to help you manage your energy bills and pay back any outstanding amount you owe. After agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions, a fixed amount is deducted directly from your benefits to pay for your energy bills.

With Fuel Direct, a fixed amount of the payment taken from your benefits will go towards paying off your outstanding balance and ongoing energy that you use. However, the amount may vary for Universal Credit recipients, this will be confirmed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

If you think Fuel Direct would benefit you, please contact us and we can discuss whether it’s right for you. We can help you apply and will need your consent to contact the DWP to request Fuel Direct for you.

We’ll discuss and agree with you an amount that covers your ongoing energy use, which can be adjusted at any time by contacting us.

If you think Fuel Direct would benefit you, get in touch with us and we can chat about whether it’s a good fit. If you decide to go ahead, we’ll assist you with the setup.

When you’ve paid back your outstanding balance, please contact us and the Department for Work and Pensions. They’ll cancel your Fuel Direct payments and when you get in touch with us, we’ll  set up a new payment method that suits you and you’ll then start to pay for your ongoing energy use.

If the Department for Work and Pensions cancels your Fuel Direct, please contact us as soon as they make you aware. We'll have a discussion about what payment methods are suitable for you and cancel Fuel Direct and move you back to regular monthly or quarterly billing, where we’ll send you bills which you need to pay.

We’re here to help. One of the fastest ways to get in touch is with us is through webchat, every day 7am-11pm. And if we’re unavailable, ask a question and our chatbot will help you. You can also call us on 0800 634 0010. If you’re not able to call us yourself, you can ask someone to contact us on your behalf.