THOUSANDS of households must look out for a code in their bank statements to check they have received a £25 cold weather payment.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hands out the free cash to help support hard-up households pay their energy bills amid frosty weather.
Cold weather payments have been triggered across 18 postcode areas due to amber weather warnings.
If you are eligible, the payment should automatically appear in your bank account within 14 days of your postcode being triggered.
However, if you think you are eligible, but can’t see the payment in your statement, it helps to look out for an exact code.
For those living in England and Wales, it should appear as the customer’s National Insurance (NI) number followed by “DWP CWP”.
Whereas those living in Northern Ireland should look for their NI number followed by “DFC CWP”.
This means you do not need to apply for the benefit.
However, if you think you should be in receipt of the benefit and it does not come through, you should tell the Pension Service or Job Centre Plus.
Call the Pension Service helpline on 0800 731 0469 or find your nearest Jobcentre by visiting find-your-nearest-jobcentre.dwp.gov.uk/.
If you’re on Universal Credit, you can log in to your account and add a note to your journal.
What are Cold Weather Payments?
To help with rising bill prices and the cost of living, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offers the emergency benefit each year when bad weather hits.
Households can get £25 during each seven-day period of low temperatures from now until March 31.
The payments are issued across the postcodes affected by the temperature hit.
Eligible households within that postcode get the £25 for each seven day period it is needed.
Further cold weather could lead to additional payments in other areas, and there is no maximum limit to the amount you can receive.
For example, almost 500 postcodes got payments worth up to £75 last winter, while over 250 got the same amount the year before.
You can also check if you are due a cold weather payment in the future by visiting coldweatherpayments.dwp.gov.uk.
Who is eligible for the payment?
Households in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for cold weather payments.
Meanwhile, households in Scotland aren’t eligible.
However they get a Winter Heating Payment instead – more information on this can be found at www.mygov.scot/winter-heating-payment.
The postcodes which qualify for the cold weather payment this year are:
- Carlisle: CA9-12, CA16-17
- Dumfries and Galloway: DG14
- Galashiels: TD9
- Lancaster: LA8-10, LA21-23
- Newcastle upon Tyne: NE19, NE47-NE49
To qualify for the cold weather payments in these areas you must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit
- Support for Mortgage Interest
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
Sometimes there is other eligibility criteria you must fulfil to be eligible for the payments.
If you’re on Universal Credit, for example, you only get a payment if you are not in employment or “gainfully self-employed”.
Most eligible people don’t need to apply to get cold weather payments.
However, if you are on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and have had a baby or have a child under five living with you, you need to tell your local Jobcentre Plus centre.
If you don’t, you won’t receive an automatic payment.
You can check your eligibility for a cold weather payment via https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility.
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