UPDATE: |I got £350 for free to help with my energy bills through little-known scheme News

A mum shares how she got vital help with her energy debts through a little known cost of living scheme

A mum has shared how she got £350 for free from a cost of living scheme to help her pay off her debts. Mum-of-two Linzi, 35, was in £1,300 worth of energy debts before finding the little-known scheme.

After being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2022, Linzi had to constantly have her heating on to fight off infections. Before long, she couldn’t keep up with her energy bills and fell into debt, the Mirror reports. She was very close to “cracking” before she found the scheme.

Three years ago, Linzi would go to the gym at 5am each morning to workout and had just received a qualification to become a personal trainer with hopes of setting up her own business.

But when Linzi was pregnant with her second child she became incredibly ill very quickly and was forced to leave her full-time job.

In October 2022, Linzi began having issues with her liver, which caused her to go into labour with her son early. Eventually, her illness put her in hospital, and she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

She told the Mirror: “This was why I was so poorly through my pregnancy, because I kept flaring up because of Crohns, and nobody knew what was going on.”

After her diagnosis the mum-of-two struggled with illness constantly, having to fight off multiple bouts of infections every year – so she had to keep her heating on to help her health.

She explained: “I have to have it on a certain degree all the time because I physically cannot function when it’s cold or I feel cold. I knew I needed to pay for it, I understood that, and it wasn’t a problem because I needed it on. I actually couldn’t do anything. It was horrible, but I had to do it.”

Due to her high energy usage, Linzi’s debt grew over the next year. She could no longer cover her £250 monthly bill, which ended up rising to £350 a month.

Her energy provider sent her email warnings about her usage, but thankfully were understanding about her situation.

When she explained why she couldn’t cover the bill, her supplier reduced it, and according to Linzi, her supplier “never once pressured” her on this bill and has only ever offered support.

At its worse, Linzi owed over £1,300. The money she received from her benefit payments was not enough to cover any of the debt – with it only being enough to cover her family’s day-to-day lives.

Linzi said: “Since having to leave work, it’s just been impossible. I just need an extra bit of money to help me get back on my feet because that’s all I want. I only stopped working because I was really ill. I don’t want to be on benefits. I’ve worked ever since I was 15, and all I want to do is climb back up.”

It was after developing depression that Linzi found Lightning Reach – an online portal launched in 2020 to provide information on cost of living grants.

Linzi had struggled to continue juggling everything in her life when she was referred to a peer support group for her depression.

It was during these sessions, when she would talk about her life and her feelings to support specialists, that she was told about Lightning Reach after discussing the stress her energy debt was causing.

The grants it offers are available from various organisations, including housing associations, charities, and local authorities. Linzi’s mental health team referred her case to Lightning Reach, which contacted her very quickly after her referral.

Linzi explained: “A woman called me, and we talked about how I got into debt, and how much I had, and I honestly didn’t realise until the very end of the phone call that I could get money.” Linzi was told that due to her circumstances, she was eligible for an energy support grant from a local charity worth £350.

She said: “I was so shocked when she said it, like I truly didn’t expect it. I’ve always worked like all my life and I didn’t know what help there was out there because I’ve never needed it.” After the phone call, Lightning Reach applied for the grant for Linzi and it was applied to her energy account within a few days.

The Sheffield woman added: “When I saw the debt had gone down by that much, oh man, it was a relief. I know it wasn’t all paid off but to have £350 go away, that big lump gone from it was like a massive weight off me.”

Alongside this, Lightning Reach also sent Linzi a number of free energy-saving tools, including door and window draft excluders, which would help keep the heat in her home and the cold out – and hopefully lower her energy usage.

Linzi says the help from Lightning Reach came “at the right time” as looking back, she was very close to “cracking”. She said: “There seems to be a problem with every aspect of my life and honestly, everything could’ve gone wrong so quickly but this was really a boost.”

Although Linzi is still not out of the woods with her energy debt, she says she is now “just above water”. Linzi is currently in the process of trying to claim the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment from the Department for Work and Pension. She is taking her claim to tribunal after the benefits department initially denied her claim.

Lightning Reach has a partnership with TSB, and customers can access the support through the TSB banking app. Non-customers can also access help through the Lightning Reach website here.

Dan Pearson, TSB’s Head of Financial Support Strategy and Operations, said: “With household bills rising in April, our partnership with Lightning Reach continues to help people access vital grants that they wouldn’t have known about otherwise. If you’re struggling with bills, it’s definitely worth reviewing if you’re eligible for support via Lightning Reach, and don’t forget you can speak to your bank if you have money worries.”