1.             The Charity

The charity is: Utilita Giving, a company limited by guarantee, incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 13919664 whose registered office is at Hutwood Court, Bournemouth Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 3QB (the Charity).

2.             The grant

2.1          The name of the grant is Helping Hand Fund (the Helping Hand Fund).

2.2          The Helping Hand Fund has been set up and funded by Utilita Energy Limited (Utilita Energy).

2.3          The purpose of the Helping Hand Fund is to assist Utilita Energy’s customers who are struggling to pay for their ongoing gas and/or electricity consumption and have built up a debt that they are unable to pay off.

3.             How to apply for a grant

3.1          The Helping Hand Fund will be available from 01 March 2023 and continue indefinitely until otherwise closed by the Charity.

3.2          To apply for the Helping Hand Fund:

(a)       download a copy from our website at utilitagiving.org and send the completed application form by post to: FAO Helping Hand Fund, Utilita Giving, Hutwood Court, Bournemouth Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 3QB or by email to: apply@utilitagiving.org.

(b)       apply online by submitting the online application form provided on our website at utilitagiving.org.

3.3          The Charity will not accept:

(a)       responsibility for applications that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind; or

(b)       proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of an application.

3.4          By applying for the Helping Hand Fund, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions.

3.5          For help with applications, visit our website at www.utilitagiving.org or contact us via email general@utilita.org.

3.6          Please see our website at utilitagiving.org for a copy of these terms and conditions.

4.             Eligibility

4.1          The Helping Hand Fund is only open to existing energy customers of Utilita Energy who meet the following criteria:

(a)       the applicant has a live electricity and/or gas supply;

(b)       the applicant has a legacy credit meter installed at their premises, i.e. not a smart meter;

(c)       the applicant lives in England, Scotland or Wales;

(d)       the applicant is aged 18 or over;

(e)       the applicant has an existing energy debt with Utilita Energy in relation to their primary residence;

(f)         the applicant has not previously received a grant from Utilita Giving under the Helping Hand Fund in the previous 3 years unless otherwise agreed by the Board of Trustees.

4.2          For the avoidance of doubt, the grant is conditional on you having a smart meter installed at your primary residence. Otherwise, you will not be eligible for the Helping Hand Fund.

4.3          The following categories of applicants are not eligible for the Helping Hand Fund:

(a)       employees of the Charity or Utilita Energy, or their holding or subsidiary companies;

(b)       employees of agents or suppliers of the Charity or Utilita Energy, or their holding or subsidiary companies, who are professionally connected with the Helping Hand Fund or its administration; or

(c)       members of the immediate families or households of (a) and (b) above.

4.4          In applying for the Helping Hand Fund, you confirm that you are eligible to do so. The Charity will require you to provide proof that you are eligible to receive a grant under the Helping Hand Fund which may include all or some of the following documentation:

(a)       Contact details, including name, address, email, and telephone number;

(b)       Proof of identity and residential address;

(c)       Proof of household income for the current tax year;

(d)       Proof of any entitlement to State benefits and the amounts due to be paid for the current tax year; and

(e)       Proof of any State or private pension(s).

4.5          The Charity will not accept any applications that are:

(a)       automatically generated by computer;

(b)       completed by third parties or in bulk;

(c)       illegible, have been altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with;

(d)       photocopies and not originals; or

(e)       incomplete.

4.6          There is a limit of one application per person and per household. Applications on behalf of another person will not be accepted.

4.7          The Charity reserves all rights to remove you from consideration of the grant you if your conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the Helping Hand Fund.

5.             Claiming the grant

5.1          The grant amount available to you will range between £100 and £2,000. The grant amount will depend on the amount of your actual bills unpaid up to the date that the smart meter is installed in your primary residence.

5.2          Upon installation of the smart meter, Utilita Energy will administer the grant on the Charity’s behalf by applying the grant amount directly to your energy account.

5.3          The Charity reserves the right to administer the grant with a cash alternative to the value of the grant, such as the provision of an energy voucher, if circumstances beyond the Charity’s or Utilita Energy’s control makes it necessary to do so.

5.4          The grant is not negotiable or transferable.

5.5          The decision of the Charity is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

5.6          The Charity (or its authorised representatives) will contact you personally as soon as practicable after reviewing the application, using the telephone number or email address provided with the application. The Charity will not amend any contact information once the application form has been submitted.

5.7          To receive the grant, the applicant must have arranged a smart meter installation at their primary residence with Utilita Energy. Please allow up to 14 days for installation of the smart meter.

5.8 If after receiving the grant, the customer still has residual debt, they must agree to having a debt repayment plan in place.

5.9          Once the smart meter has been installed at your primary residence, you will become eligible to receive the grant. Please allow up to 14 days for the grant to be applied to your energy account after the smart meter has been installed.

5.10          If you do not schedule a smart meter installation, or you cancel a smart meter installation, you will not be eligible to receive the grant.

5.11       The grant may not be claimed by a third party on your behalf.

5.12       The Charity does not accept any responsibility if you are not able to take up the grant.

6.             Limitation of liability

Insofar as is permitted by law, the Charity, its agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the applicant or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the grant except where it is caused by the negligence of the Charity, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. Your statutory rights are not affected.

7.             Ownership of applications and intellectual property rights

The Charity does not claim any rights of ownership in your application.

8.             Data protection and publicity

8.1          The Charity will only process your personal information as set out in the Privacy Policy.

9.             General

9.1          If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the Charity may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude you from the Helping Hand Fund.

9.2          The Charity reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the Helping Hand Fund where it becomes necessary to do so.

9.3          The Charity reserves the right to correct any technical errors in the administration of the Helping Hand Fund with immediate effect and without liability to you; for example, where a technical error results in an applicant being unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged.

9.4          These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you wish to take court proceedings, then you must do this within the courts in England and Wales.