'I claimed free £200 through little-known scheme - you could be eligible too'

Two women have shared how they were able to claim a free £200 cost of living payment through one little-known scheme.

As costs are set to skyrocket this winter, the high street bank TSB warns that millions will be forced to make difficult financial choices, including whether to heat their homes or put food on the table. It is predicted that around six million individuals could fall into fuel poverty this winter.

In a bid to help, TSB has urged those struggling to check whether they could be eligible for financial help through Lightening Reach's "Winter Warmth Network". Lightning Reach is an online portal launched last year and provides information on cost of living grants which are available from an array of organisations, from housing associations, charities, and local authorities.

Since its launch, over £15 million in grants have been facilitated through the Lightning Reach portal in total, with over a third of the total going directly towards people’s energy bills. The average payout for energy support sits at around £630. The Lightning Reach portal is available through the TSB app, but also to non-customers online through the Lightning Reach website here.

Ren Yi Hooi, founder and CEO of Lightning Reach, said: “With over 130,000 people already seeking support through the Lightning Reach portal and more needing assistance with the energy price cap rising this winter, we are delighted to be working with partners across a range of sectors to tackle the issue this winter.

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Ellena - £200 cash grant

The journey of Ellena, 43, a teaching assistant from London, shows just how crucial accessing support can be in helping people regain control during challenging times. Ellena had to leave her job to care for her grandmother, who has dementia, and was struggling to make ends meet with the rising cost of living. She discovered the Lightning Reach portal through a link on the TSB mobile app.

She told the Mirror: "At the time things were really bleak and tough, so I was looking after my gran with my mum and I wasn't claiming anything, so I had no money coming in it was just what I had saved. There is a shame about it think it might be just something in my family, or it might be my age group, but I've always thought 'you work for what you get' and you don't go sponging. I know it's not a great mindset to have."

At the time, Ellena had some bills coming up including a mobile phone, energy and other utilities and knew she wasn't going to be able to cover them adding: "I would've had to pay them with credit, I don't think there would've been any other way. I didn't know where else any money would come from."

However, this was when the Lightening Reach popup appeared on her TSB app and she followed the link. She said: "I had never seen something like this before it was a little daunting at first. But I clicked on one of the grants and they asked me questions like, what happened to my job, what am I doing now. I needed to give other things like bank details, and bank statements but it didn't take long at all maybe 20 minutes."

Ellena applied for a £200 grant with Teaching Staff Trust and was granted the support not too long later. After a week she received the payment into her bank account. She said: "That £200 was quite literally life changing, I know for others it was a small amount but it helped cover the bills I needed to pay which really helped and I didn't feel shame in getting it."

Ellena believed the process was overall "incredibly simple" and "easy to understand" and she also noted that those she was speaking to about the support were "really professional" and "reassuring" which helped put her at ease. If others are going through the same experience, Ellena she has urged them to reach out for help noting that her "negative" thinking towards asking for help made things harder for her.

She added: "The whole process has made me feel more positive, just that little bit of help. It's also helped me push through a lot of negative thinking as well and I am feeling a little better about things. I would've been in debt if I didn't reach out for this help, but I am not now. Those bills added even more pressure and stress on top of what I was already feeling, but that's gone now."

Sarah - £200 cash grant

Sarah - whose name has been changed - is another one of thousands of people who have received help from Lightening Reach over the last year. Sarah, who just manages to get by on her disability benefits, told the Mirror that last winter she and her daughter "‘froze" due to rising bills. But on top of this, her oven and washing machine in her two-bedroom flat broke but didn't have any savings to fall back on.

She said: "I'm really careful with what I spend and with my money, but it all happened at once and I just didn't have the money to get the new appliances and install them. It was just too much. My council does not do white appliance support anymore I just didn't know what I could do, I couldn't go without an oven." However, one day Sarah "stumbled" across Lightening Reach through her TSB account.

After following a link to the Lightning Reach webpage and filling in a short form about her situation, a whole list of grants popped up that Sarah could apply for. The website currently has around 2,500 support schemes on its portal with more continuously being added. For her application, Sarah needed to supply basic information such as benefit payments, bank details, and

After only a few weeks, Sarah's application was granted which gave her £200 cash which she was then able to use to put towards her new oven and washing machine. "I had to get the appliances on finance but with the extra money I was able to cover a chunk of the costs," she said "I am still paying the money back and I can just about manage it, but I've had to definitely cut back even further."

She added: "I am honestly so grateful for Lightening Reach, without them I just wouldn't know what I was going to do. I knew of the Household Support Scheme but I didn't know any other places could offer things like this. When I got accepted, I honestly thought someone was smiling down on me that day."

Sarah says she is "very on top" of her finances and the help and assistance she can get but in that instance, she didn't know where she could turn to and said she wanted to share her story to get the message out to others who may be in the same position. She said: "I think it's really hard for people to actually access help that is out there and a scheme such as this will, at least help, it doesn't fix the problem. An energy social tariff would be a better help with energy costs, but it will be a huge help."

Sarah says this winter will be a hard one, particularly as energy bills are set to rise again. However, she knows where she can go if things do become unmanageable which could help save her from facing severe financial stress over the winter months.

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