MSE News: £200 Alternative Fuel Payment to be paid 'in the New Year'

kar999

Spoonie_Turtle said:

kar999 said:

wwally said:

sabid said:

Although I use oil for heating I have not received any notification of this payment. When I enquire with my electric provider they said that the gov underestimated the number of claimants and referred me to the following Gov.uk AFP portal to claim. However portal is not currently available but states it will be in early March???, whenever that is?

When the fund for missed AFP payments was described last week it said 'by March 6th'. Prior to that it said 'later in February'.

This is still on the gov.uk website:

"Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will shortly write to local authorities, thanking them for getting the scheme over the line after working hand in hand with his department over the last three months, and urging them to process applications as quickly as possible so households aren’t left waiting weeks after applying.

He’ll also say there must be no further delays to rolling out the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund – a similar scheme for households who use alternative fuels as their main source of heating, providing £200 towards energy costs, adding it will be live by 6th March." (27th Feb 2023)

The spreadsheet that I believe energy companies have used is clearly full of holes, notably where only part of a post code is off grid.
In my postcode, those properties in the village have gas but there's no gas as the postcode extends out of the village.

The starting point for the government's list was the XoServe database of postcodes off the main gas grid.  So postcodes that are partially served by gas are not on that list. 

It was known from the start that the automatic payments would not cover everyone which is why there's a manual application process for everyone who didn't get an automatic payment.  (Although the media seem to have done a terrible job just reporting on automatic payments leading people to think manual applications will be a rarity, when actually lots of people will need to do it )

I understand it's probably going to fall on local authorities to sort out the manual applications. I can see this being a very long drawn out painful process.

Spoonie_Turtle

kar999 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

kar999 said:

wwally said:

sabid said:

Although I use oil for heating I have not received any notification of this payment. When I enquire with my electric provider they said that the gov underestimated the number of claimants and referred me to the following Gov.uk AFP portal to claim. However portal is not currently available but states it will be in early March???, whenever that is?

When the fund for missed AFP payments was described last week it said 'by March 6th'. Prior to that it said 'later in February'.

This is still on the gov.uk website:

"Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will shortly write to local authorities, thanking them for getting the scheme over the line after working hand in hand with his department over the last three months, and urging them to process applications as quickly as possible so households aren’t left waiting weeks after applying.

He’ll also say there must be no further delays to rolling out the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund – a similar scheme for households who use alternative fuels as their main source of heating, providing £200 towards energy costs, adding it will be live by 6th March." (27th Feb 2023)

The spreadsheet that I believe energy companies have used is clearly full of holes, notably where only part of a post code is off grid.
In my postcode, those properties in the village have gas but there's no gas as the postcode extends out of the village.

The starting point for the government's list was the XoServe database of postcodes off the main gas grid.  So postcodes that are partially served by gas are not on that list. 

It was known from the start that the automatic payments would not cover everyone which is why there's a manual application process for everyone who didn't get an automatic payment.  (Although the media seem to have done a terrible job just reporting on automatic payments leading people to think manual applications will be a rarity, when actually lots of people will need to do it )

I understand it's probably going to fall on local authorities to sort out the manual applications. I can see this being a very long drawn out painful process.

Yep, and that's why they tried to cast the broadest net possible with the automatic payments, to reduce the number of manual applications needed.  Can you imagine if they'd required everyone to apply individually?!

Davidt5000

Spoonie_Turtle said:

kar999 said:

wwally said:

sabid said:

Although I use oil for heating I have not received any notification of this payment. When I enquire with my electric provider they said that the gov underestimated the number of claimants and referred me to the following Gov.uk AFP portal to claim. However portal is not currently available but states it will be in early March???, whenever that is?

When the fund for missed AFP payments was described last week it said 'by March 6th'. Prior to that it said 'later in February'.

This is still on the gov.uk website:

"Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will shortly write to local authorities, thanking them for getting the scheme over the line after working hand in hand with his department over the last three months, and urging them to process applications as quickly as possible so households aren’t left waiting weeks after applying.

He’ll also say there must be no further delays to rolling out the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund – a similar scheme for households who use alternative fuels as their main source of heating, providing £200 towards energy costs, adding it will be live by 6th March." (27th Feb 2023)

The spreadsheet that I believe energy companies have used is clearly full of holes, notably where only part of a post code is off grid.
In my postcode, those properties in the village have gas but there's no gas as the postcode extends out of the village.

The starting point for the government's list was the XoServe database of postcodes off the main gas grid.  So postcodes that are partially served by gas are not on that list. 

It was known from the start that the automatic payments would not cover everyone which is why there's a manual application process for everyone who didn't get an automatic payment.  (Although the media seem to have done a terrible job just reporting on automatic payments leading people to think manual applications will be a rarity, when actually lots of people will need to do it )

Agreed. Life would be so much simpler for everyone if clear reporting and advice was available. Our LPG supplier originally flagged up the AFP Scheme and I wrongly just assumed we would get it automatically. Only when I wondered why we hadn't received it yet did I find out all the detail. I knew there was going to be a manual application process but never thought that would include me. 

RG2015

The Gov.uk Alternative Fuel Payment portal is now open and I have submitted my application.

They say that they will access my claim and if successful my local council will pay me within 6 weeks.

Edit. To be more precise, they said they will let me know the outcome within 6 weeks and my council would pay me the £200 if my application was successful.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-alternative-fuel-bill-support-if-not-automatic

kar999

What a farce .. I last bought oil in 2021 and running on vapour now.....

The form can't be completed without uploading a receipt.

There must be many people who had sufficient oil and have held off topping up until now.

This needs fixing urgently.

Spoonie_Turtle

^ That's really useful to know, so it looks like they're using those criteria to weed out people who use burners as a decorative supplement.

kar999

Spoonie_Turtle said:

^ That's really useful to know, so it looks like they're using those criteria to weed out people who use burners as a decorative supplement.

I'm just going to upload my previous receipt and a photo of an almost empty tank ..

Interestingly the preamble to the portal application says "proof that you've spent £200 on alternative fuels to heat your home since September 2022 (for example, a delivery note or receipt)"

Well I definitely spent more than £200 to heat my home during September 22 onwards! It just happened to have been purchased previously.

kar999

Interestingly no such proof/receipts were required for properties that have already got the £200 payment automatically through their electricity company.

Davidt5000

I have submitted my application.  Worth noting they ask for a receipt to prove payment and not an invoice. However my electronic receipt from my supplier does not contain all the information they require so I have uploaded the invoice as well. 

Davidt5000

kar999 said:

What a farce .. I last bought oil in 2021 and running on vapour now.....

The form can't be completed without uploading a receipt.

There must be many people who had sufficient oil and have held off topping up until now.

This needs fixing urgently.

And anyone who perhaps topped up in August 2022 ready for the winter would be excluded. As well as those delaying an order until they get the £200.