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

Davidt5000

kar999 said:

CCW007 said:

Just checked my previous orders - September 2021 paid 44p (I recall that the week before I ordered it was below 40p but I missed the order cut off), August 2022 paid 83p. 

Thankfully I managed to avoid the peak (I did see a rate of over £2 at its highest) but still a huge increase - and that's with watching the prices every week, guessing when the price was at its lowest and buying through the oil club.

If like me you need to apply manually for the Alternative Fuel Allowance those receipts wouldn't count.

Sheer nonsense! Martin briefly said to Grant Shapps last night that the manual application needs a few tweaks... a major rethink and common sense check more like!

Watched it and it wasn't really covered very much at all. 

dunstonh

[Deleted User] said:

dunstonh said:

Oil is cheaper than it was this time last year and at a level that is within its normal range.   The AFP is largely a windfall bonus for oil users (although not for taxpayers).

So, nobody should be holding off because of this windfall payment, and anyone claiming to is being disingenuous (or has money problems due to other reasons).

Heating Oil hit £1.80 per litre at this time last year. Any one who had to fill up at that time would have needed to find £900 for a minimum order. There are many people living near me, for whom that would have represented a major crisis - one they are still feeling the effects of. Oh how they'll be celebrating their £200 windfall... 

And yet there was no taxpayer support during that period.  The current support is not for that period.

CCW007

kar999 said:

CCW007 said:

Just checked my previous orders - September 2021 paid 44p (I recall that the week before I ordered it was below 40p but I missed the order cut off), August 2022 paid 83p. 

Thankfully I managed to avoid the peak (I did see a rate of over £2 at its highest) but still a huge increase - and that's with watching the prices every week, guessing when the price was at its lowest and buying through the oil club.

If like me you need to apply manually for the Alternative Fuel Allowance those receipts wouldn't count.

Sheer nonsense! Martin briefly said to Grant Shapps last night that the manual application needs a few tweaks... a major rethink and common sense check more like!

I did call the helpline this morning and it was suggested that I submit my claim any way as it's only a couple of days outside the requirement (delivery was 29th August).  The application process is open until end of May so if it takes six weeks and is rejected, there is still time to buy oil and submit a new claim with a receipt for that purchase. 

It feels pretty arbitrary to be honest to set the time limit as September but I guess they have to set it somewhere and there will always be someone excluded as a result.

Davidt5000

I think more of an issue is that no one had any idea they would be required to produce receipts until the portal opened. 

kar999

dunstonh said:

[Deleted User] said:

dunstonh said:

Oil is cheaper than it was this time last year and at a level that is within its normal range.   The AFP is largely a windfall bonus for oil users (although not for taxpayers).

So, nobody should be holding off because of this windfall payment, and anyone claiming to is being disingenuous (or has money problems due to other reasons).

Heating Oil hit £1.80 per litre at this time last year. Any one who had to fill up at that time would have needed to find £900 for a minimum order. There are many people living near me, for whom that would have represented a major crisis - one they are still feeling the effects of. Oh how they'll be celebrating their £200 windfall... 

And yet there was no taxpayer support during that period.  The current support is not for that period.

That's incorrect and irrelevant

.
The original £100 alternative fuel allowance was set in the spring of 2022. It was introduced to protect customers from high prices as, unlike gas, there is no price cap for oil/LPG.

Additionally the increased £200 government allowance announced in the Autumn statement doesn't specify a time period for the support, just an increase to the earlier allowance.. 

Most sensible people have to buy & store their fuel ahead of winter. Most would have purchased fuel last year knowing at least £100 support was already promised by the Government. 

 
Anyone visiting suppliers websites during spring/summer 2022 would have seen details of the allowance. Their (quite obvious) advice was to buy now and not wait for the monies.

CCW007

@kar999 thank you, I was trying to find the details of when the original £100 was announced but could only find the updates.  I do recall there was a huge gap between announcing the funding and then any further details so yes people had to just get on and order it if they were running low.

Ironically, I threw away my physical receipt from the August delivery a couple of weeks ago  

kar999

CCW007 said:

@kar999 thank you, I was trying to find the details of when the original £100 was announced but could only find the updates.  I do recall there was a huge gap between announcing the funding and then any further details so yes people had to just get on and order it if they were running low.

Ironically, I threw away my physical receipt from the August delivery a couple of weeks ago  

My pleasure. I also recall it being on Martin's website/TV programs at the time. Many people would have had to pay double or even treble the pre-crisis price throughout 2022 and it's still at a c.50% premium.

Maybe you could ask the oil company for a copy invoice. I know currently the date is not acceptable but the government will surely have to review this nonsensical cut-off date as those on automatic allowance payments got the money without needing any proof.

dunstonh

Most sensible people have to buy & store their fuel ahead of winter.

No they don't.  Only people that believe that old wives' tale do that.    It may have been more accurate decades ago but it is no longer the case that Summer is the best time.

Also, in reference to "most", I believe you will find that "most" people do not have the tank capacity to fill up just once a year and require multiple fill-ups.  The average oil use is greater than the average tank size.  So, whilst some could cover a year, many cannot.    

kar999

dunstonh said:

Most sensible people have to buy & store their fuel ahead of winter.

No they don't.  Only people that believe that old wives' tale do that.    It may have been more accurate decades ago but it is no longer the case that Summer is the best time.

Also, in reference to "most", I believe you will find that "most" people do not have the tank capacity to fill up just once a year and require multiple fill-ups.  The average oil use is greater than the average tank size.  So, whilst some could cover a year, many cannot.    

Maybe you should have a word with Martin if you consider his advice on this site is an old wives tale and you apparently know better....

greaseman

I live in a small hamlet - we have no gasand am on oil heating., never have had ect. Really annoyed at this current debarcle. Like most of the people on this forum we have obviously bought oil in he summer months because from early last year we did't even know if we would bea able to get any more oil. (Suppliers wouldn't even quote for it.) so when I could I topped up a full tank. Now the question of showing a reciept dated on or after Sept 22 is very misleading. After all the whole point of a storage tank is STORAGE! it is stored for use during the period sept 22 to current date. If you look at what the gov uk application site says it is: QUOTE

'Proof that you’ve spent £200 on alternative fuels to heat your home since September 2022 (for example, a delivery note or receipt).'

IE: Even if you bought the fuel in early 2022, its usage is to heat your home from September through the winter months to current. So You have spent at least £200.00 on heating your home for the current winter months. And the total stupidity of us alternative fuel users having to prove such a thing against all of those would were paid automatically is totally discrimatory. I've applied and sent a pre Sept reciept and await to see what they make of that. (and by god they will have a fight on their hands if I don't get it.)