Unable to provide receipts for AFP

Downthedrain

We're not connected to gas and our main heating is a combination of oil, solid fuel and wood. Octopus said we aren't on the list for AFP and we will have to make an individual claim. I went through this today and we are eligible according to the system. It then asks for receipts post-September 2022 which we don't have. Our oil fill predates this and we've been extremely frugal in use, only having heating on for 2 hours a day and the rest of the time using wood and solid fuel to heat our living room only. As a result we've run our oil right down and expected it to last until the weather improves. We've switched from buying coal from a fuel merchant to buying pre-bagged fuel from Home Bargains, Asda, etc. We never kept any receipts as there was never any reason to.

I feel the requirements for receipts to be grossly unfair. Through no fault of our own we are barred from applying for the payment, whilst everyone else who has received the payment automatically has not had to prove anything. 

Mstty

Is there a comments box and you load the closest receipt you have with added details. You probably won't be the only one who fills up their oil tank one a year or has done before sept 2022.

Jyana

It may be a bit of work, but you should be able to get copies of receipts from places like Asda with proof of purchase on your end from card payments, etc.

kar999

Downthedrain said:

We're not connected to gas and our main heating is a combination of oil, solid fuel and wood. Octopus said we aren't on the list for AFP and we will have to make an individual claim. I went through this today and we are eligible according to the system. It then asks for receipts post-September 2022 which we don't have. Our oil fill predates this and we've been extremely frugal in use, only having heating on for 2 hours a day and the rest of the time using wood and solid fuel to heat our living room only. As a result we've run our oil right down and expected it to last until the weather improves. We've switched from buying coal from a fuel merchant to buying pre-bagged fuel from Home Bargains, Asda, etc. We never kept any receipts as there was never any reason to.

I feel the requirements for receipts to be grossly unfair. Through no fault of our own we are barred from applying for the payment, whilst everyone else who has received the payment automatically has not had to prove anything. 

You are one of many in identical circumstances who have fallen foul of this ill-thought out manual application process.

This won't have gone unnoticed by Martin et al. Hopefully some common sense will prevail.

Davidt5000

Jyana said:

It may be a bit of work, but you should be able to get copies of receipts from places like Asda with proof of purchase on your end from card payments, etc.

Problem is the receipt needs to contain the name and address of the purchaser as well as details of what they purchased which may be an issue. Also the application implies a maximum of two receipts which must total at least £200. That might also be a problem. 

molerat

This was brought up tonight on the ML show with Grant Shapps and will be looked in to.

Davidt5000

I think he only mentioned those who couldn't produce two receipts totalling at least £200. Nothing about those with receipts outside the specified date range.

matelodave

I'm guessing that if you bought your fuel oil, LPG or even wood before September then you could potentially have paid a lot less for it than after the swinging price increase that were triggered on 1st October when the EPG came into operation and were therefore not disadvantaged in the same way as those who had to buy it after October. The EPG and AFP were intended to help those who had big increases in fuel costs.

If you bought it before September then, TBH, you wouldn't have been paying the increased costs

Just my opinion you understand

kar999

matelodave said:

I'm guessing that if you bought your fuel oil, LPG or even wood before September then you could potentially have paid a lot less for it than after the swinging price increase that were triggered on 1st October when the EPG came into operation and were therefore not disadvantaged in the same way as those who had to buy it after October. The EPG and AFP were intended to help those who had big increases in fuel costs.

If you bought it before September then, TBH, you wouldn't have been paying the increased costs

Just my opinion you understand

Interesting as prices did jump in October. But looking at the charts, if you bought before September you may well have paid considerably more, unless you were lucky to have timed the August/Summer dip. Even that is well above the pre-crisis levels.

ceh209

I'm applying tonight after British Gas failed to give me my AFP (confirmed I was eligible, said it would be transferred to my bank, never happened and now say it might be any time up to 31 March... well sorry but I don't trust you to do it any more...)

The site now says you can upload up to 10 receipts, although still has to be £200 and give name and address

Apodemus

If you were on the list for the automatic payment and this is in progress through BG, then you will probably not be able to get one through the manual application process, so I suspect that you are wasting your time trying that route.  Best to give BG the benefit of the doubt to 31 March!