Council Tax Energy Rebate letters on their way

If you’re eligible and haven’t yet received the £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate, letters are on their way.

In response to rising energy prices, the government announced earlier this year that households in Council Tax bands A-D will receive a one-off £150 rebate between April and September 2022.

Most Oldham residents who pay by Direct Debit have now received their payments.

Working with the Post Office, Oldham council have started to send barcoded letters to eligible households who don’t pay by Direct Debit, and to the small number of Direct Debit residents where the council has been unable to make a payment directly into the bank account.

The council is urging residents to look out for and look after the letter which contains a special barcode that can be used to collect the £150 in cash from any Post Office branch.

Most letters will be posted by July 1, 2022.

However, the council are still reviewing a number of accounts that have had changes since April 1 to make sure that letters are sent to the correct person at the correct address - these should be sent by July 20, 2022.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar MBE, deputy leader of Oldham Council and Cabinet member for finance, said: “With the cost of living rising, I know how important this payment is to our residents.

"Officers have been working incredibly hard over the last few months to ensure we could issue rebates to eligible households as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

“We’ve upgraded our systems to help with this and to make sure that transactions didn’t fail like many other councils experienced.

“With the final letters now being sent out to residents, I urge those eligible who have not yet received the rebate to keep an eye out for a letter from the council containing important instructions and a barcode that they can use to collect the £150 cash directly from the Post Office.”

All the person named on the letter needs to do is go to their local Post Office by August 31, 2022, with one valid form of identification.

This can be a passport, photo driving licence, bank or building society statement (less than three months old), or a gas, electric, or water utility bill (less than six months old).

If you do not have one of the above named forms of identification, call the council on 0161 770 6622, and officers will support you.

Any vouchers not redeemed by the Post Office closing time on August 31, 2022, will be cancelled with the credit being added to their Council Tax account in September.

Most households in Council Tax bands A to D qualify for the rebate, if they were occupied as a sole or main residence on April 1, 2022.

If you’re eligible for this payment, you won’t be required to pay it back and the rebate will not be treated as income for tax or benefit purposes. 

Be fraud aware.

Do not provide your bank details to anyone calling you claiming to be from the council's Council Tax office and asking for your bank details.

Council officials will not be calling you to ask for your bank details.

For more details about the Council Tax Energy Rebate, click here

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.