Heating Oil Alternative fuel payment

[Snowontheroof]

We live in an area where there is gas, but we are not connected to it, we use oil heating. Therefore we didn't get the £200 grant automatically - they simply assume you have gas and so you have to apply online.

We applied for this grant more than a month ago and have heard nothing - it's suppose to come via the council (Dorset in our case).

Has anyone received it please?

I’ve also applied I assume for similar reason we didn’t get it (even though OVO claimed we would) however we received an email from Gov today saying our application didn’t explicitly state the purchase was for oil (I thought the big Simpson’s oil at the top would be a giveaway). So it does seem they are working through them. We submitted ours on 5/4/23.

DH says we applied in March, so it sounds as if I need to enquire. Thanks for your reply.

Applied for ours, paid within about 3 weeks - Lancashire.

Automated email did say they have to check with the council and a decision would be made within 6 weeks though. It got paid straight into our bank (not our electricity supplier).

Assuming you are on the electoral roll and pay council tax, it seems it's just a matter of waiting.

I find it absolutely vile that we have to wait til April or may when oil is 59p a litre instead of winter when it was 85p a litre.

I applied via the portal on 7th March. I have had absolutely no communication whatsoever. I have no idea who to contact to enquire either and we are on 7 weeks since I sent the information over.

Try finding these folks, maybe chase your local council to ask if they have given them the necessary info.

Next stepsThe Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will assess your application and pass it to your council for final checks.
The council will make the £200 payment if your application is successful.
We will let you know the outcome within 6 weeks.
Alternative Fuels Payment team – BEIS

By the way, I think the reason mine was so quick is because there are no gas networks for miles, so they can just plug that into some sort of finder.

Other people will have a team checking their oil/other receipts are not fraudulent, and possibly even with local gas providers to check the house does not have a gas connection? Maybe.

There is gas in the road here, but we have a long driveway and it would have cost thousands to install plus a new boiler and cooker when we moved here - and at the time oil was 8p a litre!

Though it's so much dearer now I like the fact you pay up front for the oil, so no nasty surprises, and there's the option of waiting for the price to dip to get the best deal.

@Snowontheroof i know that Dorset council payments for this have been going out in the last week- I checked on mine this week with a council contact, and we’re due payment this week. I’d heard nothing.

if you haven’t had payment by this Friday then I’d contact either your MP (who can raise with council on your behalf) or the council directly.

I suspect the easy ones (whole postcode off gas) were processed first, with the trickier ones needing more check and being slower.

Thanks @HarbourGin

Yes. When we moved into our former house it was 45p and within 9 months it was £1.30 - thanks Russia.

We are about to buy an old house with only a 650 litre tank so will be completely at the mercy of price fluctuations😔

I hope you get your payment soon.

@Snowontheroof we had another thread about this going. Mine has been paid via the council and took about 3 weeks after the portal opened and after hours arguing with EON Next…

Applied on 6th March had acknowledgment from BEIS saying would hear in 6 weeks so about now.

@Netaporter I was on the other thread, same here with Eon where other households near me with different energy suppliers had their payment automatically. Eon actually told me to contact DWP!

Never received through Eon so applied online seven weeks ago.
Still not received.
I rang and chased it up yesterday. It's 'in the system' apparently. They have a massive backlog.

Today received an email from BEIS that my application was successful, could take up to 5 days for payment to appear in bank a/c.

I have also received an email today to say my application has been successful.

Sorry I'm probably being really stupid but what are you applying for ? (I have heating oil)

It's this grant - https://www.gov.uk/get-help-energy-bills/alternative-fuels

@TulipVictory check you didn’t receive the £200 credit already via your electricity supplier last month. Some of us did, most of us didn’t.