£150 Energy Bill Rebate: Update for non-Direct Debit customers

• Second phase of payments to begin to non-DD customers
• Claiming is simple with online form
• Letters with instructions on how to claim sent out from 22 July

West Lancashire Borough Council has so far paid out over £3.5 million to 23,598 eligible households for the £150 council tax energy rebate.  These payments have been made to customers who currently pay their council tax by direct debit. Phase two of the rebate for non-DD customers is now ready to be rolled out.

How to claim your rebate:

If you are one of the remaining 16,000 eligible households that don’t pay your council tax by Direct Debit, you'll soon receive a letter providing you with all the information needed to make your claim to enable us to pay the £150 into your bank account. You will need to complete an on-line form, which will be  available on the Council's website once letters have been sent. Letters will start to be issued on 22 July with payments reaching accounts within 14 days of submitting your claim.

Councillor Adam Yates, portfolio holder for Resources, Transformation, Human Resources & Economic Regeneration, said: "We really appreciate our customers' patience while waiting for their £150 energy rebate. The delivery of this project was a complex logistical issue that presented significant hurdles to many local authorities.

"We had to acquire, install and test new software to enable us to provide an energy bill rebate through the council tax system. As the payments are on such a large scale, we also had to ensure the payments are secure and at low risk of fraud – the size of the task was immense.

"Our officers have consistently worked hard behind the scenes to push this project through as quickly as possible and I'm really pleased we are now in a position to get this much-needed payment to our residents."

The fastest and most secure way to receive your payment is by completing the online form.  However, help is available for residents that may need support completing the form online by ringing Customer Services on 01695 577177 and selecting option 3.

We are currently receiving a high volume of incoming calls and you may experience a delay before your call is answered. We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The government have set councils a deadline to ensure all payments are made by 30 September 2022.  Therefore, if you are in receipt of a letter please do not delay in claiming your rebate.