Latest news from the borough council

Update on £150 energy rebate payments

We appreciate our customers' patience while they have been waiting for their £150 energy rebate to help with energy costs.

We have been working hard to install and test new software to enable us to make payments on a large scale and to ensure the payments are secure and at low risk of fraud - this has inevitably taken some time.

All necessary procedures and processing checks have now been put in place and we have devised a schedule of payments which will be issued in phases: Phase 1 will cover those customers in bands A to D (or B and E with a disabled band reduction) on 1 April 2022, who have paid at least one instalment by direct debit for Council Tax period 2022-23, on or before 15 May this year.

Payments for Phase 1 are scheduled to be issued from 20 May 2022. We ask that customers allow at least 3 to 5 working days for payments to show in their bank account and they wait until at least 27 May 2022 before contacting us if their payment has not reached them. Please note – empty properties, second homes, houses in multiple occupation, landlords and corporate bodies are not eligible to receive this payment.

Phase 2 will cover those customers who do not pay by direct debit. Those in bands A to D (or Band E with a disabled band reduction) on 1 April 2022, who do not pay by direct debit, will receive a letter in the coming weeks, to make them aware of the scheme and invite them to make a claim for the £150 energy rebate. The letter will include full details on what they must do and the information they will be required to provide to enable us to make payment as quickly as possible.

Please note, we will never contact customers over the telephone or visit them to ask for personal or bank details. All correspondence in relation to the energy rebate will come from West Lancashire Borough Council. If they are in any doubt about the legitimacy of a letter or communication they receive, they should contact Customer Services via https://portal.westlancs.gov.uk/selfserve