Error made with some fuel support payments

4 November 2022

Powys residents who have received an email from the county council asking them to return a duplicate Fuel Support Scheme payment, are being advised that these are not a scam.

Unfortunately, 842 people had their payment transferred to their bank account twice last month, resulting in them receiving £400 instead of £200 through the Welsh Government's Fuel Support Scheme 2022/23.

Those who have received more than they are entitled to are being asked to return the overpayment and many of them will have already received an email about this from the council.

"We are really sorry this error has occurred with these cost-of-living payments that we are distributing on behalf of the Welsh Government but would like to reassure anyone who has received an email from us asking for the extra £200 to be returned that it is genuine," said Cllr Matthew Dorrance, Powys County Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys.

"We remain committed to doing all we can to support our residents who are suffering because of the cost-of-living crisis, and if you think you might be eligible for financial help, please apply for it. It is also important that anyone who has received an overpayment returns it, as the funds available are limited and we need to make sure others who need this help can get it."

"If you are ever in doubt about whether correspondence from us about grant support is genuine, please contact our Income and Awards team on 01597 826345."

The 842 double payments were made when the payment batch was unfortunately loaded twice.

Council staff have successfully paid out more than £100 million in grants since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, and we are disappointed that this batch was duplicated. To date around half of the 842 double payments have already been returned.

The Fuel Support Scheme is open until 5pm on Tuesday 28 February 2023, with households in receipt of a range of benefits eligible: 

Powys residents may also be able to claim an additional £150 through the council's own Discretionary Cost of Living Support Scheme: 

You can find out more about staying safe online on the National Cyber Security Centre website:  https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home and report fraud attempts through the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre's website: www.actionfraud.police.uk.