Sefton Council

Nearly every Sefton property in Council Tax bands A to D, is entitled to the payment, which was announced by the Government in February.

Eligible

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regulatory Compliance and Corporate Services said today: “We want everyone who is eligible, and that’s almost everyone whose Council Tax band is in A to D, to get this Council Tax Energy Rebate.

“If you get a letter from Sefton Council asking you to register your bank details, it’s because you are due that £150, so please follow the guidance on the letter and register today.”

By the end of last week, around 15,600 households in Sefton had registered after receiving a Council letter.

Sefton Council has now paid out almost £10 million of the one-off, £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate payments to around 65,800 of the Borough’s households. The Authority is now working hard to ensure the remaining eligible addresses receive theirs as soon as possible.

Payments

Payments so far have been to those households that pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit. Approaching 40,000 letters have also been sent to households that don’t pay by Direct Debit or where Council Tax and bank account details aren’t an exact match.

Cllr Lappin added: “The letters, on Sefton Council Headed Paper each contains a unique, 14-character key code made up of a mixture of numbers, upper-case and lower-case letters, along with details of where to register.

“If anyone is in doubt, I urge them to visit www.sefton.gov.uk/energyrebate where there’s lots of information about the scheme, who’s eligible and how to register if you receive a letter.

“We’ve even got a video there to help people make sure the letters are genuine.”

Exceptions

The few exceptions that are not eligible under the national scheme are:

• those who did not live in Sefton on 1^st April;
• second home-owners;
• houses in multiple occupation where the Council Tax bill is in landlord’s name.

Mechanism

Last week Cllr Lappin explained that since the the Government announced the one-off £150 payment to help people facing soaring household fuel bills alongside rising prices, increases at the petrol pumps and additional National Insurance payments the Council been devising the mechanism for making the payments.

She said: “We have needed to come up with a system that sees the £17,000,000-plus payments reach the people who need it and ensures we don’t see large amounts of public money falling into the wrong hands.”

Find out how you can get the Council Tax Energy Rebate.

With people facing higher bills for household fuel, food, petrol at the pumps and new, higher National Insurance payments from the start of April, Sefton Council is warning people not to turn to loan sharks.

Unscrupulous and unlicensed

Recently there have been a number of press reports of desperate households facing the effects of cost-of-living rises being trapped by unscrupulous and unlicensed lenders providing loans with interest rates at astronomical levels.

Today, loan sharks often use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, to advertise their illegal loans and target potential victims. Initially their offers can seem an attractive short-term fix. However, seemingly attractive loans can quickly end in intimidation, threats and violence to enforce repayment and borrowers trapped in a spiral of debt.

Upsurge

Simon Burnett, Sefton Council’s Head of Communities said: “At times like this we tend to see an upsurge in the activities of loan sharks preying on vulnerable families facing hard decisions over their finances.

“They make it sound like they want to help but they do not have their victims’ best interests at heart. In fact, they are actively looking to trap struggling families into sky-rocketing debts backed up with threats, intimidation and violence as they demand payment.

“Sefton Council can help people who are in financial difficulty and the sooner they contact us the greater the chance that we can work with them to find workable solutions.”

Support Hub

The Sefton Support Hub at www.sefton.gov.uk/seftonsupporthub is a digital One Stop Shop where the Borough’s residents can find help, advice and guidance, as well as financial and social support.

Recently the Government announced it will be extending the Household Support Fund. People can access this through Sefton’s Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme (ELAS), the Affordable Warmth service and through vouchers. The Council also allocates funding to schools to support pupils receiving free school meals.

Information about the one-off Council Tax Energy Rebate, Affordable Warmth and help with fuel bills, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction and the Council’s Exceptional Hardship Fund can also be found at www.sefton.gov.uk/energy-rebate.

Sefton residents who don’t have Internet access can contact the Council’s Contact Centre on 0345 140 0845 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).

The Council’s Invest Sefton, Homeless Prevention and Early Help services can also provide support. And advice about benefits is at www.sefton.gov.uk/welfare-rights-team

Online selling

Recently loan sharks have been targeting people through local, online selling and community sites and groups as well as on social media. Often, they advertise loans requiring with no credit checks. They have also been known to ask for people’s details including copies of their passport or pictures of their house, street and house number.

Anyone who thinks they have been targeted by a loan shark can report it in confidence to an Illegal Money Lending Team by calling 0300 555 2222, texting

LOAN SHARK and the details to 60003 or by emailing reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk

Updates can be found at @loansharknews and www.facebook.com/stoploansharksproject

There is also a Stop Loan Sharks page on the online Sefton Directory at https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/service.page?id=fIqdscvjDU4

Sefton Residents can also get in touch via Sefton Council’s Contact Centre on 0345 140 0845 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).