HUNDREDS of households have been warned to check their post or miss out on claiming £100 in cash help.
Pensioners in West Northamptonshire have been given an extension on claiming a £100 voucher to help with spiralling bills until the end of the month.
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The help has been given under the Household Support Fund, which helps hard-up households get help paying for bills including food, energy, and essentials.
Councils across the country have been given a share of £1.5billion of funding since the scheme was set up in October last year.
What support you can get varies, as each authority decides what help to dish out – and who can get it.
West Northamptonshire Council has sent out letters to thousands of pensioners dishing out a £100 one-off payment in the form of a Post Office voucher.
Initially, eligible households had until September 1 (yesterday) to redeem their voucher.
But this has now been extended to September 30 so people don’t miss out on the help.
So far, over 4,500 people have cashed in their voucher – if you don’t cash it in by the new deadline, you’ll lose out on the vital help.
That means you should check your post NOW, and make sure you redeem it in time.
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If you receive pension credit, you are eligible for the help – and you should have automatically been sent a letter.
If you think you qualify but have not got a letter, you should get in touch with the council.
Simply take your letter containing the voucher into a Post Office to cash it in – you’ll need ID like your passport or council tax bill.
Can I get help if I live elsewhere?
Yes – although what you can get will vary.
Each council is awarded a different amount of money, and can decide who they offer it to, and how much.
For example, Herefordshire council was given over £1million and dished out one-off £60 payments to some of its residents.
In Bromsgrove and Redditch residents were able to apply for the HSF through Citizens Advice and could get £500 per household.
In some cases, households eligible for the HSF could receive their payment automatically – if they’re on means-tested benefits for example.
But in other cases, you can apply directly for the payment.
The deadline for the Household Support Fund (HSF) comes on September 30 – so you have until the end of the month to apply.
The best bet is to contact your local council to find out more.
You can use the government’s council locator tool if you don’t know what area you fall under.
