Delays hit Boiler Scrappage Scheme

29th January 2010

Households hoping to take advantage of the government's boiler scrappage scheme are facing long delays to get new boilers installed.

Demand for the scheme, which the government hopes will help people save money on energy bills and cut carbon emissions, has been so overwhelming that thousands of eager householders will have to wait as staff battle a huge backlog of applications.

The Energy Saving Trust, the organisation administering the scheme, says it has received 160,000 calls so far, and around 36,000 people had applied for one of the 125,000 available vouchers.

To cope with the demand, they have doubled the number of staff in its call centre.

A spokesperson said: "People applying now should expect to receive their vouchers within 10 days. People who called earlier have not been forgotten about. The call centres are working their way through logged calls in chronological order."

Fraser Winterbottom, chief operating officer at the Energy Savings Trust, revealed that applicants will now receive automatic emails telling them the trust will contact them.

He said the organisation was "three or four days behind" on applications, but that this would soon revert to a "normal period".

However, householders who successfully receive a voucher face a further wait before seeing any payment. To receive their £400 reimbursement, those on the scheme must return their voucher with an attached invoice to the Energy Saving Trust one the work has been completed. Payment is then meant to be issued within 25 working days of receipt.