Brits face waiting six months for a £150 council tax rebate as they struggle to deal with the cost of living crisis.
The one-off cash payment was supposed to arrive in families' accounts from April 1, following Chancellor Rishi Sunak's announcement in February.
However, only a few local authorities have paid out the rebate to eligible residents, who must live in properties under council tax bands A to D.
Some councils have even suggested payments will be pushed back until September, leaving families in a dilemma as they try to cover soaring energy bills.
North Tyneside Council hinted some rebates might not come through until September, The Telegraph reports.
Colchester Council also warned the payments may not be made until September for some people.
Hastings Council said taxpayers will have to wait until the end of May for their money.
In some cases the wait is down to software systems struggling to make the payments in one go.
Some local authorities are setting up systems for households who do not pay council tax via direct debit as they cannot get the rebate automatically.
A spokesman for Colchester Council said: "Every local authority has had to design a process that lists all eligible recipients and establish a means of paying them.
"They have to create their own checking process to avoid paying the rebate more than once or to an ineligible household.
"Waiting for our software developer to give us a means of paying en masse gives us the best possibility of avoiding error, fraud and offering an easily accessible audit trail."
But the Taxpayers' Alliance blamed the delays on "unnecessary bureaucratic busywork".
The Chancellor previously unveiled a package to help families deal with soaring energy costs after the regulator Ofgem announced a 54% hike to the energy price cap from April 1.
His package included a £150 council tax rebate from April and a £200 energy bill discount in the autumn, which will be clawed back in instalments over five years from 2023.
According to MoneySavingExpert, councils have until September 30 to pay the rebate.
However, Labour MP Chris Bryant branded Mr Sunak's support package as “puny".
Get all the latest news sent to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror newsletter
He added: “£350 isn’t going to touch the sides for my constituents in the Rhondda.
“Gas and electricity up for the average family in my constituency by £686. Fuel up by £314. The average weekly shop up by £385.
“Universal Credit cut by £1,040. National Insurance up by £150. And frozen tax allowances by him will cost another £300.
"That’s £2,875 in a constituency where the average wage is £27,000. That is really going to cause hardship. £350 doesn’t even touch it.”
