MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis is warning anyone who claims winter fuel payments to check their details urgently.
If you were born on or before 5 October 1954 you could get between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills.
This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.
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You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you are eligible and you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit).
You’ll get a letter telling you how much you will get and an estimated payment date.
Most payments are made automatically between November and December. If you get any other benefit, you’ll get your Winter Fuel Payment at the same time as your regular payments.
But the MoneySavingExpert site reported "the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed to MoneySavingExpert.com that tens of thousands of incorrect letters have been mistakenly sent this year, reports KentLive.
"Its admission comes after we were contacted by several people whose letters either listed the wrong bank details or inaccurate entitlement information."
There were two main issues, the first being the approximately 60,000 letters sent out with the wrong bank details, but the DWP has since said the payments will still be made to the correct accounts.
The more worrying issue is that some letters showed incorrect information about the amount of money people were entitled to.
While the DWP has said the majority of letters have the correct information regarding entitlement but have admitted it is not uncommon for it to have the wrong data about people, particularly if they've recently moved.
What should I do?
Martin Lewis' website has said that if your letter has the wrong bank details you don't need to worry.
"The DWP insists people in this situation don't need to get in touch, as it says this error has been corrected and your payment will still be made to the correct account.
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"Of course, it's still worth keeping an eye out for the payment – if you haven't received it by 13 January 2021, you should speak to your local benefits office," MoneySavingExpert reports.
However, if your eligibility is incorrect you should contact the DWP as soon as possible.
"Here, you do need to take action as it could mean you've been paid less than you're entitled to," the website says, going on to say "check your entitlement, and if it's wrong, contact the DWP using the details provided in your winter fuel payment letter."
What are the entitlements?
MoneySavingExpert has broken down the entitlements depending on when you were born.
Born between 21/09/1940 - 5/10/1954
Lived alone (or none of the people you lived with qualify): £200
Lived with someone aged under 80 who also qualifies: £100
Lived with someone aged 80 or over who also qualifies: £100
Lived in a care home but didn't receive pension credit, income support, jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance: £100
Born on or before 20/09/1940
Lived alone (or none of the people you lived with qualify): £300
Lived with someone aged under 80 who also qualifies: £200
Lived with someone aged 80 or over who also qualifies: £150
Lived in a care home but didn't receive pension credit, income
