Thousands of social welfare recipients owed money after error with cost of living payment

The mistake affected around 12,500 recipients

Thousands of social welfare recipients will receive a refund due to a recent error made amid the rollout of the cost of living bonus. A mistake was made by the Department of Social Protection when processing the most recent pay boost. In a statement, officials confirmed that recipients who were affected by the blunder will be issued a return very soon. The payment was delivered to around 1.25 million people nationwide and it is understood that the mistake affected around 12,500 of them, according to RSVP. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “The Spring cost of living bonus payment was made to eligible people.” They went on to confirm that the affected payment was an additional bonus of €200 in addition to the normal weekly social welfare sum. [caption id="attachment_580193" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Credit: Getty Images[/caption] The full €200 cost of living payment was paid, the spokesperson said, “but the Department is aware that in a small number of cases (in the region of 1% of payees) direct debits agreed via An Post Household Budgeting system were applied to the bonus payment, in addition to being applied to a person’s normal weekly payment.” They are now working with An Post, the local authorities, and housing associations to identify the people affected. “In cases where rent was deducted, we are working to recover the amount deducted and arrange for a refund to the affected customers. They went on to say that “for other An Post deductions customers benefit from the full value of the payment through an increase in their credit union account balance or a reduction in balances due on household bills. “The Department intends that the refunds for rent will be made to customers no later than by the end of May.”

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