Last-minute RPA payment emails cause ‘confusion and anxiety’

Last-minute Rural Payments Agency (RPA) emails to many BPS claimants have dashed payment hopes once again.

“Shambolic expectation management” by the RPA was causing farmers confusion and anxiety and left them feeling deceived, said NFU vice-president Guy Smith.

Like many, one dairy farmer who contacted Farmers Weekly received an email yesterday afternoon (31 January) informing him his payment was held up because an inspection had been carried out and this now needed to be cross-checked with his claim.

As with many other cases, he had been expecting that his BPS, worth about £25,000, would be in the bank by the end of January or at least the very start of February, as he had not received a letter by the end of January telling him  his payment would be made from February.

“I hadn’t had a ‘letter of doom’ so was convinced I would get my payment this week,” he said.

Getting an email ‘right at the death’ was the last straw, he added.

“This has really freaked me out.”

See also: Farm leaders demand clear timetable on BPS payments

He assumes the inspection was an aerial one as he has had no approach for a land–based inspection.

He was also concerned because there were no apparent land-based issues with his claim.

The RPA said in the email that while it could not be specific, it expected to start making payments for claims like his from 16 February.

We have BPS thousands unpaid yet with no indication by RPA letter this was likely to happen. I think the phrase is 'led up the garden path'.

— Guy Smith (@essexpeasant) January 31, 2016

Mr Smith said: “We have been hearing from scores of members who received an email from the RPA on the last day of January, informing them out of the blue that they were in the inspected category and, accordingly, their BPS payment would be delayed.

“Understandably these individuals had assumed they were in the group of claimants to be paid in January and now feel somewhat deceived.

“This is yet another example of shambolic expectation management by the RPA that causes confusion and anxiety.

“We call on the RPA to get payments out as soon as possible and to give farmers clearer advice as to when they will be paid.”

See also: Advice on managing farm cashflow challenge

With two banking days to go before the end of January, the RPA had paid just over 70% of claimants but only 60% of the total BPS fund value has been paid out – equivalent to £845m of an estimated £1.43bn.

Of the remaining 27,000 people still to be paid, 13,000 had been sent letters telling them the agency would start to pay claims like theirs from February.

Twitter has been busy with comments from many others who received similar emails yesterday (31 January).

@essexpeasant @FarmersWeekly @FarmersGuardian @TheFarmingForum @redmanmatt any one else just had email off rpa saying about payments in Feb

— Olly harrison 🥛🍔🌱AccidentalYoutuber (@agricontract) January 31, 2016

https://twitter.com/PaulKnipe1/status/693905795197575168

@agricontract @essexpeasant @FarmersWeekly @FarmersGuardian @TheFarmingForum @redmanmatt yep had same 2day for a client who has had no inspn

— Happy Herefords (@HappyHerefords) January 31, 2016