how can i manage??

bigbrummygirl · 13 October 2005 at 4:29PM

thank you all so much for your advice
i am battling with npower at the moment to get my metre checked as the bills are around £600 a quarter, hence the reason i am behind with it. also i can not have a token metre as the metre is in the flat below me. the tv lisence is the cash easy entry scheme. i was on the quartery direct debits but that was too difficult with the money i have at the moment.
but the good news is fingers crossed my son is applying to do a collage course again and we are just waiting to hear whether hes been accepted...
and i will definatly try that recipe next week thanks

Curry_Queen · 13 October 2005 at 4:57PM

bigbrummygirl wrote:

thank you all so much for your advice
i am battling with npower at the moment to get my metre checked as the bills are around £600 a quarter, hence the reason i am behind with it. also i can not have a token metre as the metre is in the flat below me.

Are you sure you're not paying for the whole building rather than just your flat???? :eek:

Npower are notoriously bad to deal with and a friend of mine was in a similar position to you and it ended up they owed her over £1000 in the end, which took her almost 2 years to get back from them!!! :mad:

You need to do something about this, like yesterday, as something is very wrong here and you're paying w-a-y too much for your electric! There are people you can contact for help with htis but I don't know who off the top of my head, but if you go over to the utilities board and outline your problems there I can guarantee someone will be able to help you out with this

Oh, and great news about your son going back to college! :T

LizzieT84 · 13 October 2005 at 7:10PM

Chances are if the meter is in the flat below... you're paying for the flat below.

fluffyscruffy · 13 October 2005 at 8:26PM

If you took your social fund loan out whilst you were still receiving IS for your son then you should tell social fund that since you signed to say you would repay your loan at x amount, your circumstances have changed, you are no longer in receipt of benefit for your son so therefore you need to lower your repayments. You have to do it in writing, tell them how much you think you are able to afford. They usually take into account that you are getting less benefit and will reduce it for you.
Hope this helps.
Fluffy x

barbie_babe · 13 October 2005 at 8:33PM

get electric to put a key meter in then you can see how much you are using. .try and get them to work out how much you own from how much you use each week on meter (example if you are only using six pound a week on meter they cant say you owe them more than that in the past for a weeks electric)then pay back debt at four a week no more.(four is there min i think).i didnt see bit about you cant have token meter sorry .if meter is in flat bellow and you havnt got one you are paying for the whole house by sounds of it.
i have lived in a flat and they put token meter in my flat even though main meter was downstairs .

Murtle · 14 October 2005 at 12:18AM

hmmm I pay £30 per month for electricity - £30 a week doesn't sound right, if possible.....we don't have gas so all our cooking, showering etc is electric.

grrrr nPower useless cretins. Hope you get it sorted out.

x

stellagypsy · 15 October 2005 at 8:24AM

I had a huge problem with NPower a couple of years ago as they were not reading my meter properly and had me using thousands of £££'s electric a quarter. Obviously this was an error but could I get them to deal with it - could I flip!! THEN Watchdog featured a couple of people who had similar problems. I rang NPower, went off on one (sometimes this is necessary to get results, being nice had got me nowhere) and threatened to go to Watchdog and - would you beleive it! - I was put through to a lady who actually knew what she was talking about and sorted it out on the spot!

Yours could be a similar problem.

OR as you are in a block of flats - is someone syphoning electricity off from your meter? I have seen this done many a time, not calling anyone dishonest but it does happen.

Are you on a token meter? Why not go on one for a trial period to show them you do not use all this electric. Keep a log of your usage, refer this to the the electicity ombudsman (is it Offwatt or someting similar? I assume there is one), write to your MP or do what I did and threaten them with Watchdog.

HTH, Stella

maroon_jelly · 18 October 2005 at 10:55PM

I left school at 16 and am now 17. I was forced to move out from my mums and rented a house. when the rent went up and i lost my job i moved in with my dad. My dad was is working full time and i now get income based job seekers for me and my boyfriend, we had to appeal for mine because of my age but got it under hardship because the house hold income was low. some job centres cant sign under 18s, only the bigger centres can. I have to attend connexions once a week so they dont stop payments.

jobbingmusician · 18 October 2005 at 11:16PM

You are definitely paying too much to the electricity people.

A long time ago I did a benefits advice course. There is a special book issued to people who give benefits advice, and one of the things it lists is the MAXIMUM that utility companies can take from people on benefits, per week, to pay off outstanding bills. Of course I can't remember what this maximum was, but what I do remember very clearly from the course is that utility companies are always 'trying it on' and trying to get people on benefits to repay FAR more than the legal maximum. Even if you are paying for electricity for the whole block, you shouldn't be repaying more than this maximum!

Can you get to see a benefits adviser? If not, try a debt advice agency - after all, what you are doing with the electricity payments is paying off a debt. I think a sensible electricity repayment plan, in itself, would help your situation a lot.

Can you work at all, or does your disability stop you doing this? Now that your son is an adult, apart from the good advice above, you could ask to be put in touch with a disability work advisor, or new deal for the disabled.....If you can work, that is.

If you can't work, are you sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to? YOu really really need benefits advice, don't you!

Look up in your local phone book for Benefits Advice (you never know!) Then look and see if you can find the local Council for Voluntary Services - if you can't find them, try the Council. Ask whether they know of any benefit advice services in the area (If you are talking to the Council, and they say no, then ask for the local Council for Voluntary Services, and ask them the same question - they may be better informed!) If you draw a blank on this, and you are disabled, contact any charity that deals with your disability/illness and ask them the same question.

If all that turns up big fat blanks, ask here again and I'll rack my brains some more......

how can i manage??

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