Winter Fuel Payment

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  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
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    elljay wrote: »
    My mother and her friends have been looking into returning the payment as they don't have a need for it, they live in warm modern houses with low bills.

    I know people who donate the money to local charities who help the elderly.
  • Gillyches
    Gillyches Posts: 22 Forumite
    edited 6 February 2016 at 4:53PM
    But... as I originally posted... we pay our gas and electric bills all through the winter because the heating is left to come on and go off as if we were there. We have to ensure that the place doesn't suffer from frost damage to the pipes.

    [And true... we aren't as warm here as central heating doesn't exist here (no gas) so we use plug-in oil-filled radiator. Not complaining about that.]

    So I say again... what is the difference between between us and anyone else who stays in the UK throughout the winter?

    Many pensioners go abroad, to Spain etc, to stay in cheap hotels through December to March... they presumably still get their WFP? They get them because they, too, have to heat their properties in the UK throughout the winter for the same reasons.

    And no... not everyone DOES pay into the system all their lives.

    I think it would be a good idea to contact our local MP... thanks for the idea on that one.
  • margaretclare
    margaretclare Posts: 10,789 Forumite
    Mojisola wrote: »
    I know people who donate the money to local charities who help the elderly.

    Mine always goes to a deserving charity.
    [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
    Before I found wisdom, I became old.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
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    Gillyches wrote: »
    But... as I originally posted... we pay our gas and electric bills all through the winter because the heating is left to come on and go off as if we were there. We have to ensure that the place doesn't suffer from frost damage to the pipes.

    You don't really heat the house to the same temperature that would be comfortable for people living there, do you?

    The frost protection setting on the thermostat is all that's needed to stop the pipes freezing.
  • Gillyches
    Gillyches Posts: 22 Forumite
    We leave it on to come on at 5-30/6-00 until 8-00 and then again 16-30 - 20-00 more or less. We daren't do less... it's not got frost protection. (Very old system... 45 +/- years old).
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Gillyches wrote: »
    We have to ensure that the place doesn't suffer from frost damage to the pipes.
    Gillyches wrote: »
    We leave it on to come on at 5-30/6-00 until 8-00 and then again 16-30 - 20-00 more or less. We daren't do less... it's not got frost protection. (Very old system... 45 +/- years old).

    Why don't you drain the pipes in the autumn instead of paying to heat an empty house?
  • Gillyches
    Gillyches Posts: 22 Forumite
    edited 7 February 2016 at 10:34PM
    Not as easy as that... our 60%-70% of the year spent in Gib is punctuated by visits to the UK in late November and early December and my husband is currently there for a three week visit. I'll be going for 10 days next month and so... as you can see we are backwards and forwards. Draining the system isn't viable given this situation.

    The fares are very cheap to visit our home at that time of the year...sometimes as low as £75 return... before anyone raises the issue of all the return journeys.

    Other home returns occur in May-July, again in Sept/Oct. So we ARE regularly there.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    It's still your choice to have two homes in two different countries and to spend most of the year in the warm one which makes you unable to claim a benefit intended to keep you (not your second home) warm in the winter.
  • Gillyches
    Gillyches Posts: 22 Forumite
    Let's forget this...we STILL pay our taxes, rates, etc etc in the UK... clearly that's not worth a bloody light.

    And as far as I knew people still have enough freedom in the UK to HAVE choices.

    Goodnight.
  • Biggles
    Biggles Posts: 8,209 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Gillyches wrote: »
    We leave it on to come on at 5-30/6-00 until 8-00 and then again 16-30 - 20-00 more or less. We daren't do less... it's not got frost protection. (Very old system... 45 +/- years old).
    Mine's also a very old system, but it has a thermostat, doesn't it? When I'm away in the winter, I leave the heating on 24/7 and the wall thermostat on, say, 10 or 12C. In the kind of weather we've been having this winter, it almost never comes on. On a very cold day, it might run for a total of maybe two hours tops.

    And, just, in case the worst should happen, my plumber advised turning off the water at the rising main.
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