help with heating and energy costs while on JSA?

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  • BigAunty
    BigAunty Posts: 8,310
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    By the way, if you are struggling to make ends meet, see if there are any food banks in your local areas. These are charities that give out a few days basic grocery staples to those in need. This might free up some funds towards your energy needs. They are used to seeing people with debts, struggling on benefits, etc.
  • It's worth asking your energy supplier if they have a dept that deals with help for people on low incomes.
    They can change the amount they are collecting too,as £4.00 seems a lot to be taking weekly for such a small debt.
    Even if you say you are struggling and could perhaps up the amount when winters over i'm pretty sure they would/could help you.
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115
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    Debbiejack wrote: »
    It's worth asking your energy supplier if they have a dept that deals with help for people on low incomes.
    They can change the amount they are collecting too,as £4.00 seems a lot to be taking weekly for such a small debt.
    Even if you say you are struggling and could perhaps up the amount when winters over i'm pretty sure they would/could help you.
    Agreed it should be £3.40 per week. Which is £1.40 more than they are currently taking.

    The OP said topped up £20 every 2 weeks £4 went to debt repayment and left £16 available.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • Thank you to most of you for your advice, I don't have any debts as i've always worked and earned a good salary, I left my marriage and had to move back to northern ireland, I moved into a house and the job I had set up for moving here fell through the week i was moving back.

    I can afford to get food etc, I don't think i'm destitute just yet, but I had used a lot of electricity over last winter with having to use electric heaters for a period when I had no oil and couldn't afford a refill. That is how I got my electricity debt and obviously i'm paying it off everytime I refill my meter.

    I have no choice but to have oil heating as it is the only heating source for this house, yes I realise i'm in the same boat as everyone else, I was just wondering if there was anything I wasn't claiming that I should be or any loans that are available through the DWP.

    I can't move to a cheaper place as I have a lease on this house, you can't just up and move into a flat and i'm tied to be here until april next year at least. I do hope to be working before then and won't have to move.

    Thank you big aunty for the info on the crisis loan, I wasn't aware that it could be used for fuel costs but its one i'll have a look at tomorrow when I go into the Jobcentre.

    Ladygaga, you are being very rude and I'm not sure why you are commenting on this thread if you can't contribute anything useful.
    I've worked my whole working life, I've never been out of work for longer than a week, I'm claiming benefits that i'm entitled to because i'm suddenly in the position of having left my marriage and having no employment at the moment, but isn't that what benefits are for? to help those that need short term help?

    You are implying that I want someone to hand me the oil for my tank for the winter, I don't see where i've said that anywhere in my post. I am happy to get loan from the benefits office, after all, it will be paid back, i've never had a penny from the state before, paid a clean fortune in tax and national insurance over the last 22 years and frankly I don't need someone like you to try to look down on me and make me feel bad for asking a genuine question when I am genuinely in need of advice.

    I don't choose to be on benefit, I'd far rather be working again and i'm confident that I will be. I just hope you never have to feel panicked because your heating has run out and you are only able to order a min amount costing £195 when you don't have that kind of money available.
  • I think most people are struggling with paying heating costs at the moment.

    I'm disabled and can't get extra help, other than use my DLA which doesn't go that far. I have a severe heart condition which means that my hands and feet are always freezing cold. I have to heat just one room, and live in that during the winter. Could you not do the same? Oil heating is very expensive!

    hi sue, whilst looking around the net for benefits advice, there is the winter fuel payment mentioned a lot for those that are on disability benefits. Have you looked into them yet? apologies for suggesting it if you have.
    I can't heat any rooms without the oil in the tank unless i'm using the electric radiator things, they eat electric but i'll happily heat one room if thats what I have to do.

    I think its terrible that you have a severe heart condition and don't get any extra help x
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115
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    Do you know what tariff you are on? Power NI charges 17.37p/kWh and that will only buy you 2,400kWh per year at the rate you are topping up.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • BigAunty
    BigAunty Posts: 8,310
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    ...
    Thank you big aunty for the info on the crisis loan, I wasn't aware that it could be used for fuel costs but its one i'll have a look at tomorrow when I go into the Jobcentre.

    .

    Sorry, but to be clear on this topic, I don't really know the qualifying criteria for the types of loans I mentioned as I'm not familiar with them, but if you look on the Direct Gov website, they will detail this. I didn't mean to give the impression you could deffo get a loan.

    On the subject of your costly accommodation, it's true that you have a contractual obligation but you might be able to negotiate an early surrender of the lease with your landlord. Some landlords will insist it is honoured, others will appreciate that a tenant is flagging up that they are at risk of going into arrears and will try to mitigate this by marketing it and letting the tenant leave when a new one is found.

    I know that you say you can afford food, but you can't currently afford to heat and eat, so food banks are a way of helping you out of fuel poverty.

    And you do have debts! Albeit a modest one made enormous and difficult to address because of your limited income!
  • Lady_gaga
    Lady_gaga Posts: 1,219 Forumite
    just another bit of helpfull advice :O) you won't get a crisis loan to fill your oil tank, you may get £20 to cover your electricity if you have absolutely no money and it's run out but even then they would expect your JSA to cover your basic costs.
    The average amount for a successfull crisis loan is60% of your normal JSA amount, so not very much.
    you can now only get a max of 3 crisis loans in a rolling 12 month period
  • Debbiejack wrote: »
    It's worth asking your energy supplier if they have a dept that deals with help for people on low incomes.
    They can change the amount they are collecting too,as £4.00 seems a lot to be taking weekly for such a small debt.
    Even if you say you are struggling and could perhaps up the amount when winters over i'm pretty sure they would/could help you.

    i'm going to ring them tomorrow to ask about that as i'd not considered that they might take less until after winter.

    I've got a job interview next week and i'm so hoping that I get the position, i've never had to ask for help before in my life.
    I have a credit card and i'm seriously thinking about using it to get 500 litres of oil, that would be £303 and i could pay it off with the minimum amount until I start working again then clear it with my first wage. I cleared that card with my last salary payment before moving as I knew it would give me a clean slate and so far i've not put much back onto it as i've tried to ignore that its there for fear of getting into debt with it. It would mean having the heating for the winter without too much worry although being on JSA had me wondering if there was anything else I was entitled to before resorting to doing that.

    I know that others in my situation can't afford food etc and are desperately struggling, I'm asking the question as I'm unused to benefit claiming and I'm totally naive about what is available and when. I'm grateful that you've suggested contacting them to ask about changing the repayment amount as I really never thought that might be an option. thank you

    I've put stuff on ebay this week too so that should help a little.
  • i'm not expecting a crisis loan to fill my oil tank, I was asking a simple question, about is there any help available for fuel or energy when on JSA.

    I don't anticipate being on it for much longer and am hoping to have a job pretty soon. I'm not looking for fluffy answers, I was looking information on anything that may be available be it a loan or extra payment that I may be entitled to to help me whilst on my jsa.

    lady gaga I don't know if you've ever been on benefit and i don't care to know as that is your business, I just felt that your responses to my thread have been condescending and have made me feel like rubbish for being on a benefit and asking about any other help available. Perhaps I'm touchy, perhaps not.

    thank you all for your help, it is appreciated
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