'Fuel poverty'

AnnesWitterings

Thanks Ames

im in the process off claiming long saga Im afraid but will get there in the end but many thanks for highlighting it, it may help some other person reading

Best wishes

Anne

Ames

Oh tell me about it, I once had a HB claim that took over a year to go through (my circumstances were unusual as I was a student, and there was a previous overpayment that had to go to appeal before they could deal with the new claim). Hence a big chunk of my debt! If you get into trouble with the claims give me a shout, I know a few disability forums and organisations that should be able to help, although hopefully it wont come to that.

*MF*

Here are extracts from a post I made on the Utilities Thread and a link to it for more details:

Extracts:

Energy regulator Ofgem has today (Friday) moved to clear away confusion surrounding social tariffs – energy deals for vulnerable customers and fuel poor customers (those spending more than a tenth of their income on energy).

This means that vulnerable and fuel poor customers who struggle most to pay their energy bills will be assured of being on the best deal their supplier offers in their area.

Some consumers may still be able to get a better deal by switching to another supplier, particularly if they are also able to change payment method. That is why it still pays to shop around. But for customers who are unlikely or unable to switch and are eligible for a social tariff this ruling means they can be assured they will be on their supplier’s best deal.

From here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=12818243&postcount=1

Ames

Thanks for that MF, there was a discussion about it on a disability forum I visit, sometimes you'd be better off sometimes not. I'm in the middle of changing supplier but when that's all gone through then I'm planning to phone and ask about their social tariff.

Apparantly some people have had problems with call centre staff claiming never to have heard about it, but if you explain it's the money the government have given them to help vulnerable customers they realise you know what you're talking about and stop trying to fob you off.

Milly1974

Ames wrote: »

Does anyone know if halogen heaters are cheaper to run than the storage heaters? I've got one that I usually use in whatever room I'm in rather than heating the whole flat, and I just want to check that that's the best way to go?

I don't know for sure if halogen or storage is cheaper, although I should imagine that storage is cheaper when combined with economy 7. I have found though, that oil-filled radiators are the cheapest electric heaters. I have always used mine on a low setting constantly, which seems to be effective and cheap. They are a bit of an investment to buy, but I think that they really do the job.

tara747

A bit off-topic I know, but it's a shame that the media forgets about the problem of housing poverty - where it takes 35%+ of a salary (or two) to pay the mortgage on even the most tiny house/flat! I think this is part of the problem...