It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Reverbe

I didnt know they still did Economy 7 - that must by why someone in one of the flats upstairs keeps us awake by havng their washing machine going at midnight. lol

Primrose

Years ago we had Economy 7 storage heaters in a maisonette we lived in. I couldn't help noting that the heaters always seemed to switch on a few minutes after the appointed hour, and switch off several minutes before the official turn off time. A few minutes less of cheaper electricity at either end doesn't seem much for one household but if you add this up and it's happening for all the Economy 7 homes across one supplier, that means thousands of consumers are being ripped off and the electricty suppliers are actually saving quite a lot of money.

I don't know whether this still happens today and whether these switchovers have to be pre-programmed and staged over several minutes at a central grid some but any user of Economy 7 should perhaps check their Switch On and Switch Off times against a reliable clock to see whether they're actually getting the full amount of cheap electricity they signed up for.

Larumbelle

Good luck Sammy :beer: I'm sure all will go smoothly!

Well... I had an amazing day yesterday! Work gave me £100 gift vouchers simply for pointing out the flipping obvious!!!! They run one of those suggestion schemes. So I am very happy. Although I'm not actually going to spend them right now. OH dropped my food processor bowl and broke it at the weekend so my immediate thought was a new one, but I've just checked the Kenwood site and it'll only cost £15 to buy a spare, so I think I'll do that and save the vouchers for when we need something.

It amazes me how cheaply you can by spares for electricals. Our Dyson vacuum cleaner was given to us by a friend who preferred to spend £250 on a new one than £8 on a spare... yes really... she 'couldn't be bothered' to repair it. She also believes that 'life is too short' to scrub a spud, and that making HM anything (laundry powder, hobnobs, scratch dinners, anything) is 'too much trouble'. I have to bite my tongue hard when she moans that they can't make ends meet. Because I've tried, and there's only so many times you can try before you sound boring or smug or sanctimonious.

Still, as I mentioned on another threat, it's good to have friends like this, because they tend to pass their cast-offs on to you

mumoftwo

silvercharming wrote: »

It amazes me how cheaply you can by spares for electricals. Our Dyson vacuum cleaner was given to us by a friend who preferred to spend £250 on a new one than £8 on a spare... yes really... she 'couldn't be bothered' to repair it. She also believes that 'life is too short' to scrub a spud, and that making HM anything (laundry powder, hobnobs, scratch dinners, anything) is 'too much trouble'. I have to bite my tongue hard when she moans that they can't make ends meet. Because I've tried, and there's only so many times you can try before you sound boring or smug or sanctimonious.

Oh, I wonder how much it would be to buy a new heating element for my dishwasher, just discovered it doesn't heat up the water, so is trying to wash my dishes in cold water, I have been wondering for days why my dishes weren't that clean when they came out

I will have to have a nosey around MSE to see if there is a thread somewhere about doing your own repairs. It is another thing in already an increasing list of things going wrong in the house. I sometimes do wish I had an OH who could those things himself without having to get someone expensive out.

Larumbelle

Mumoftwo, my first step would be to call the manufacturer's helpline. They can tell you what the problem is, how easy to fix, the price they charge for the part direct, and if it needs a repairman, they can recommend one.

Step two, post on the moneysaving in my house board, and get some advice on how easy it is to do yourself, or how much you should pay someone else. There are lots of 'how to repair' manuals and websites out there. Google is great!

Step three, start shopping around to check if you can get the part cheaper than the manufacturer's quote. Often you can. If the cheapest supplier is Partmaster (lots of manufacturers go through them) there is a 10% off code on the vouchers board.

Step four, if you are recommended to get a repairman, start calling round for prices. One tactic is to tell everyone you call that you want their BEST price, fully receipted (labour, VAT etc, - if you don't include in the price now you ain't getting paid for it later). Also state you can get the part for £xx, if they can source it cheaper they are welcome to source it for the price you can get it for. Make it clear you want their best price now as you will go with whoever has quoted the cheapest once you have phoned each repairman once, and that you will require a full receipt for their work (ie no 'off the books' quotes, you'll only end up getting stung - a reciept on a repair is basically a warranty on their work).

Step five, order your part and/or book your repairman

smileyt_2

Good luck, Sammy! I hope the birth goes well and the bairn is healthy!

Just had to move the last of my savings over to my current account. I have calculated that between them JSA, HB and CTB owe me nearly £900 as I haven't had any money from them for seven weeks. I am now getting a bit scared. I have enough money for another month (just) and then I'm st$*fed.

I am going to write my complaint letter to JSA now. They sent me a freepost envelope as they don't have any complaint forms, they said!!!!

Feeling a bit low ..... oh well, 'tis only money. Sigh.

lauren_1

smileyt wrote: »

Good luck, Sammy! I hope the birth goes well and the bairn is healthy!

Just had to move the last of my savings over to my current account. I have calculated that between them JSA, HB and CTB owe me nearly £900 as I haven't had any money from them for seven weeks. I am now getting a bit scared. I have enough money for another month (just) and then I'm st$*fed.

I am going to write my complaint letter to JSA now. They sent me a freepost envelope as they don't have any complaint forms, they said!!!!

Feeling a bit low ..... oh well, 'tis only money. Sigh.

I really feel you pain! I was in the same boat not so long ago, eventually they pulled their finger out after 4 and a half months. Hopefully you wont be waiting that long but as soon as you run out of savings the effect is pretty devastating to say the least.

Get on their case and dont listen to their BULL like i did.

Primrose

silvercharming - don't know what type of vouchers you were given but do check if they've got an expiry date. I believe Capital Bond vouchers, for example only have a one year life, so it could be annoying if you're thinking of hanging onto them until you need something specifically and then find they're useless when you actually want to cash them in.

Larumbelle

Primrose wrote: »

silvercharming - don't know what type of vouchers you were given but do check if they've got an expiry date. I believe Capital Bond vouchers, for example only have a one year life, so it could be annoying if you're thinking of hanging onto them until you need something specifically and then find they're useless when you actually want to cash them in.

It's okay - I checked I've got three years to decide which retailer's vouchers I want, then however long their voucher lasts. Very proud of myself for not changing them for Amazon / Lakeland vouchers immediately and going on a mad shopping spree

Primrose

silvercharming - might be a good idea to cash them in before the VAT increase on 4th January otherwise you won't get quite such good value from them. I guess there will be a lot of retailers offering good deals before Christmas and early January Sales to encourage people to spend their money before the prices rise.