do powergen help those who cant afford to keep warm?

tk

im sat here and i am freezing, i have no heat on at all and darent, i just had powergen read my meters. i have looked at my bill online and used the old reading and know my bill is going to be over £200 this quarter, i pay £50 per month and im scared. I have a medical condition which lowers my immune system, i tend to fall ill easily and feel the cold more than others. i am not over 60 so dont qualify on age grounds, and yes i am on a fixed LOW income and cant afford any more rises in bills.
I have been able to help a few of my friends save money with british gas who at least offer some help off the bills. i am jealous and if i wasnt so bloody cold would be green with envy. unfortunately i am blue with cold, and just pray we have a warm summer so i can save save save on gas and electric.

My limbs ache i am so cold.... hope you all are keeping warm !

caveat_emptor

Contact Powergen and Social Security and explain your situation. You could get benefit if you can't afford heating.

tk

caveat_emptor wrote:

Contact Powergen and Social Security and explain your situation. You could get benefit if you can't afford heating.

Thanks for the reply. i am currently on benefits, we dont get enough to be able to keep warm.

Capyboppy

I sympathise tk. We are in a similar boat. Currently we are on the capped rate with Scottish Power until March of next year. They have already goofed by wrongly predicting my usage and for the first time ever we are in arrears with our bill, trying to pay it off with a tenner here and there when we can afford it. I am absolutely dreading next March when the capped rate ends as we are struggling now, and they are bound to put the rates up when this finishes. I regularly check we are on the best tariff, we have insulation, tank jackets, economy light bulbs etc, and there isn't anything else I can do to save money other than freeze. We have even tried the portable gas heaters which are great compared with the warm air gas, but at £14 a bottle that lasts three weeks if we are careful, it doesn't really save any money. It is very worrying for the future, and now when it is so cold. I don't know what the answer is I really don't. The previous poster said about getting benefit for heating. As you know this is something you can't get, so don't know why they thought you could. If anything benefits from the DHSS have gone down, as years ago your water rates were included with the rent when claiming housing benefit, now they are not.

creditscorer_2

tk,

you should never not heat your house if you need it warmer.

There are three things you should do now

1 - get on the Priority Service Register for your supplier (search for it on the BBC website to get your number - it was Powergen: 0800 363363 )
2 - talk to Citizens Advice about joining the Fuel Direct scheme - this will allow your fuel payments to come from your benefits and to be agreed by your supplier - CAB can determine the debt recovery rate that's appropriate
3 - make sure your house is energy efficient - if you're in receipt of benefits, you will probably be entitled to at the very least free insulation. Make sure you have the best meter(s) for your usage too - day/night meters are good for hot water.

The worse case of the above will be that your supplier will ask you to have a budget meter installed and that you will pay back your existing debt slowly. The best case will be that you will pay your energy bills straight from your benefits at an affordable level.

Good luck and try not to worry.

tk

creditscorer wrote:

tk,

you should never not heat your house if you need it warmer.

The worse case of the above will be that your supplier will ask you to have a budget meter installed and that you will pay back your existing debt slowly. The best case will be that you will pay your energy bills straight from your benefits at an affordable level.

Good luck and try not to worry.

thanks for the reply,
i have trawled the net and the only help powergen offer is to actually force you to pay your debts via fuel direct, ie take money off your benefits for your bills before you receive it :O(
this doesnt help me as i cant afford to pay them in the first place which is why i go cold :O( i have. very little debt and dont wish to accrue any either

there is nothing. we do not qualify for any help at all, i really wish everyone in our position a lovely mild spring and a warm summer, and lets hope this ridiculous expense is sorted soon before we all go stiff in the night !
and no smutty comments on that one either LOL ;O)))

tk

Capyboppy wrote:

I sympathise tk. We are in a similar boat. Currently we are on the capped rate with Scottish Power until March of next year. They have already goofed by wrongly predicting my usage and for the first time ever we are in arrears with our bill, trying to pay it off with a tenner here and there when we can afford it. I am absolutely dreading next March when the capped rate ends as we are struggling now, and they are bound to put the rates up when this finishes. I regularly check we are on the best tariff, we have insulation, tank jackets, economy light bulbs etc, and there isn't anything else I can do to save money other than freeze. We have even tried the portable gas heaters which are great compared with the warm air gas, but at £14 a bottle that lasts three weeks if we are careful, it doesn't really save any money. It is very worrying for the future, and now when it is so cold. I don't know what the answer is I really don't. The previous poster said about getting benefit for heating. As you know this is something you can't get, so don't know why they thought you could. If anything benefits from the DHSS have gone down, as years ago your water rates were included with the rent when claiming housing benefit, now they are not.

oh i do empathise, i know what your feeling, we feel it too. does your supplier not offer another capped rate you can switch too? im wondering if switching may be my best option. getting fed up of it.
today is warm in the sun, pity the sun doesnt warm my house. we have cavity wall insulation, thats a laugh, it works the opposite way! colder in winter with more condensation, and too hot in summer! and in summer i dare say i wont be able to afford to run my cooling fan all day too, oh great! another thing to thing about and fret over LOL

we too have insulation etc, no more improvements can be made. all low energy bulbs etc.

hang in there will be warmer soon, and we can all eat salads, no cooking so no costs there :O)

Capyboppy

Hi tk.
It's possible that when the current capped rate ends next March they will offer another one, we shall have to wait and see. Trouble is, it will probably be slightly higher or at the very least of what the rates will be at that time, which will still be a heck of a jump from what we are paying now. As you know, when we get a rise on our State Benefit that just disappears by the time everything else has gone up. We are still trying to manage on the same amount of what I allocate for food and sundries as five years ago. I Try to centre the shopping around offers and deals etc, but it is getting harder to eat healthy stuff as a lot of the deals are around high fat/sugar items.

Cardew

If there are firms who 'help' with heating bills for those on benefit, are there any that 'help' with internet charges? and cheaper computers perhaps?

Capyboppy

There are no firms who help those on benefit with heating costs. The only scheme I am aware of is the Staywarm one for people of pensionable age.

angeltoad

My elderly parents were told about the staywarm scheme and as they spend quite a lot on heating they thought it would be good. after taking a load of infomration about everythig the quote given for "unlimited" gas and electric wwas more than they are paying now by ordinary quarterly bills. I think it is just marketing propaganda.