Disability and gas bill :(

shopaholic2

Hi, I have been in tears today as i got my gas bill and its £745:eek:. This is for several reasons,.....
1, My daughter has ulcerative colitis, was diagnosed in Feb, but is and was permanently cold, so i had the heating on alot thru the winter,(she became ill in november), and I still have to have it on.
2, I applied to british gas trust for help, but they turned me down.
3, I am disable, i recieve high rate mobility and mid rate care.
4, We joined NACC, but they don't help with bills.

I am so worried they will cut me off. I cannot afford monthly direct debit cos it would be huge, so i can't see any way out of this.
Can anyone offer any help or advice?
I emailed British gas when the first bill came and explained all this to them and they just said "sorry,you have to pay".
I suffer from anxiety so find it hard to tallk on the phone thats why i emailed them.
Please, can anyone help?
x

Valley's_girl

Sorry you are having a rough time of it, just a suggestion what about having pre payment meters installed, they will probably suggest this, and then the gas company can take a set amount weekly for your debt.
Try not to worry.
Best wishes
ally x

savemoney

I wasnt aware you can get help my daughter suffers from CMT and she is constantly cold even in height of Summer, she gets highest rate mobility and lowest rate for care. My OH who gave her the condition unfortunately which is hereditary she also feels cold but doesnt have teh disability side, ie walk aided with a stick

What I do is try and monitor when I can cut down heating so its at lowest I can get away with without to much discomfit. It made harder as I live on a hill and cant get insulation for solid walls

Its shocking that many elderly people who suffer acute cold due to poor circulation some of whom are quite well off, can get money for help, yet those younger who suffer same conditions can not

I do feel for you, and understand how hard this must be for you

Best of luck

Invasion

I know it sounds silly, and I don't mean to sound patronising, but can she not layer hoodies etc? I've been known to wear up to 7 (you get some in bigger sizes, or rob other people's when they're not wearing them) with more than one pair of trousers, leggings, extra socks etc, and then duvets, blankets.... Lots of heat escapes from your head, so hoods up on hoodies, mittens- yes seriously- in the house, scarves, slippers- boot style ones are good for keeping warm. We have oil powered central heating, and with it being so expensive our heating very very rarely comes on, even when I'm feeling extremely cold! I know that won't sort out this bill, but it might help keep down further ones. I hope you're able to find a way to pay it, I'm sure someone will have a good idea

daska

My MIL has slippers with microwavable inserts which really help her. DH and kids also use hot water bottles and fleece blankets to keep warm - DH is always frozen but if we turn up the heating any further I overheat, it's not a good combination.

tenacioust123

I do the same plenty of layers of clothing, I also bring my duvet down and snuggle on the sofa to keep warm without having to have the heating on full blast.

They will probably offer you a prepayment meter, you will very slowly pay off your debt.

Mojisola

tenacioust123 wrote: »

They will probably offer you a prepayment meter, you will very slowly pay off your debt.

The problem with this is that they charge you a higher rate for your gas if you're on a prepayment meter - it's very unfair.

Get advice from a debt counsellor such as https://www.cccs.co.uk/
They will help you negotiate with BG.

As it's going to be an ongoing problem you'll need to try some of the advice others have given to help her keep warm without having the heating on high.

daska

Have you applied to WarmFront to see if there's anything that they can help with that might reduce future bills?

Errata

Its shocking that many elderly people who suffer acute cold due to poor circulation some of whom are quite well off, can get money for help, yet those younger who suffer same conditions can not

Could you post a link giving details ?

savemoney

I was referring to winter fuel payments. OAP gets payments to help with heating I assume because they suffer more from the cold. I know some oaps who use this money to buy camera's and tv, and thus dont actually need help

Errata wrote: »

Could you post a link giving details ?

mealone

I have spinal injuries and use a wheelchair full time and my lower body cant retain heat nor maintain body tempreture so I am always cold and at risk of cold related complications.

I do as the other posters have suggested, keep warm and ration heating, this is scandalious in a first world country.

Healthy pensioners get the winter fuel allowance, £250 last year even when living in warmer climates (not all of the places where xpat brit pensioners are hot mind), all disabled people who get M/H rate care should IMHO get the same, it would help alot with our fuel bills but they would still be (in my case) fuel poverty which is where over 10% of income is spent on fuel. The governments position is that it cant afford to give all disabled people the winter fuel allowance but by setting the bar using DLA the most needy disabled people are targeted, those who have proved that they are severely disabled and we all know getting M/H rate care isnt easy.