Disability and gas bill :(

krisskross

From a site about pensions this:

arried Women’s Contributions

• If you are a married woman or a widow, you must have applied to pay reduced rate N.I. contributions before the 21st May 1977.
• If you chose to do so, you are entitled to pay reduced rate class one contributions of 4.85% of your earnings between the Lower and Upper Earnings Limits and 1% of your earnings above the Upper Earnings Limit.
• If you are self-employed and registered for married women's contributions you do not need to pay class two contributions.
• You may be entitled to less state benefits and a lower rate State Pension as a result of these reduced contributions.
• If you are considering changing to full-rate contributions in order to build up more State Pension or State Second Pension contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for assistance.

So it looks as if SDW was correct and mealone could not have had the option to pay this in 1988

mealone

krisskross wrote: »

From a site about pensions this:


arried Women’s Contributions

• If you are a married woman or a widow, you must have applied to pay reduced rate N.I. contributions before the 21st May 1977.
• If you chose to do so, you are entitled to pay reduced rate class one contributions of 4.85% of your earnings between the Lower and Upper Earnings Limits and 1% of your earnings above the Upper Earnings Limit.
• If you are self-employed and registered for married women's contributions you do not need to pay class two contributions.
• You may be entitled to less state benefits and a lower rate State Pension as a result of these reduced contributions.
• If you are considering changing to full-rate contributions in order to build up more State Pension or State Second Pension contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for assistance.

So it looks as if SDW was correct and mealone could not have had the option to pay this in 1988

Oh but I did, I took my marrage certificate to HR and I was asked if I wanted to pay a married womans stamp, I didnt know what it was and most of my friends were paying it but I was full time and already paying full NIs and left it as it was. HR might have mede a mistake but I was definatly asked if I wanted to pay married womens rate of NI

krisskross

mealone wrote: »

Oh but I did, I took my marrage certificate to HR and I was asked if I wanted to pay a married womans stamp, I didnt know what it was and most of my friends were paying it but I was full time and already paying full NIs and left it as it was. HR might have mede a mistake but I was definatly asked if I wanted to pay married womens rate of NI

I take it it would be impossible for you to be mistaken about this? As shown it would have been 11 years too late for you to have been opting for the Married Womens small stamp. Surely even the most inefficient HR department would have been aware of new legislation 11 years on.

Anyway no more, I give in, you win. You're always right and the rest of us must be wrong.

seven-day-weekend

krisskross wrote: »

So it looks as if SDW was correct and mealone could not have had the option to pay this in 1988

If she had been paying them before 1988 she could continue to pay them if she changed job or something similar , which she may have done in 1988.

There could not be any NEW elections after 1978.

krisskross

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

If she had been paying them before 1988 she could continue to pay them if she changed job or something similar , which she may have done in 1988.

There could not be any NEW elections after 1978.

She said she was paying full NI contributions in 1988 and decided to leave it like that although she was offered the opportunity to drop to small stamp in 1988.

Penny-Pincher!!

shopaholic2 wrote: »

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

DLA should be used for the costs involved with being disabled, so should in this case be used for heating.

I recently had a bill for a similar amount and unfortunately being disabled makes no difference to whether we have to pay or not. We had to take measures of just heating 1 room where we are most of the time and turning the others lowers (rads) and wearing layers.

You will have to come up with a payment plan or your gas will be switched off!

I dont mean to sound cold (no pun intended!), but it's life I'm afraid.

PP
xx

seven-day-weekend

krisskross wrote: »

She said she was paying full NI contributions in 1988 and decided to leave it like that although she was offered the opportunity to drop to small stamp in 1988.

I don't see how she could be offered to change back to small stamp in 1988 unless somewhere there was a misunderstanding.Either HR got it wrong or she has misunderstood.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/faqs/women_reduced_rate.htm


Who is entitled to pay reduced rate NICs?

A woman who was married on or before 6 April 1977 could choose to pay a reduced rate of Class 1 NICs or if she was self employed, not to pay Class 2 NICs. This choice had to be made on an official form before 12 May 1977. No-one who married after 6 April 1977 could chose to pay the reduced rate, and no woman was entitled to make an election after 11 May 1977.
A certificate of election would have been issued which the woman would have given to her employer to show that reduced rate NICs should be deducted from her earnings or, if self employed, she would have retained herself to prove that she was excepted from liability for Class 2 NICs.

SEE

shopaholic2 wrote: »

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

Switch to 'Npower spreading the warmth' and get a pre-pay meter. Also contact the DWP and let them know your situation, they may be able to help.
http://www.npower.com/web/At_home/Popup/spreading_warmth_tariff_terms/index.htm

savemoney

Well if you are on high rate mobility and you need a car under mobility to have some form of normality all that money accept the care component will be taken away from you so there will be no help with other costs accept care assuming you get the care component.

Pensioners get help with heating because they are more prone to cold, poor circulation. Poor circulation does not just effect the elderly it can effect young/middle age people too if they have certain medical/disability, surely they deserve some help?

Heating bills are really effecting everyone even more so for those on low incomes and or disabled particularly those with poor circulation.

I dont deny many pensioners need the help, some dont as some elderly are quite well off, I see lots with nice 4x4 cars for example in supermarket car park, and some can afford nice holidays abroad, as I said previously I know some who use this money to buy high end electrical items, I know this for a fact as I use to work with elderly they often boasted how well off they are

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

DLA should be used for the costs involved with being disabled, so should in this case be used for heating.

I recently had a bill for a similar amount and unfortunately being disabled makes no difference to whether we have to pay or not. We had to take measures of just heating 1 room where we are most of the time and turning the others lowers (rads) and wearing layers.

You will have to come up with a payment plan or your gas will be switched off!

I dont mean to sound cold (no pun intended!), but it's life I'm afraid.

PP
xx

pipkin71

SEE wrote: »

Switch to 'Npower spreading the warmth' and get a pre-pay meter. Also contact the DWP and let them know your situation, they may be able to help.
http://www.npower.com/web/At_home/Popup/spreading_warmth_tariff_terms/index.htm

Difficult to switch suppliers if you're in debt to another one.

I switched to the spreading the warmth tarif, and with the direct debit discount, I received a fair amount off my gas bill at the beginning of the year, so would recommend the switch when possible.