For the over 60s

viv0147

Hi everyone it's getting colder and the forecast is for a cold winter again well I have been using Staywarm for the last 4 years! Sadly you don't see it advertised anywhere I know it doesn't suit everyone but I am sure there are many people it would help and give them peace of mind.
How it works is you get in touch with Staywarm I did this over the phone and they ask you a number of questions about the size of your house or flat and how many people are living there they then give you what you would have to pay monthly if you except it you will have a 1 year contract so whatever you agreed to that will be the payment you pay regardless of the amount of gas and electricity you use during the contract which means you can have your gas and electricity on 24/7 if you wish the same you pay but obviously if you abused it your contract the following year would go up.
To give you an idea when I started with Staywarm 4 years ago my payment was £70 a month for the gas central heating and the electricity I live in a large 1 bedroom flat and have 5 radiators it remained the same until this September this year but has now gone up to £78 a month allowing for my heating allowance =£200 then its really £61 a month which = £14 a week for both my gas and electric! That I can manage on my basic pension and I have the peace of mind that I need not die of the cold I hope this will be of help to someone.

[Deleted User]

staywarm for many has become expensive in recent years,my mum and dad were on it for many years but last year came off it and saved £40 a month over the full year

seven-day-weekend

viv0147 wrote: »

Hi everyone it's getting colder and the forecast is for a cold winter again well I have been using Staywarm for the last 4 years! Sadly you don't see it advertised anywhere I know it doesn't suit everyone but I am sure there are many people it would help and give them peace of mind.
How it works is you get in touch with Staywarm I did this over the phone and they ask you a number of questions about the size of your house or flat and how many people are living there they then give you what you would have to pay monthly if you except it you will have a 1 year contract so whatever you agreed to that will be the payment you pay regardless of the amount of gas and electricity you use during the contract which means you can have your gas and electricity on 24/7 if you wish the same you pay but obviously if you abused it your contract the following year would go up.
To give you an idea when I started with Staywarm 4 years ago my payment was £70 a month for the gas central heating and the electricity I live in a large 1 bedroom flat and have 5 radiators it remained the same until this September this year but has now gone up to £78 a month allowing for my heating allowance =£200 then its really £61 a month which = £14 a week for both my gas and electric! That I can manage on my basic pension and I have the peace of mind that I need not die of the cold I hope this will be of help to someone.

I pay £76 a month for a three-bed, three storey house with eight radiators and I'm NOT on Staywarm, so it does not seem particularly cheap to me. I pay monthly and at the moment am £160 in credit, so that plus my normal payments and my WFP should cater for the worst quarter.

I am with E-on on the Age UK fixed for one year tariff.

PennyForThem_2

I pay 62.00 per month for electricity and gas for a 4 bed detached - and yes i do put on jumpers and I am mean but go figure....

Biggles

Last year my consumption had gone down but my Staywarm payments went up! I stayed with them but it was a marginal call.

I am due to receive their new rates any day now and I expect to go elsewhere for next year.

[Deleted User]

I have saved money by having my water part of the boiler on for two hours a day in the morning .That is enough to heat a tank full of water, then the heating part I only put on as and when its needed to give a quick hour's warm up blast.I have double insulation in my loft and had the walls insulated with the foam stuff about 5 years ago I also have double glazing and off the system I have 7 radiators.I am with EDF and last bill for 95 days for a combination of gas and electric was £92 odd.I have around £233 in credit on my account and in September EDF reduced my monthly payment to £26.00 per month.I am careful with the heating and do wear extra clothes if it gets a bit chilly but my sitting room temprature is usually around 68-70 c when its cold.I know I could get a rebate from EDF but I like the fact that if it does get really cold I can stick the heating on as and whenI found by only putting it on for an hour in the morning it keeps my little house quite warm all day.I did have a new 'A' rated boiler fitted about 3 years ago and have found that as it works far more efficiantly than my old worn out one that my bills have actually come down.

moneyistooshorttomention

I am told by my gas service engineer that I am reaping the benefits of my change of boiler. The house had a backboiler (Baxi Bermuda behind sitting room gas fire) when I bought it and I struggled and struggled to get it to cope with providing hot water and doing 7 radiators. I eventually had it swopped to a modern condensing boiler and my engineer tells me that my £50?-£55? per month gas and electric combined debit would be more like £100 if I still had that old boiler.

I will try not to think too hard about how much my fuel debit is going to go up by now that I have retired and so am at home more often, but hopefully that bill won't go up too much from my extra hours in (electric will still be much the same and I'm guessing the gas use will go up by around £15 - £20 per month on average?). Well...even with a tiny bit more of using electric fires I presume the worst it will be is an extra £30 per month between both fuels.

missile

A modern boiler will be far more efficient than your baxi bermuda. Did you have a new gas fire fitted?

£78 per month seems a lot for a 1 bed flat. How much gas you use for heating will depend on how well insulted your home is and obviously how hot you keep it. Most suppliers offer a free home survey to advise on how to save energy and you might want to look into that? See here> http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy-saving/home-insulation.html

You mention

my gas service engineer

Do you have a maintenance contact? The cost for this service will be included in your bill. Homecare 400 is £17 per month. This may give peace of mind, but in my humble opinion overpriced.

You should check to see if you are on the cheapest tariff. If you ask your supplier they should be able to advise.

margaretclare

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I am told by my gas service engineer that I am reaping the benefits of my change of boiler. The house had a backboiler (Baxi Bermuda behind sitting room gas fire) when I bought it and I struggled and struggled to get it to cope with providing hot water and doing 7 radiators. I eventually had it swopped to a modern condensing boiler and my engineer tells me that my £50?-£55? per month gas and electric combined debit would be more like £100 if I still had that old boiler.

I will try not to think too hard about how much my fuel debit is going to go up by now that I have retired and so am at home more often, but hopefully that bill won't go up too much from my extra hours in (electric will still be much the same and I'm guessing the gas use will go up by around £15 - £20 per month on average?). Well...even with a tiny bit more of using electric fires I presume the worst it will be is an extra £30 per month between both fuels.

I had this type of boiler with gas-fire in front, from 1992 to approx 3 years ago but the thermostat packed up and couldn't be replaced. We now have a modern condensing boiler in the loft. I opted to keep the little gas-fire because I didn't want a gaping hole in the fireplace and I thought, could always use it if it gets extra-cold. To date, have only used it once or twice. This bungalow is extremely well-insulated and when it gets warm, it stays warm. At present we're paying £75 a month combined, to E-on. We're warm, we have all the hot water we need, not in a 40-gallon tank in the loft but on demand.

You shouldn't need an electric fire - the most inefficient means of staying warm possible.

The tariff we're on with E-on includes reading our own meter and recording it online, dual fuel, and direct debit. We get a discount for all 3 of those.

HTH

moneyistooshorttomention

missile wrote: »

A modern boiler will be far more efficient than your baxi bermuda. Did you have a new gas fire fitted?

£78 per month seems a lot for a 1 bed flat. How much gas you use for heating will depend on how well insulted your home is and obviously how hot you keep it. Most suppliers offer a free home survey to advise on how to save energy and you might want to look into that? See here> http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy-saving/home-insulation.html

You mention Do you have a maintenance contact? The cost for this service will be included in your bill. Homecare 400 is £17 per month. This may give peace of mind, but in my humble opinion overpriced.

You should check to see if you are on the cheapest tariff. If you ask your supplier they should be able to advise.

I'm on Margaret Clare's tariff by the sound of it - Eon/dual fuel/direct debit/online:D

My house is a 2 bedroom/2 reception room house and not a 1 bedroom flat - so I expect to pay a bit extra over and above what a 1 bed. flat would cost. I dont have a maintenance contract - there used to be one on this house when I first bought it, but I subsequently swopped to a "little man wot does" and its much cheaper.

I do like to be actively warm - and, at the least, not cold. The house is probably Band D (according to both my "little man gas engineer" and myself when it comes to what it would be rated on the house sale particulars). That is - I have doubleglazing/insulated loft/etc but "nothing eco".

I do still have the original Baxi Bermuda gas fire in my sitting room and its lasted astonishingly well without a hitch (keeps fingers crossed that I havent tempted fate there by saying that:cool:). It absolutely churns out the heat and I keep it for when I'm trying to be a bit economical and only heat the room I am in or the central heating hasnt come on yet. I've timed how long it takes for that fire alone to get the (small) sitting room from cold to toasty warm and its about 10 minutes:D and my gas guy tells me that to get a fire of that efficiency level these days wouldnt be cheap. According to him "You can get a pretty/fashionable fire for about £200 OR you can get a pretty/fashionable fire that actually turns out some heat for about £400". Hence I am sticking with this "Out of the Ark" fire that is not a thing of beauty but works splendidly.

missile

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I'm on Margaret Clare's tariff by the sound of it - Eon/dual fuel/direct debit/online:D

My house is a 2 bedroom/2 reception room house and not a 1 bedroom flat - so I expect to pay a bit extra over and above what a 1 bed. ...

We switched to EDF Blue +Price Promise April 2014 and pay £73 per month dual fuel for 3 bed home. This is more than we use and currently we are £218.44 in credit.

How much are your bills?