60 year old widow needs some advice to survive

oliveoil99

jo011e2470 wrote: »

Bexause of your age you should be able to claim Pension Credits which are around £130 If you total income is £92 per week and you have no savings over £6,000 you should qualify and should receive £38 per week

My friend was 60 February this year and receives pension credits, I was 60 in May so was there a cut-off between Feb and May?

oliveoil99

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Have you checked this recently?

Who is your water authority?

Unless your tenancy agreement is for less than 6 months you do not need your landlord's permission.

Yorkshire Water they gave me the information I acted on have to say that was 2 years ago.

Dunroamin

oliveoil99 wrote: »

My friend was 60 February this year and receives pension credits, I was 60 in May so was there a cut-off between Feb and May?

No, one of you has misunderstood.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/PensionCredit/DG_180167?PRO=articletest&CRE=top

oliveoil99

Poppie68 wrote: »

The water bill is shocking...We have a 5 bedroom house with 5 of us living here and pay £55.60 per month, thats only £2 more than the OP. I would seriously be looking into it, does the LL bill you this or the Utility company?

The bill is from Yorkshire Water. I will give you the breakdown
Water Standing Charge 41.91
Water Supply 158.88

Surface Drainage 42.47
Sewerage Standing Charge 1.78
Sewerage 183.75




Amount due £428.79

oliveoil99

Dunroamin wrote: »

Perhaps the OP is paying off arrears?

No arrears, Yorkshire Water is the best the only water I can drink from the tap.

Dunroamin

oliveoil99 wrote: »

No arrears, Yorkshire Water is the best the only water I can drink from the tap.

:rotfl::rotfl:

oliveoil99

pmlindyloo wrote: »

That is because they fit the meter inside the house - new technology!


The OP needs to check with her water authority.


Not sure how many water authorities do this.


Even if this happens in the OP's authority I feel she should be negotiating with her landlord to get one fitted - her water bill is horrendous. Seems very unfair of her LL not to allow this.

The landlord has only every let this property out to working tenants so when I informed him 2yrs ago I was appling for HB he was not very happy even though it does not affect him in any way as I receive the HB then send the landlord a cheque, I worried that he may not re-new my next tenancy agreement but that was unfounded. You feel very vunerable in rented property and my ownly safety is the 12monthly tenancy agreements that I sign. I asked him about the water meter but did not consider me but the next tenant that might have a family and not want a meter, he is not a good person to reason with have had a number of fall outs through the years.

xylophone

£428.79

If this is the total charge for a year then the OP is not paying £13 a week for her water but £8.25?

marybelle01

Poppie68 wrote: »

The water bill is shocking...We have a 5 bedroom house with 5 of us living here and pay £55.60 per month, thats only £2 more than the OP. I would seriously be looking into it, does the LL bill you this or the Utility company?

Not just shocking but something is wrong entirely. As I have mentioned, I live in the same area as the OP. My water is from Yorkshire Water. I know that a meter would be cheaper but have been too lazy to do anything about it. I have a huge 4 bedroom house. My bill is £10 a month less than the OP's. The only explanation for that could be that the rateable value of this two bedroom bungalow in a very poor area (compared to my huge 4 bedroom in a nicer area) is absolutely enormous!

dandelionclock30

If you dont pay the water you will not get cut off, if you have a large debt with them you can apply for something called the Yorkshire Water Community Trust- which will often significantly lessen the debt and arrange for more achievable weekly payments.
If you cant afford to pay them contact the water and ask what help is available and what your options are. I know someone who hadnt pid their water for 2 years and nothing was done about it.