Council taking all my DLA in care costs leaving me with nothing.

GwylimT

Ames wrote: »

When I had wall mounted storage heaters I ended up almost nocturnal. As I said before, the heat ran out by about 4pm and in Winter I was in bed by 6pm some nights as it was too cold to stay up. I'd then be awake at 4am and far too hot.

Horrible, horrible things.

Ours are awful, the heat is gone by 2pm and even then they only just manage to get the room to 18 celcius, all for £120 a month in the winter! This year with our oil filled we've been able to achieve much better temperatures within an hour of being turned on, average heating spend was £38 per month.

GlasweJen

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

Posted some long time ago Jen, but holds true even with the escalating prices and the fact that most can't afford full central heating in all rooms these days. In times of need, keep the living area heated with the cheap stuff. You take care !

That's technical! We are on E7 in a 2008-2009 built house so the house is fairly well insulated but it's weird having to plan heat in advance, I have blankets all over the place and you can tell if the dog gets cold because she hijacks the wheelchair for the blankets.

Sorry can't multi quote Nanny but it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a working paraplegic to get direct payments from incompetents anonymous. I'm currently waiting on them producing an occupational therapist to assess me for a blue badge which makes getting across car parks fun and games!

Joan.Batt

My thanks to you guys for giving me things to think about,

I have night storage heaters as we do not have any form of gas this far South. My neighbour uses oil filled radiators and swears they are cheaper. I always thought she was pulling my leg,

So I have no choice other than to use electric heaters of some sort. I do need to keep warm as I cannot regulate my temperature very much.

Night storage heaters mean you cannot have heat when you need it. Mine are only 2 years old and so are modern. It is hard to regulate the heat you need. They tend to be hot when you least need it and cold when you need it.

As far as food, I am not saying that I cannot manage on £25 per week, had I to have a normal diet then obviously I could. It is on top of that which is difficult.
I am 40 miles away (80 mile round trip) for any delivery, hence supermarkets do not deliver this far.

I use 'on top' on a normal shop:
Vegetables, to put it in context I use at least one cabbage in a day, I will use a bag of carrots. I use huge quantities. I buy whatever is cheapest at the time.

The same with fruit. To put it in context:
I can eat at least 6 apples and 4 bananas plus additional fruit.

It is very difficult for my body to access the nutritional value in food especially low fat food due to a medical condition. The NHS provide me with bottles nutrition so that I at least get all the vitamins and mineral I need in a day.

The Council Officer suggested that I ask for more nutritional bottles that way I do not need so many fruit and verg!! Can anyone tell me what is wrong with that statement?

I am doubly incontinent and have pads provided by the NHS. I have asked for more but have been told that I am at the limit the NHS provide.

I use extra electric in the case of keep warm and using the washing machine.

Letting the motability car go is something I have thought of and have made up my mind that it has to go. So thank you guys it helped make a decision about that.

I am not asking for the earth, indeed I do not like having to ask.

My complaint was more about the Council Officers attitude towards me than anything else.

easy

If your circumstances have changed since you took on the contract for your car from motability you may be able to end the contract early without any penalty. It's worth a phone call to ask them, they are very good and easy to talk to.

dktreesea

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Although I agree with the first part of this, the second isn't true. Unless using cheap rate electricity, any electric space heater costs exactly the same to run as any other.

True, but different types of heaters work differently. Ceramic heaters are instantly cold once you turn them off. Likewise infrared heaters. They heat surfaces rather than the air.


Oil filled heaters heat the air. That's why the room feels warm long after they are turned off. What makes them energy efficient is if they have a good thermostat (as opposed to just low/high/medium settings). This turns off the heater once the air is at the required temperature then turns back on if the air temperature drops.

iammumtoone

OP can you get an appointment to see a nutritionist. That is an awful lot of fruit and veg to eat in one day, are you eating it because of your low fat diet. You are right fruit and veg does not contain fat but is also not very filling hence why you need to eat so much.

A nutritionist will be able to help you identity other foods that you can eat which will be more filling, some of those if specialist might even be available on prescription.

It seems a trip to your GP is needed advising them that you need help with what you are able to eat within the budget you now have.

iammumtoone

Joan.Batt wrote: »

My complaint was more about the Council Officers attitude towards me than anything else.

Whilst you might not be able to change the outcome or decision. I think you do have grounds to put in a complaint about the way you were spoken to/treated.

Joan.Batt

Thanks again guys.

My diet is on a Nutritionist's advice, indeed a diet I have had to eat for many years. I have letters that states such.

I did not know that about Motability and ending a lease early.

I shall put in a complaint once I get over it. It was so very distressing and has affected me quite badly.

iammumtoone

Joan.Batt wrote: »

My diet is on a Nutritionist's advice, indeed a diet I have had to eat for many years. I have letters that states such.
.

In that case can you go back to that nutritionist and explain that you can now no longer follow that diet as you can't afford it (due to the council actions) Hopefully they will be able to help either by suggesting changes to the diet or assisting you being able to get additional benefits to help pay for it.

FBaby

I can eat at least 6 apples and 4 bananas plus additional fruit.

Any healthy diet will include a stable amount of calories, however you fill them in with, so if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, it will be replaced by others things that normal people would eat as part of their diet. A banana is 90 calories, an apple 50, so that's already almost 700 calories, 1/3rd of your daily recommendation.

I eat a healthy diet just because I want to be healthy and it doesn't cost me more than £25 a week. That is mainly because I don't drink anything else than water and tea.

Unless you need to pay for something very specific that is required for your health, I can't see how you can say that eating a healthy diet is more expensive than eating a non-healthy one.