Look what the media did.......

MultiFuelBurner

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

prowla said:

Well, arguably the energy prices support came about because of the media's fear-mongering.

It may have, but it also needs to be asked if on balance it was a good thing. The EPG probably was because it had a significant impact on inflation, probably keeping inflation 2-3% lower than it would otherwise have been, the cost whilst high and adding a significant chunk to government debt was not as bad as the headline cost due to the reduction in inflation and the fact that winter energy wholesale prices did not go as high as worst case estimates. The EBSS was an expensive (£11.4 billion) bribe and served no real purpose, it's origins were before the EPG was announced, once the EPG was announced the EBSS should have been cancelled. Those on benefits were also given handouts which would have covered most of their winter energy usage so they had already been largely insulated against the rising energy costs. 

I'm going to keep countering this point every time I see it - the Cost of Living Payments may have theoretically covered energy costs but they were NOT solely for energy, they were because the cost of almost everything (especially food) has skyrocketed.

I would put forward that the cost of living payments circa £900 could easily be split in the mind to 50/50 energy and food increases. So agree not all for energy but maybe 50% should have been allocated.

Actually £650 last year, for means-tested benefits.  The forthcoming £900 is ~£600 this year and £300 next.

Agree some of it ideally should have helped towards energy, but some people on this board tend to view the entire payment as 'for energy', ignoring all the rest of the extra costs of living (even though the clue is in the name … ).

Cheers for the clarification it's difficult to keep up.

dealyboy

Well my subsidies were:-
- energy bill support scheme £400
- winter fuel payment £200 (edited to break out pensioner CoL payment)
- pensioner cost of living payment £300 (paid with WFP) (edit: added)
- alternative fuel payment £200
- council tax rebate due to rising energy bills £150

... and when I was growing up there were the maroons, rockets with loud bangs to warn the public of peril at sea and there were also fire sirens to alert the public to danger and call the crew to station followed by emergency over sirens ... so I think this a sensible and precautionary approach in this modern age ... hopefully to be used proportionately.

Spoonie_Turtle

dealyboy said:

Well my subsidies were:-
- energy bill support scheme £400
- winter fuel payment £500
- alternative fuel payment £200
- council tax rebate due to rising energy bills £150

Just to be completely accurate, that £500 WFP actually included the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment; it was bundled together with the £200 Winter Fuel Payment because eligibility was the same, and thus paying both in one lump sum was the simplest and quickest way to administrate it.

gbhxu

We wouldn't have needed COL payments if benefit levels were high enough.

I'll put this into some context. I'm living existing on less than half of what I was earning 18 years ago when I had to stop working due to several medical conditions.

I feel that my personal inflation rate is double or even treble on some items of the official rate. And then there is also shrinkflation

MultiFuelBurner

gbhxu said:

We wouldn't have needed COL payments if benefit levels were high enough.

I'll put this into some context. I'm living existing on less than half of what I was earning 18 years ago when I had to stop working due to several medical conditions.

I feel that my personal inflation rate is double or even treble on some items of the official rate. And then there is also shrinkflation

I disagree reharding the COL payments. They were enacted fast to deal with the various crisis that all came together. When this subsides they can scale them back or build them into benefits when the time is right and at the right level.

However it was/is paid it certainly saved a lot of people hardship.

Sorry to hear of your hard times but even us, two middle income earners are struggling and we get no benefits and we have had to scale everything back as well. Far too much for our liking so it's happening across the board.

dealyboy

@Spoonie_Turtle said:

dealyboy said:

Well my subsidies were:-
- energy bill support scheme £400
- winter fuel payment £500
- alternative fuel payment £200
- council tax rebate due to rising energy bills £150

Just to be completely accurate, that £500 WFP actually included the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment; it was bundled together with the £200 Winter Fuel Payment because eligibility was the same, and thus paying both in one lump sum was the simplest and quickest way to administrate it.

... just checked ... you're correct as per usual Spoonie ... I'll edit my post.

SAC2334

Sea_Shell said:

Oh, and if you've got a "secret" second phone, make sure it's turned off, and not just on silent!!!    


On a serious note though, Refuge are actually quite worried for victims of domestic abuse who may have one hidden, as a lifeline.  

Why are you bothered about it ? Whinging Brits are typically moaning as they do where other countries have this and are not at all concerned about it .Its nothing more than a few seconds to test an alert signal .Big deal ! 
So if its a MSM a lot of posters are complaining about  , I d like to know where all the BBC bashers and licence moaners are getting there info from to make decisions ? The wild west out of control totally corrupt internet of lies ?
Give me MSM every time , at least they can be sued for libel and the advertisers can be prosecuted . Martin Lewis knows more than anyone how bent the internet is and if you believe all what you see , then you r an ******

Sea_Shell

SAC2334 said:

Sea_Shell said:

Oh, and if you've got a "secret" second phone, make sure it's turned off, and not just on silent!!!    


On a serious note though, Refuge are actually quite worried for victims of domestic abuse who may have one hidden, as a lifeline.  

Why are you bothered about it ? Whinging Brits are typically moaning as they do where other countries have this and are not at all concerned about it .Its nothing more than a few seconds to test an alert signal .Big deal ! 
So if its a MSM a lot of posters are complaining about  , I d like to know where all the BBC bashers and licence moaners are getting there info from to make decisions ? The wild west out of control totally corrupt internet of lies ?
Give me MSM every time , at least they can be sued for libel and the advertisers can be prosecuted . Martin Lewis knows more than anyone how bent the internet is and if you believe all what you see , then you r an ******

Why are you picking on my post!!

It was a genuine "be aware" post for those who might not want someone to hear another phone being alerted.

Personally, I'm not bothered.   Doesn't mean I can't see that it might be a problem for others.

MultiFuelBurner

Sea_Shell said:

SAC2334 said:

Sea_Shell said:

Oh, and if you've got a "secret" second phone, make sure it's turned off, and not just on silent!!!    


On a serious note though, Refuge are actually quite worried for victims of domestic abuse who may have one hidden, as a lifeline.  

Why are you bothered about it ? Whinging Brits are typically moaning as they do where other countries have this and are not at all concerned about it .Its nothing more than a few seconds to test an alert signal .Big deal ! 
So if its a MSM a lot of posters are complaining about  , I d like to know where all the BBC bashers and licence moaners are getting there info from to make decisions ? The wild west out of control totally corrupt internet of lies ?
Give me MSM every time , at least they can be sued for libel and the advertisers can be prosecuted . Martin Lewis knows more than anyone how bent the internet is and if you believe all what you see , then you r an ******

Why are you picking on my post!!

It was a genuine "be aware" post for those who might not want someone to hear another phone being alerted.

Personally, I'm not bothered.   Doesn't mean I can't see that it might be a problem for others.

I was thinking the same thing. Why your post?

Chrysalis

This thread is guilty of the same thing but just the other way round.

In multiple threads on here I have tried to explain energy costs will vary heavily from home to home, especially heating due to boiler efficiency, heat retention (energy certificate grade) and tariff.

Some people might end up been nowhere near a disaster situation once everything is taken into account, but others getting warned is prudent to avoid energy debts of the 100s or even thousands of pounds.

As an example I turned on my boiler for the entire day back in December, and the cost was approx £16 if I remember right, the scary thing is though, that was the cost on gas tracker which at the time was about 3-4p below SVR rate, so if I was on the EPG it would have been closer to £20-25, for one day.  If I was ignorant of unit rates, energy billing (which much of the population seems to be), I could have just used the boiler every day for the month with a bill of over £400.  Which for my normal usage is normally about 5-6 months worth of energy.