£4 - £5 per night to charge wheelchair

Albermarle

During the height of the energy crisis there were a lot of these types of stories. One person said their oven cost 60p a minute, when 60p an hour would have been more accurate.
I am sure a lot of people switched appliances and heating off unnecessarily, due to these types of stories making them think that using energy was even more expensive than it actually was .

MattMattMattUK

Albermarle said:

During the height of the energy crisis there were a lot of these types of stories. One person said their oven cost 60p a minute, when 60p an hour would have been more accurate.
I am sure a lot of people switched appliances and heating off unnecessarily, due to these types of stories making them think that using energy was even more expensive than it actually was .

60p a minute, 120kWh an hour if electric, 330kWh if gas. that is a kiln or furnace, not an oven!

Spoonie_Turtle

MattMattMattUK said:

molerat said:

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy.

The £120 per week on food for two people also seems high.

Entirely plausible for all sorts of potential different disability-related reasons (needing preprepared food, specific dietary requirements, etc.).  Not helpful to scrutinise those kinds of things that are so very individual when we know almost nothing about their situation.

[Though in fairness, being in with any assertion that really don't sound right at all (such as the energy cost) doesn't help.]

MattMattMattUK

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

molerat said:

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy.

The £120 per week on food for two people also seems high.

Entirely plausible for all sorts of potential different disability-related reasons (needing preprepared food, specific dietary requirements, etc.).  Not helpful to scrutinise those kinds of things that are so very individual when we know almost nothing about their situation.

[Though in fairness, being in with any assertion that really don't sound right at all (such as the energy cost) doesn't help.]

The issue is credibility, they say, with no more information, that they are struggling to pay their £120 a week food bill, which to most people will seem high for two people. That, on top of every other figure in the article not standing up to scrutiny means that they do not look credible.

I am not saying that they should have to list conditions, but even just a line saying that it was higher due to specific dietary needs would make sense if that were the case, otherwise it is just another made up figure lacking credibility. 

LinLui

MattMattMattUK said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

molerat said:

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy.

The £120 per week on food for two people also seems high.

Entirely plausible for all sorts of potential different disability-related reasons (needing preprepared food, specific dietary requirements, etc.).  Not helpful to scrutinise those kinds of things that are so very individual when we know almost nothing about their situation.

[Though in fairness, being in with any assertion that really don't sound right at all (such as the energy cost) doesn't help.]

The issue is credibility, they say, with no more information, that they are struggling to pay their £120 a week food bill, which to most people will seem high for two people. That, on top of every other figure in the article not standing up to scrutiny means that they do not look credible.

I am not saying that they should have to list conditions, but even just a line saying that it was higher due to specific dietary needs would make sense if that were the case, otherwise it is just another made up figure lacking credibility. 

What is anyone here "scrutinising"? You have their bills? You know them? You live their lives? The only thing here not standing up to scrutiny is a bunch of claims that these people are lying based on supposition and guesswork, not facts. This kind of "disabled people are liars who inflate their costs and disabilities" is exactly what is being used in some quarters to say that people with disabilities don't deserve support - the "my next door neighbour runs marathons but claims they can't walk" syndrome. 

That is not what this board is for. It is supposed to be to help and advise people with disabilities and their carers and friends about their rights and entitlements. 

You are calling a disabled person a liar and that their bills are made up. With no evidence. 

HillStreetBlues

Stories like these are always meaningless as there is no context. Anyone can plead poverty.

MattMattMattUK

LinLui said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

molerat said:

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy.

The £120 per week on food for two people also seems high.

Entirely plausible for all sorts of potential different disability-related reasons (needing preprepared food, specific dietary requirements, etc.).  Not helpful to scrutinise those kinds of things that are so very individual when we know almost nothing about their situation.

[Though in fairness, being in with any assertion that really don't sound right at all (such as the energy cost) doesn't help.]

The issue is credibility, they say, with no more information, that they are struggling to pay their £120 a week food bill, which to most people will seem high for two people. That, on top of every other figure in the article not standing up to scrutiny means that they do not look credible.

I am not saying that they should have to list conditions, but even just a line saying that it was higher due to specific dietary needs would make sense if that were the case, otherwise it is just another made up figure lacking credibility. 

What is anyone here "scrutinising"? You have their bills? You know them? You live their lives? The only thing here not standing up to scrutiny is a bunch of claims that these people are lying based on supposition and guesswork, not facts. This kind of "disabled people are liars who inflate their costs and disabilities" is exactly what is being used in some quarters to say that people with disabilities don't deserve support - the "my next door neighbour runs marathons but claims they can't walk" syndrome. 

That is not what this board is for. It is supposed to be to help and advise people with disabilities and their carers and friends about their rights and entitlements. 

You are calling a disabled person a liar and that their bills are made up. With no evidence. 

It is a news article in the national media, that makes it open for scrutiny and the media have a duty to report accurately, although that in itself seems to be an issue.

The claim was that the wheelchair costs £4-5 a go twice a week to charge, that is just not realistic, electric wheelchairs do not have big enough batteries. The article claims that machines for sleep apnoea (CPAP) cause high energy bills, however they cost around 66p a week to operate, so that does not stand up to scrutiny. 

If one choses to make claims in the national press then one has to expect those claims to subject to scrutiny, that is how things work.

The rest of your post is just a straw man.

Spoonie_Turtle

LinLui said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

molerat said:

I see no disability bashing here.  The statement about costing £5 per night to charge the chair is blatantly untrue and posters have shown why, you could do at least 80 miles in an EV for that amount.  It is just another of those poor journalistic quality "news" articles with the usual red top style sad face photo and a few dodgy "facts" to try and garner sympathy.

The £120 per week on food for two people also seems high.

Entirely plausible for all sorts of potential different disability-related reasons (needing preprepared food, specific dietary requirements, etc.).  Not helpful to scrutinise those kinds of things that are so very individual when we know almost nothing about their situation.

[Though in fairness, being in with any assertion that really don't sound right at all (such as the energy cost) doesn't help.]

The issue is credibility, they say, with no more information, that they are struggling to pay their £120 a week food bill, which to most people will seem high for two people. That, on top of every other figure in the article not standing up to scrutiny means that they do not look credible.

I am not saying that they should have to list conditions, but even just a line saying that it was higher due to specific dietary needs would make sense if that were the case, otherwise it is just another made up figure lacking credibility. 

What is anyone here "scrutinising"? You have their bills? You know them? You live their lives? The only thing here not standing up to scrutiny is a bunch of claims that these people are lying based on supposition and guesswork, not facts. This kind of "disabled people are liars who inflate their costs and disabilities" is exactly what is being used in some quarters to say that people with disabilities don't deserve support - the "my next door neighbour runs marathons but claims they can't walk" syndrome. 

That is not what this board is for. It is supposed to be to help and advise people with disabilities and their carers and friends about their rights and entitlements. 

You are calling a disabled person a liar and that their bills are made up. With no evidence. 

FWIW I am not saying anyone is lying.  I believe they are saying what they believe to be true.  Unfortunately, as is seen on the Energy board here, very many people misunderstand their energy costs and bills - and as mathematically demonstrated it simply is not possible for charging their wheelchair and using a CPAP machine to cost as much as they think it does. 

We don't know what exactly is making them think that, all we know is it can't be purely down to the wheelchair and CPAP machine.  And that's unhelpful for them as well as everyone else; if they knew where that energy was going then it's possible they might be able to use less, or if the information they have is wrong (e.g. from the IHD) knowing the reality might relieve some stress, etc.  Yes the extra power does add up over time and that's something that needs to be considered, but any policy considerations e.g. by the government or energy suppliers need to be based on fact not erroneous belief.

But whatever the case, believing something this obviously wrong unfortunately immediately casts doubt on the rest of what they say, for the people who know about these things. 
- For those who are inclined take an uncharitable view, they are likely to think 'well if they don't understand their energy costs maybe they don't understand their other costs either' and dismiss that they actually do struggle to survive financially, and put it down to being bad with money. 
- For those who already think we're exaggerators and liars, knowing that one claim must be wrong strengthens their view and gives them ammunition to try and persuade others that their view is correct.  And the more articles like this are written, the worse the divide becomes.

All in all, having even one misguided sensational claim like this, that simply isn't possible, is very unhelpful for disabled people when we desperately need the public and politicians to take seriously the reality of how difficult and expensive it is to be disabled.

LinLui

And I ask again - how is any of this pointless speculation relating to "Get help with MoneySaving questions relating to living with a disability."? Whether the person is confused, the journalist is poorly reseraching their story or whatever, the purpose of thios board is not to pointlessly speculate about what someone nobody knows does or does not spend. Yes it is possible that the person is confused. It is also possible that they have forgotten to factor in the cost of other equipment also used overnight (and mentioned in the article) to account for the increase in energy bills. It is also possible that their smart meter is wrong (lots of stories about that). Etc Etc. It serves no purpose to suggest that the story is untrue without foundation for that claim, and nobody here is doing any better than the journalist - they are all making stuff up without any information. If you question the veracity of the story or the journalist, why not contact the BBC rather than publically posting a "£story" that the BBC is making up facts?  That is what is questionable - it serves no purpose other than to draw attention to a certain political agenda. In my view. And is not what this board is for.

born_again

LinLui said:What is anyone here "scrutinising"? You have their bills? You know them? You live their lives? The only thing here not standing up to scrutiny is a bunch of claims that these people are lying based on supposition and guesswork, not facts. This kind of "disabled people are liars who inflate their costs and disabilities" is exactly what is being used in some quarters to say that people with disabilities don't deserve support - the "my next door neighbour runs marathons but claims they can't walk" syndrome. 

That is not what this board is for. It is supposed to be to help and advise people with disabilities and their carers and friends about their rights and entitlements. 

You are calling a disabled person a liar and that their bills are made up. With no evidence. 

As per previous post. No one knows the truth, as there are more details missing than included. No one has called the person a liar.
Just questing the BBC & reporter for their lack of fact checking. Which is something the BBC often do on other news groups. FACT CHECK. But fail to do it on their own.

It is easy to work out the facts from the figures given on their usage from the BBC. What the BBC should have done is provided some detail on the figures. 

Yes this board is to help people, but the BBC are not helping anyone with this article. In fact they are making it worse, as it is easy to work out from the figures just what their usage is likely to be. 

Funny thing is many people believe that anything posted by the media is the TRUTH, when clearly in many cases it is not. It is being twisted to meet the media outlets stance.